PROMOTING SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY BETWEEN INDIA AND THE U.S.
Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Microbiology, Pathology
Michigan State University
Dr. Loch’s lab collaborates closely with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources staff under an initiative entitled “Development and Implementation of a Fish Health Initiative for Michigan Inland and Great Lakes Fisheries” to provide diagnostic services and fish health expertise to the State. Partially based upon these collaborative efforts, the emerging needs of wild and captive fish populations residing in the Great Lakes commonly guide his groups areas of research focus. Ongoing and upcoming research projects include investigations into the disease ecology and epidemiology of microbial pathogens negatively affecting indigenous wild Great Lakes fishes (e.g., lake whitefish, Coregonus clupeaformis; lake sturgeon, Acipenser fulvescens), development and assessment of novel vaccines against diseases hampering aquaculture and hatchery-based fishery conservation efforts, development of novel diagnostic reagents for the improved detection and diagnosis of infectious fish diseases, the development and optimization of alternative fish disease prevention and control methods, and characterizing the causative agents and pathogenesis of emerging diseases of fish.