Nancy Gao Position/Title: MSc Thesis email: ngao01@uoguelph.ca Phone: Office: LinkedIn

I am currently a thesis-based MsC student working with Dr. Niel Karrow in the department of Animal Biosciences.

Current Project

The objective of my project is to evaluate the effects of growth, gut health and immune response in zebrafish and rainbow trout when they are fed feed additives such as insects, probiotics, prebiotics, and short-chain fatty acids (SCFA). As the aquaculture industry continues to expand, so does the concern for the health and welfare of the animals as factors such as infectious diseases become more difficult to control. This project will further explore how certain feed additives will influence feed efficiency, gut inflammation, disease resistance, the microbiome and immune response of these fish by using zebrafish and rainbow trout as a model. Four groups of diet that will be used for the feeding trial, which include the control, yeast (to provide probiotics and prebiotics), butyrate (to provide SCFA) and the insect diet (black soldier fly larvae). At the Ontario Aquaculture Research Centre, a 6-month trial with rainbow trout will be done to analyze their growth performance as well as their microbiome via molecular analyses. A 6-month trial with zebrafish will also be conducted at the University of Guelph campus with the same four diets but with an additional pathogen challenge to analyze how fish immunity is influenced by these different additives. This research will not only benefit fish feed companies by providing a better understanding of how to improve fish health and performance by using different feed additives, but it can also benefit producers by introducing more sustainable and affordable feed protein alternatives such as insect meal for instance.

Personal Motivations

During my third year of undergrad, I took the course, ANSC*4650, Comparative Immunology, with Dr. Niel Karrow. It was a very interesting course as I was able to apply and relate the knowledge to personal experiences such as the COVID-19 pandemic. I then worked as a student research assistant later that summer and had the opportunity to work with different species such as cattle, sheep, and zebrafish. The main species I worked with was the zebrafish, where my main job was to maintain their tanks, feed them, check their behaviour, and euthanize any fish that were sick. During my time working with zebrafish at the University of Guelph, I learned about their behaviour and physiology along with their contributions to research as a vertebrate model, which made me want to further expand my knowledge and experience with the species.