At the ‘ONE HEALTH Epigenomes and Microbiomes’ session we will recognize eleven students, postdocs and researchers who applied for ‘Jimmy Alcivar Arteaga Travel Awards’ from the FUCOBI Foundation of Ecuador (fucobi.org) to attend the Aquaculture 2025 meeting. Applicants represented two countries: United States (10) and Philippines (1). In addition, four scientists from the United States will be recognized as winners of FUCOBI’s 2025 "Outstanding ONE HEALTH Researchers in Aquaculture and Fisheries” awards: Laura Vandenberg, Salvador Rico, Steve Morton, and Sandra Shumway.
The speakers of the ONE HEALTH session will address the following topics: From Bisphenol A (BPA), to phthalates, to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS): How environmental chemicals are harming fish, shellfish and human health and what we can do about it (Vandenberg), Culture-independent meta-pangenomics enabled by long read metagenomics (Minich), Advances in transposable element annotation for genome analysis in aquaculture species (Rodriguez), Community Action for Fresh Water (CAFW): A Rotary International (RI) and United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) initiative to restore, protect, and sustain freshwater ecosystems (Rico), Regenerating coast of Pujada Bay: a community-based mangrove rehabilitation and enhancement in the city of Mati, Davao Oriental, Philippines (Jimenez), Freshwater mussels: global bellwethers and enhancers of aquatic ecosystem health (Kreeger), Characterization of the (green) microbial and physiological diversity on retention ponds in the Lake Ontario watershed (Molee), Participatory science approach to mitigate the effects of harmful algal blooms in Costa Rica (Morton), Reverse transcriptase related proteins are recruited by multiple aquatic organisms to serve in environmental stress response pathways (Yushenova), Enhancing marine ecosystems and promoting sustainable aquaculture (TenBroeck), A review of biodiversity and chemical contaminants in fish from Lake Victoria, Uganda (Roy), The Environmental Sustainability Rotary Action Group (ESRAG): helping to implement sustainable practices on biodiversity, circular economy, food systems, sustainability, climate and pollution (DeWitt) and, How to write effective global grants to apply for funding for your project by Rotary International (DeWitt, Rico).