Four young researchers from BIOTEC were awarded IFS-SEARCA Collaborative Research Grants 2016, taking part in three exciting international projects addressing climate change adaptation and mitigation. The Collaborative Research Grants 2016 were awarded by the International Foundation for Science (IFS) in partnership with the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA).
Dr. Umaporn Uawisetwathana, researcher from Microarray Laboratory, joined Team AQUASafe with an overall objective to evaluate the application of biofloc technology for the improvement of productivity and environmental sustainability of shrimp aquaculture system in Southeast Asia. In her sub-project, Umaporn will assess the shrimp health, nutrition and its immunostimulatory effects by determining transcripts and metabolite profiles upon biofloc technology application and under bacterial pathogen exposure. The target genes/metabolites obtained in this sub-project can be used to indicate the shrimp health and nutrition to find out an optimal biofloc technology in culture conditions as a climate change adaptation and mitigation strategy. She will be collaborating with Dr. Magdalena Lenny Situmorang from Indonesia (Team Coordinator) and Dr. Jomar Fajardo Rabajante from the Philippines.
Dr. Walaiporn Charoensapsri, researcher from Shrimp Molecular Biology and Biotechnology Laboratory, is the coordinator of Team CHANGE, whose project aims to investigate the consequence effect of climate change on the severity of acute hepatopancreatic necrosis disease (AHPND) outbreak against both the causative agent Vibrio parahaemolyticus (pathogen) and on shrimp susceptibility to the AHPND bacteria (host) and to develop the practical cultured condition for solving this outbreak under the laboratory scale. She will be working with Dr. Pakkakul Sangsuriya from Thailand and Mr. Vuong Viet Nguyen from Vietnam. Walaiporn will be evaluating the effect of temperature and salinity on the pathogenicity of the specific V. parahaemolyticus isolate that caused AHPND in shrimp through the analyses of both gene and protein expression levels.
As a member of Team CHANGE, Dr. Pakkakul Sangsuriya will be responsible for a sub-project titled “Impact of high temperature on shrimp immune response associated with AHPND.” Her work consists of three main parts including (1) investigation of major shrimp immune parameters, (2) identification and characterization of the defense- and heat stress-related genes that differentially expressed after the long-term high temperature exposure shrimp and challenged with the AHPND- V. parahaemolyticus, and (3) functional analysis of gene/protein of interest in response to AHPND- V. parahaemolyticus under high temperature condition using RNA interference (RNAi) approach and related-biochemical techniques. Pakkakul is a researcher from Aquatic Molecular Genetics and Biotechnology Laboratory. 
Dr. Pornkamol Unrean, researcher from Enzyme Technology Laboratory, is a member of Team RENEWABLE ENERGY with the mission to develop renewable energy from rice husk to mitigate effects of climate change. Pornkamol’s task is to examine and compare the three conversion technologies – hydrothermal carbonization, pyrolysis, and anaerobic digestion – of rice husk to fuel in term of their economic feasibility and environmental impacts. The comparative data will be a decision making tool for climate change mitigation. She will be working with Dr. Elisabeth Rianawati from Indonesia, Dr. Bridgid Lai Fui Chin from Malaysia and Dr. Menandro N. Acda from the Philippines.Out of 12 teams receiving IFS-SEARCA Collaborative Research Grants 2016, Team AQUASafe and Team CHANGE have been selected for the Carolina MacGillavry Award, recognizing the top-ranked applications responding to an IFS call for collaborative research.