Thursday 29 October 2020 1:43pm
Next August we will see the return of Dr Nathan Kenny to take up a Rutherford Fellowship, investigating genetic methods of mitigating the effects of climate change on green-lipped mussels and other shellfish.
Nathan completed an honours degree in Genetics in Professor Peter Dearden's lab, here in the Department of Biochemistry, before heading off to Oxford University on a Clarendon Scholarship to study for a DPhil in Zoology. His doctoral work was on how animals, particularly molluscs, differentiate the left and right sides of their bodies during development. This was followed by post-doctoral work in the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the Natural History Museum in London, and his current position at Oxford Brookes University.
Nathan intends to investigate the genetic basis of resilience to thermal stress and ocean acidification in molluscs, traits that are present in some strains of green-lipped mussels in New Zealand. His aim is to further improve aquaculture productivity in New Zealand, and help mitigate the effects of climate change on these species. The presence of Genomics Aotearoa in the Department will be of major assistance to this research.
Nathan will collaborate with iwi in the course of this work, and the outcomes of this project will aid the kaitiakitanga of kaimoana in New Zealand.
Nathan Kenny collecting samples from exposed seabed in Plymouth.