New research director at Nofima. Anna Sonesson is the new Research Director for the Breeding and Genetics Division at Nofima, the Norwegian fisheries and aquaculture research institute.
She comes from the position of Senior Researcher in the same division.
“I am very pleased that Anna has agreed to lead our breeding and genetics research going forward,” says Bente Torstensen, Division Director in Nofima.
Anna Sonesson is 49, has a PhD in breeding and genetics from Wageningen University, and has worked at Nofima in Ås, Norway, since 2002.
“I look forward to leading a very competent division in a field that is important for driving aquaculture forward, and to continue working with the people in my network in Norway and internationally,” says Sonesson.
The Breeding and Genetics Division conducts research and provides services for the development and operation of breeding programmes for aquaculture where the use of genomic information plays a central role.
About Nofima Breeding and Genetics Division
Nofima scientists have pioneered work in fish breeding since the beginning of the 1970s, and have contributed to the ability of the Norwegian aquaculture industry to produce salmon now with better health and in half the time previously required, using less feed.
They bring their expertise in quantitative genetics and genomics to commercial selective breeding programmes, and have ongoing projects with all breeding companies on the Norwegian aquaculture market.
The objective of their work with breeding is to improve strains of fish and shellfish that are more productive and sustainable in aquaculture than the levels obtained for offspring of wild caught broodstock. The genetic gain and return on an investment in breeding accumulates as the years pass, and this means that such investment is particularly profitable. There are many good examples of this.
The Division applies its expertise in quantitative genetics and genomics to practical breeding programmes, nationally and internationally. In addition, they work to understand the consequences of interaction between farmed and wild populations. The Breeding and Genetics Department has 11 researchers from eight countries.