Introducing the SAIC Science Panel: Meet Pieter

In this instalment we hear from Professor Pieter van West, a mycologist specialising in Saprolegnia.

The SAIC Science Panel is a group of highly experienced scientists who will help us drive applied research and innovation in Scottish aquaculture. This interview series introduces you to each panel member, providing insight into their background, experience, and opinions.

TACKLING SAPROLEGNIA

Pieter - or Prof. Dr. Ir. Pieter van West FRSE FRSB, to give him his full title - is Dutch, but has lived in Scotland’s ‘Granite City’ since 1998. He obtained his PhD in Molecular Plant Pathology at the Wageningen University in the Netherlands, whereupon he moved to Aberdeen. In 2000, Pieter was awarded a Royal Society University Research Fellowship to investigate “Fundamental molecular processes in oomycete pathogens”, and he was given a Chair in Mycology at the University of Aberdeen in 2012.

Based at the University of Aberdeen, Pieter’s research laboratory investigates Saprolegnia and other oomycete pathogens of plants, algae and animals, in particular fish. Most of the research undertaken centres on the ecology and the infection process of this fungal-like pathogen and how we can reduce its impact both on aquaculture and in our natural environment. Pieter has a particular interest in developing novel methods to control diseases in fish farming in order to make the sector as sustainable as possible.

In fact, says Pieter, despite the challenges it presents to the sector, “my favourite aquatic species has to be Saprolegnia parasitica, since I have dedicated most of my research to tackling the problems it can create.”

AN IMPORTANT CONVERSATION

When asked what set him on the path to working with our sector, Pieter recalls that it was a conversation with Professor Christopher Secombes that opened his eyes to the world of aquaculture. For those readers who do not know him, Chris Secombes is an internationally renowned fish immunologist, a Regius Chair of Natural History and an Emeritus Professor at the University of Aberdeen and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. With this track record, it is little wonder that he inspired Pieter’s interest in aquaculture.

A RETURN TO THE PANEL

Pieter already has extensive experience of working with SAIC. Notably, he chaired the independent science panel for several years in its former iteration, when SAIC was hosted by the University of Stirling. We asked what inspired him to continue his membership on the panel now that SAIC is an independent entity, and Pieter replies: “It is very interesting to see what innovative applications are put forward to make the industry more resilient and more sustainable. I hope that I can aid in identifying the best applications in each funding round.”

Team SAIC is extremely grateful to the busy scientists who devote time and expertise to assess the research we fund. However, we also hope our panellists themselves may derive some value from their involvement. Given his past experience of this work, what benefits does Pieter expect to gain from being part of the panel this time? “I hope to stay informed about the latest research ideas, trends and innovation technologies that may help the industry in the future,” he says.

Among those trends and developments, Pieter thinks AI and better ways to improve survivability will be of great importance. He believes the biggest tasks for the sector over the next decade will be to reduce mortalities due to disease and other challenges, and to develop sustainable feeds and new practices that will allow aquaculture to flourish.

Maintaining and improving social licence is always going to be important to the industry, too – especially where people seek simple answers to complex problems. “We need to educate and keep sharing what we know,” says Pieter, “and to fight every single ‘alternative fact’.”

LIVING AND GROWING

We wanted to know if there was anything outside of Pieter’s scientific life we could highlight, for example a hobby or interest from the humanities field. It turns out he has a passion for old prints and paintings, in particular from the Hague School (a group of artists working in the mid- to late 1800s, nicknamed the ‘Grey School’ because of its use of muted shades), fauvism (a French post-impressionist art movement from the early 1900s, known for bright colours and rough brushstrokes), and impasto oil paintings of landscapes and nature (a technique where the paint is applied in thick layers onto the canvas, creating three-dimensional textures).

Pieter also loves cultivating and propagating irises, and an alternative career he could see himself as an arable farmer or horticulturist.

Our final questions for Pieter are firstly to do with the best advice he has ever received, and secondly what his superpower would be. The former comes in the shape of a Dutch saying: “People suffer more from the suffering they fear, than from that which actually comes to pass.” Pieter’s second answer reveals a very ambitious superpower to have on one’s wish-list, but perhaps the most important one there is: “To stop poverty in the world and end all wars.”

We’re very grateful to Pieter for sharing his thoughts and insights with us. You can read his bio on the SAIC website here.