grahamy@u.washington.edu
(206) 543-4291
Prospective graduate students may contact Graham about possible research opportunites.
The Making of Graham Young
My formal training is in the area of comparative endocrinology—the evolution and function of hormone-based signalling systems. For my doctoral degree, I conducted electron microscopy studies on the fish pituitary at the University of Sheffield, U.K., under the supervision of Professor John Ball. My first postdoctoral position was in Professor Yoshitaka Nagahama’s laboratory at the National Institute for Basic Biology, Okazaki, Japan where I worked on the role of the somatic cell layers surrounding oocytes in producing bioactive steroid hormones. I then spent a number of years in Professor Howard Bern’s lab at the University of California, Berkeley. At Berkeley, I worked on a number of studies in areas including the hormonal control of the salmon parr-smolt transformation, understanding the phenomenon of stunting in juvenile salmon in seawater net pens, the regulation of secretion of the stress hormone, cortisol, teleost osmoregulation, characterization of hormone receptors, and ecotoxicology of the striped bass.
From 1989-2002 I was a member of faculty in the Department of Zoology, University of Otago, New Zealand where my lab mainly concentrated on using eels and salmonid fishes as models for studying the endocrinology of development, stress, osmoregulation and reproduction. We also performed several studies into growth and reproduction of marine finfish species that were potential candidates for aquaculture. Collaborative projects ranged from stress and behavior in farmed deer, reproduction in penguins, and stress and immune responses in ferrets. I also worked with the Australian and New Zealand salmon industry and continue to have a working relationship with several companies in programs to accelerate and synchronize spawning of broodstock.
From 2002-2004 I was on faculty in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Idaho, where my lab’s major focus was on reproduction of teleost fishes, focussing largely on the role of hormones in male and female germ cell development, and the regulation of expression of reproduction-related genes.
Research Interests
My interests are in the fundamental regulatory mechanisms driving reproduction, developmental processes such as the salmonid parr-smolt transformation and eel metamorphosis, and the stress response. A major focus of my current research is on reproduction of teleost fishes, largely targeting the role of hormones in male and female germ cell development, and the regulation of expression of reproduction-related genes. We have begun several lines of research into the effects of endocrine-disrupting contaminants on salmonid fishes. We are also undertaking studies that may ultimately result in the ability to measure physiological variables in migrating fish through data gathering via PIT tags.
My lab also conducts work related to aquaculture. We have worked with industry on accelerating and synchronizing maturation in salmonids, investigated induced maturation/spawning protocols for eels and assessed growth and reproduction in the several fish candidate fish species for aquaculture. In addition to my SAFS faculty position, I am also Executive Director of the Western Regional Aquaculture Center (WRAC), which is hosted by SAFS. WRAC is funded by the USDA and supports multi-state research into sustainable aquaculture in the 12 states of the western region.