Roberto Parada

Victoria University of Wellington - Te Herenga Waka, PhD Student

Roberto obtained his BSc in Molecular Biotechnology Engineering and his MSc in Biological Sciences from University of Chile, one of the top universities in Chile, both working on the elucidation of the function of genes related to sugar alcohols metabolism in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana.

Later he spent several years working at Pontifical Catholic University of Chile studying the function, expression and relationships of key genes related to yellowness and protein content in durum wheat (Triticum durum).

His PhD project will attempt to determine the genetic structure of the green lipped mussel (Perna canaliculus) at Ninety Mile Beach (NMB), location of paramount importance for this fishery in New Zealand, in order to find the location of source populations supplying spat at NMB for the improvement of management decisions.