Michael Kent

Professor @ Oregon State University

    After receiving his PhD in Comparative Pathology at the University of California, Davis, in 1985, Dr. Kent began his research on diseases of netpen-reared salmon in Washington State while working at the Battelle Marine Research Laboratory. He joined Fisheries and Oceans Canada at the Pacific Biological Station in 1988, where he ultimately became the Head of the Fish Health and Genetics Section. Over his time at the PBS (1988-1999), his research focus was on diseases of netpen-reared salmon, and he discovered and described important diseases such as netpen liver disease and plasmacytoid leukemia, and contributed to our fundamental understanding of Kudoa-related softflesh. He has published over 300 peer-reviewed scientific papers and book chapters, and amongst these are 81 (including 2 books) are on diseases of netpen-reared salmon.

    Dr. Kent has been a Professor at Oregon State University since 1999, where he continues his research on diseases of salmonids and zebrafish. He served on the Cohen Commission in 2011, where he provided the technical report “Infectious diseases and potential impacts on survival of Fraser River sockeye salmon”.