Jinhai Wang

Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Fish Genome Editing

Contact details

Biography

Background

I received my first master’s degree in Aquaculture from Ocean University of China (China), and I was working on the genetics of octopus during that time. Then I moved to Auburn University (USA) for my PhD program. My PhD work focused on the development of CRISPR/Cas9-mediated gene editing/replacement in catfish, under the supervision of Dr. Rex Dunham. We generated sterile transgenic catfish with enhanced disease resistance by inserting an antimicrobial peptide gene (As-Cath) from the alligator into the reproduction-related locus (lh) using ssODN/dsDNA-associated CRISPR/Cas9 systems, and this achievement was recognized by MIT Technology Review. Meanwhile, I received my second master’s degree in Biological Statistics. For my postdoc, I moved to the Roslin Institute where I complemented my expertise in cell culture with skills on genome editing in vitro, and developed base editors to study resistance against various diseases in Atlantic salmon.

[2011-2015]         BSc Aquaculture, Northwest A&F University (Yangling, China)

[2015-2019]         MSc Aquaculture, Ocean University of China (Qingdao, China)

[2019-2022]         MSc Biological Statistics, Auburn University (Alabama, USA)

[2019-2023]         PhD Aquaculture, Auburn University (Alabama, USA)

[2024-Present]   Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Aquaculture, Roslin Institute  

Current research interests

My main work is to develop and apply novel genome editing tools (CRISPR and base editors) in vitro to improve editing efficiency and reduce off-target events using fish cells. The ultimate goal is to establish disease-resistant fish lines by disrupting disease-susceptibility genes.
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