Professor Abigail Elizur has been involved in the application of molecular biology and biotechnology to aquaculture since 1990, when she joined the National Centre for Mariculture in Eilat, Israel, where she led the work on fish reproductive endocrinology. In 1999 Professor Elizur returned to Australia, and joined the Bribie Island Aquaculture Research Centre, where she initiated the aquaculture biotechnology group that links with other aquaculture disciplines.
Professor Abigail Elizur has worked with aquaculture species for more than 30 years. Since joining UniSC in 2004, she has built an internationally recognised research group with a major focus on the development and implementation of novel tools in the field of reproductive technologies in aquaculture species.
Selected research grants
| Project name | Funding Body |
|---|---|
| Understanding skeletal deformities in salmonids: effects of farm settings and genetic background on prevalence. | Fisheries Research and Development Corporation |
| Obtaining a monosex (all female) Penaeus monodon population | Aquaculture de la Mahajamba and The University of the Sunshine Coast |
| Understanding stress in the pearl oyster, Pinctada maxima, using transcriptomic, proteomic and metabolomic tools. | Fishers Research and Development Corporation |
| Future Oysters CRC-P | Cooperative Research Centre Project; The University of the Sunshine Coast |
| In depth sequencing the genome of the Silverlip Pearl Oyster, Pinctada maxima | Fisheries Research and Development Corporation |
| Enhancement of high-value sea cucumber production through novel molecular technologies | Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Aus4Innovation Partnership Grants |
| Developing a chloroplast expression system | Department of Industry, Science, Energy, and Resources; Innovation Connections; Provectus Algae |
Awards
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The Award for Excellence in Research, which recognises outstanding contributions and achievements that have advanced research productivity and output, UniSC (2016)
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Elected Fellow of The Academy of Technologies and Engineering, ATSE (2016)
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UniSC medal for outstanding university researcher (2009)
Research areas
- Reproductive biology of aquaculture species
- Genomics and genetics
- Surrogate technology in fish
- Identification of genes associated with high valve commercial traits in aquaculture species
Teaching areas
- Molecular Biology
- Molecular Biotechnology
- Aquaculture
Professor Elizur's specialist areas of knowledge include biotechnology, biology, aquaculture, regulation of puberty in finfish, moult in crustaceans, biomineralisation in pearl oysters, genes in aquaculture species