Rate My Professor Terrence Tiersch

Terrence R. Tiersch is a Professor in the School of Renewable Natural Resources at the Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, where he has held his position since 1999. He also serves as Director of the Aquaculture Germplasm and Genetic Resources Center. Tiersch began his career at LSU in 1992 as Assistant Professor in the School of Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries, advancing to Associate Professor in 1996. Earlier appointments include Postdoctoral Research Associate at the U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service in Stoneville, Mississippi from 1991 to 1992, Visiting Research Fellow in the Reproductive Genetics Laboratories at the University of Tennessee from 1990 to 1992, Van Vleet Fellow in Molecular Genetics at Memphis State University from 1988 to 1990, Research Fellow at the Center for Reproductive Biology from 1987 to 1989, and Teaching Assistant positions at Idaho State University from 1983 to 1986. He earned his PhD from Memphis State University in 1991, MS from Idaho State University in 1986, and BS from Rochester Institute of Technology in 1981.

Tiersch's research specializations include cryopreservation in aquatic species, genetics and culture of finfish, aquaculture genetics, flow cytometry applications, and transgenic aquatic organisms. He edited the book Cryopreservation in Aquatic Species in 2000 and has authored over 100 peer-reviewed publications, including Sperm cryopreservation in fish and shellfish (2007), A Procedure-Spanning Analysis of Plasma Membrane Integrity as a Metric for Sperm Cryopreservation in the Horse (2016), and Addressing Reproducibility in Cryopreservation, and Establishing Standard Operating Procedures (2018). His contributions have advanced technology development for aquatic germplasm preservation over more than 30 years. Tiersch has received the Funding Catalyst Award for securing over $15 million in extramural funding, certifications as Associate Fisheries Scientist in 1989 and Fisheries Scientist in 1997 by the American Fisheries Society, multiple Teaching Merit Honor Rolls and the Outstanding Researcher Award from the LSU chapter of Gamma Sigma Delta, induction into Gamma Sigma Delta in 1996, and numerous Best Student Presentation awards as major advisor from organizations including the World Aquaculture Society and American Fisheries Society chapters. He has held leadership positions such as President of the Genetics Section of the American Fisheries Society (1997-1998), President of the Louisiana Chapter (2002-2004), and associate editor roles for Transactions of the American Fisheries Society and Journal of the World Aquaculture Society. Tiersch teaches undergraduate and graduate courses including Genetics and Culture of Finfish, Advanced Topics in Fisheries, and Fisheries Seminar.