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Benchmark Genetics creates research team

Benchmark Genetics has expanded its research and development by recruiting people in the reproductive technologies team.

The team was established to help the company with innovation, working on breakthroughs in sterility and gene editing that will impact the salmon industry’s productivity, animal welfare, and sustainability.

“With our strategic expansion in R&D in this area, we are consolidating our position as a leading company in this area globally, poised to bring these breakthroughs to customers to benefit industry sustainability, animal health and welfare. We achieve this through strategic collaboration with world-leading research groups and targeted internal programs of close-to-market research and commercial-scale product development,” says Dr. Ross Houston, Benchmark’s Director of Genetics and Innovation.

Dr. Diego Crespo is the most recent recruit. He joined on Aug. 1, from the Institute of Marine Research in Bergen, Norway and has over 15 years of experience in fish reproduction and biotechnology, including CRISPR gene editing targeting sterility.

Dr. Zhiqiang Zeng and Stefan Eggertsson joined the team earlier in the year. Zeng has over 20 years of experience in developmental biology, transgenics, and gene editing. Eggertsson has expertise in molecular biology and gene editing in model organisms.

The team will work out of the research facilities in Reykjavík, Iceland, under the leadership of Dr. Eduardo Rodriguez.