On Friday 14th August 2026, CIGENE’s Valeria Aguilar Quinones successfully defended her PhD thesis titled “Viral resistance in Atlantic salmon: insights from viral, cellular and functional studies”.
Valeria’s PhD project reveals that resistance to viral pathogens in Atlantic salmon is not a fixed trait controlled solely by genetics, but rather the outcome of viral infection is the result of a complex interplay between the virus, the host, and the environment.
You can read more about the main project findings on the NMBU website.
Valeria’s project reflected a collaboration between CIGENE and industry partners at Aquagen, with main supervisor Dr. Victor Boyartchuk (CIGENE) and Co-supervisor Dr. Jacob Seilø Torgersen (Aquagen).
We thank the evaluation committee which comprised Dr. Johanna Hol Fosse (Norwegian Veterinary Institute), Dr. Markus Haug (Norwegian University of Science and Technology), and Dr. Marie Saitou (NMBU), and we congratulate Valeria on a successful project and great job in the defense.