MSc

Job Details

One Master of Science (MSc) position is available at University of Idaho (start date: August 2026). The students will be hosted by the Fish Health Lab (P.I. Dr. Viadanna; https://verso.uidaho.edu/esploro/profile/pedro_de_oliveira_viadanna/overview?institution=01ALLIANCE_UID) in the Department of Fish and Wildlife Sciences, College of Natural Resources. In terms of research, my lab is interested in all aspects related to fish health, including farmed and wild fish. We are currently developing new diagnostic tests, developing disease models, and evaluating the fish immune system. For the MSc, the student will focus on the mechanisms of inflammation and allergy in fish and develop tools to mitigate them.

Responsibilities and tasks

The student will work primarily with rainbow trout, a high-value freshwater aquaculture species and Idaho's most produced fish. Its biology demands high-protein diets, which drive up production costs — a challenge the industry is increasingly addressing by shifting toward soybean-based protein sources. Soybeans are an exceptional protein source for animal nutrition, but they contain antinutritional factors, including allergenic proteins such as beta-conglycinin, which significantly constrain their dietary inclusion rates.

In this project, the students will learn how to raise rainbow trout in a recirculation system, how to prepare special feeds, protein extraction, histopathology, fish immunology techniques, and molecular techniques (including qPCR, mRNA extraction, DNA extraction, and whole genome sequencing). Overall, the students will be expected to conduct broad research followed by the writing of a detailed thesis. The student will also have a chance to participate in other projects that my lab conducts.

Approval and Enrollment

This graduate appointment is subject to academic approval, and the candidate will be enrolled in the MSc program within the College of Natural Resources. For information about our program, please see: https://www.uidaho.edu/natural-resources/academics

Salary and appointment terms

These projects will be carried out at the Aquaculture Research Institute and the Department of Fish and Wildlife Science, which is situated in Moscow, Idaho. The students will begin coursework and research in Aug. 2026.

Further information

For further information about the project, please contact Dr. Pedro Viadanna at pedroviadanna@uidaho.edu.

Requirements

Qualifications 

We are looking for motivated candidates who have:

• Bachelor’s degree in biology or similar discipline
• Knowledge of aquaculture and fish immunology
• Proven ability to carry out goal-oriented work and be fluent with data management systems (i.e., Excel, Word, statistical analysis)
• Lab competences in molecular biology would be considered an asset - please clarify your experiences in the “motivating letter”
• Practical husbandry experiences with aquatic organisms will be an asset
• Good co-operation ability

Contact Information

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