About IIM

The Institute of Marine Research (IIM-CSIC) is one of the main marine research centers in the Iberian Peninsula. Looking at the Atlantic from Vigo, a city with a strong connection with the sea, the IIM-CSIC faces the challenge of increasing our knowledge about the ocean, from its physical characteristics to the food we take from it and the processes that bind the whole system together.

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Research

Research is at the core of the Institute of Marine Research's work. Working along 3 Core Research Themes, which intertwine and connect to each other, the researchers and technicians at the IIM-CSIC look for answers within 9 different research lines.

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Innovation

While our research provides us with new knowledge about our sea and shores, at the Institute of Marine Research we are committed to go a step further, creating new collaborations with the industry and other economic activities, be they already 'established' industries, such as fisheries or aquaculture, or 'emerging' ones, such as ocean observation.

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Society

Science is not complete until it is shared with society. As a public research institution, the IIM understands that its commitment is with society, fostering a two-way relationship with its surrounding community and an open perspective on science.

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Work & Study

Marine scientists, lab technicians, biologists, chemists and engineers, but also economists, lawyers or communicators (both working and in training) contribute to the interdisciplinary nature of our center. With more than 200 employees, the IIM-CSIC is a large community of people who work together for the sake of science, knowledge and sustainability.

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News & Events

Do you want to be aware of the latest at the IIM? The Institute has a whole team involved in communication & outreach, sharing all news that arise and organizing events to reach all sectors of society: from other peers working in science to children in schools or our neighbors from Vigo.

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Imagen de

Laura
Casas
Castaño

PostDoc Researcher
Research groups
Services
Email
lauracasas@iim.csic.es
Telephone
986 23 19 30 ext. 438523
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6617-8731

Short bio

My research interests involve the use of genomic and transcriptomic tools to unveil the molecular mechanisms underlying sex determination and regulation of gonad development in fish to understand the huge plasticity and diversity displayed by this group of animals. I also use the genome-wide signals generated by these cutting-edge technologies for ecological and evolutionary studies at different functional levels: ecosystem, communities and individuals. My PhD addressed the identification and isolation of sex-specific DNA markers in marine fish of interest in aquaculture, in order to unveil the genetics behind commercially desirable traits. I then spent a two-year postdoctoral period in Singapore where I studied the genetic regulation of the scale pattern in cyprinids, and later moved to Saudi Arabia for three years to study the genetic mechanism underlying sex change in clownfish through transcriptomics. Four years ago, I joined the Fisheries Ecology group at the IIM where I have been mainly working on applying new genomic tools to improve fisheries and fish stocks assessments. I use these tools to estimate abundance and other demographic parameters of exploited fish populations, to infer connectivity and stock structure or to explore biodiversity and abundance of fish from seawater (eDNA). These tools have also served me to explore the genomic architecture of an incipient speciation event between two sympatric fish color morphs or to infer the mechanism driving the seasonal aggregation of elasmobranchs at a coastal site.

Related research lines

Related projects