Mr. Vikash Kumar

Vikash Kumar was born in Patratu, Jharkhand, India. He completed his Bachelor’s degree in Fisheries Science (B.F.Sc.) at the College of Fisheries, Central Agricultural University, India. He obtained his Master’s degree in Fisheries Science (M.F.Sc.) in fish health specialization from the ICAR-Central Institute of Fisheries Education (ICAR-CIFE), India. Later, he moved to Belgium and started his PhD at the Laboratory of Aquaculture & Artemia Reference Center (ARC), Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Belgium, in 2016. The findings from his Ph.D. thesis are published in 12 peer-reviewed journals, and he presented the scientific outputs of his research at international congresses. He obtained a patent on means to detect whether acute hepatopancreatic necrosis disease-causing vibrio parahaemolyticus is virulent or non-virulent, European patent office filing number - EP 19197064.9, UGent ref: P2019/035 - Vibrio toxin. During his Ph.D. research, he supervised the work of four Master’s students. Afterward, he joined the ICAR-Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute, Kolkata, India, as a scientist. Currently, he is working on metagenomics profiling of floodplain wetlands for ecosystem health monitoring and the development of management protocols to control disease in the aquaculture system.