Team Bio

We at the Aquatic Germplasm and Genetic Resources Center (AGGRC) are passionate about our mission to provide global leadership in repository development for genetic resources of aquatic species. Our facility has 23,000 square feet of space dedicated to research, technology development, teaching, outreach, community support, and commercial-scale service activities for aquatic species. We have established a strong Core Innovation Team (CIT) with faculty from 8 LSU departments.

Yue Liu

Dr. Yue Liu is an Assistant Professor and Assistant Director at the Aquatic Germplasm and Genetic Resources Center (AGGRC) of the School of Renewable Natural Resources in Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He is an expert in development of interdisciplinary technologies to support preservation and management of genetic resources. These technologies include open hardware, cryopreservation approaches, high-throughput processing, microfluidic systems, assisted reproduction techniques, sperm physiology, gamete biology, machine learning, and electrical-cryobiology. He has participated in dozens of projects for germplasm repository technology development for support of conservation, biomedical research, aquaculture, and fisheries management. He coordinates multiple projects funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). He has worked with aquatic species in various user and research communities, such as biomedical research (e.g., zebrafish, Xiphophorus, Ambystoma, Xenopus, Aplysia, Hydractinia), conservation (e.g., goodeidae), aquaculture (blue catfish, channel catfish, and oysters), and algae (e.g., microalgae and macroalgae).

Jack Koch

Jack is a Postdoctoral Research Associate leading a portion of a National Institutes of Health-funded grant to develop a comprehensive cryopreservation germplasm repository for the biomedical model sea hare, Aplysia californica, in collaboration with the National Resource for Aplysia. These sea hares are gastropod molluscs whose namesake derives from the pair of charismatic rhinophores on top of their head like a pair of rabbit ears. Unlike the stereotypical gastropod (land snail), Aplysia have an extremely reduced shell that resembles an oblong shield, covered by their mantle. Other notable anatomical features include their mustache-like feeding tentacles and their wing-like parapodia that can be used to swim through the water column and escape predators. These sea hares are useful biomedical models for studies in neural development, classical and operant conditioning, and nervous system senescence. This provides the foundation for developing a germplasm repository for the resource center and research community, though advances in genetic technologies are applying additional pressure to this need. Germplasm cryopreservation has traditionally been focused on sperm, egg, and single cells. Accessing these cell types in Aplysia is currently very difficult. Thus, another option for potential cryopreservation are the early life stages (e.g., embyros, larvae) of Aplysia, which presents its own challenges that Jack is working to address.