Prof. Dan Macqueen

Personal Chair of Integrative Fish Genomics

My interests span genomics, genome biology, evolutionary biology, animal health, immunology, and pathogens. I apply my research towards improvements in the aquaculture sector. I work mostly on fishes and their pathogens, and am particularly interested in the salmonid family, where all species share an ancestral whole genome duplication.

After winning a BBSRC sLoLa project (see rediploidisation.org), my taxonomic horizons have greatly expanded in the context of understanding evolution following whole genome duplication events across the tree of life.

Research interestS

I collaborate with many truly awesome scientists around the world, more than I can list here!

Biography

I graduated with a first class BSc in Marine Biology from the University of Plymouth in 2003. I moved to St Andrews in 2004 to start a NERC-funded PhD project, under the supervision of Prof. Ian Johnston FRSE, investigating the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying phenotypic plasticity during muscle development in Atlantic salmon. I gained a love for salmonids and the complexity that duplicated genomes brings to evolution. After gaining a PhD in 2008, I stayed on in St Andrews for post-doctoral positions before moving to the University of Aberdeen in 2013 as a Lecturer. I was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2015 and to a Readership in 2018.

In late 2018, I moved to my current role at the Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh, where I am a Group Leader. I was promoted to Personal Chair of Integrative Fish Genomics in 2020. From March to September 2022, I acted as the Head of the (former) Division of Genetics and Genomics. From October 2022 to December 2024, I was the Head of the Division of Genome Biology.

outside of work

Outside work, I am involved in a life-long collaboration with Ruth Macqueen (#legend), with the overarching objective to raise our two children - I enjoy running, though often injured, and the odd dram of fine whisky.

Google Scholar

Researchgate

Email - daniel.macqueen@roslin.ed.ac.uk

Internal leadership roles

Academic Lead for Roslin Institute Genomics Platform (Core Facility)

Theme leader for Institutional Strategic Programme 'Genes & Traits for Health Animals'

External positions and responsibilities

2026- Reviewer for Genome Canada Natural Resources Initiative
2026- International Evaluation Panel of Experts. EUPAHW (European Partnership on Animal Health and Welfare) External Call 2026.
2020-2026. BBSRC Pool of Experts
2025-2027. Royal Society Research Grants Committee (Biological Sciences)
2025. PhD External Examiner. University of Aarhus.
2025. PhD External Examiner. University of Oslo.
2023, 2024, 2025, 2026. Panel Member. Genome BC. GeneSolve Program.
2024. Scientific Committee for fifth International Conference on the Integrative Biology of Salmonids.
2023. PhD External Examiner. University of Tasmania
2023. PhD External Examiner. Institute of Aquaculture, University of Stirling.
2022. Panel Member. Genome BC. Genomic Innovation for Regenerative Agriculture, Food and Fisheries Program.
2022. Committee member - Habilitation Defence - Camille Berthelot (Institut Pasteur)
2022. PhD External Examiner. Animal Breeding and Genomics Group, Wageningen University
2021 & 22. Panel Member. Norwegian Research Council. Collaborative & Knowledge Building call.
2019-2023 Co-coordinator of £5.3M European Commission H2020 Project ‘AQUA-FAANG: Advancing European Aquaculture by Genome Functional Annotation’.
2019. PhD External Examiner. Department of Integrative Biology. The University of Guelph.
2019. Panel Member. Joint BBSRC-NERC GCRF Research Translation Call
Chair of local organisation committee for the fourth International Conference on the Integrative Biology of Salmonids. Edinburgh, Nov 2019 (https://www.icisb.org/)
2019. Chair of Evaluation Committee for Associate Professor position in functional genomics, Norwegian University of Life Sciences
2018-2022: Editorial Board Member, G3: Genes|Genomes|Genetics
2018. PhD External Examiner. The Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh.
2018. Panel Member for Norwegian Research Council. BIOTEK2021 call for Projects associated with "Digital life – Convergence for Innovation".
2017. PhD External Examiner. Institute of Marine Research, University of Bergen.
2016. PhD External Examiner. Department of Zoology, University of Oxford.
2016. Panel Member. ERA-Net COFASP-Marine Biotechnology projects (third call) (under EU 7th Framework Programme).
2016. Panel Member for Norwegian Research Council. BIOTEK2021 call for Optimization Projects.
2016. Panel Member for Norwegian Research Council. BIOTEK2021 call for Projects associated with "Digital life – Convergence for Innovation".
Grant reviewer for e.g.: BBSRC, NERC, ANR, Leverhulme Trust, Genome BC, NSERC, DEFRA, Norwegian Research Council, Flanders (Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek - Vlaanderen, FWO), Israel Science Foundation, Austrian Science Fund, Graduate Women in Science and the Physiological Society.
Peer reviewer for e.g. Current Biology, Cell, Science Advances, Cell Reports, Molecular Biology and Evolution, Genome Biology, Genome Research, Nature Communications, Genome Biology and Evolution, Microbial Genomics, Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, GigaScience, Evolution, Proceedings B, Evolutionary Applications, BMC Genomics, BMC Evolutionary Biology, Heredity, Proteomics, J. Proteomics, Molecular Ecology, Molecular Ecology Resources (among many others).

recent invited talks

2026. 'Genome Duplications and Evolution'. Scheduled talk for International Symposium on Genomics, Epigenomics and Evolution, 24th Nov 2026. Part of Wallace Exhibition, Lugo, Spain.

2026. 'Whole genome duplication -- a force in evolution'. Seminar at the Institute of Genetics and Cancer. 1st October 2026. Hosted by Professor Wendy Bickmore.

2026. 'The well-trodden path from whole genome duplication to new genes is through rediploidisation'. International Polyploidy Conference, Wageningen, Netherlands, 6-9th Sept 2026.

2026. 'Unlocking the potential of genome duplication during evolution through rediploidisation'. Edinburgh One Health Genomics Community Meeting 2026. 16th June 2026, Edinburgh.