I have worked in aquaculture research for almost twenty years, but I started my journey in aquaculture long time ago. I was brought up on a fish farm and that is how my experience with fish started.
I pursued my BSc and MSc degrees in Inland Fisheries in Poland at University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn. I later acquired my PhD at The Ohio State University in Animal Science where I worked with some of my most inspiring mentors: Drs. Konrad Dabrowski and Macdonald Wick. After finishing my graduate school, I was awarded a postdoctoral fellowship at University of Insubria in Italy and later followed with another fellowship at The Ohio State again. At that stage I wanted to explore the aquaculture world beyond academia. I first moved to WorldFish – non-profit research organization based in Malaysia where I developed and participated in multiple research projects in Southeast Asia. Working for WorldFish allowed me for the first time to apply my knowledge and expertise directly towards livelihoods in need and helped me better understand the concepts of implementation and outreach. Next, I transitioned to a private sector and worked at Biomar A/S in Scotland – one of largest aquaculture feed companies where I joined the company’s global R&D team first as Product Developer and later as a Scientist. Without a doubt, my work experience for both the non-profit and the corporation gave me a new view of the aquaculture field, its significance, global impact, but also its complexity. This experience allowed me to recognize that strong collaboration and effective communication between private and public stakeholders are key in ensuring that common goals are achieved to help the industry move forward. With that new knowledge I decided to return to academia and since 2018 I have been in positions of assistant and associate professor at Southern Illinois University and currently in position of assistant professor at the University of New Hampshire where I have established an externally funded research programs in aquaculture.