EGS-ABG : European Graduate School in Animal Breeding and Genetics


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A unique international and professional experience in two European countries


HIGH QUALITY TRAINING LEADING TO A DOUBLE DEGREE FROM EMINENT EUROPEAN INSTITUTIONS


Tailored research and training in animal breeding and genetics

Aim & Objectives

EGS-ABG offers a European programme shaped to train the current and future generations of animal breeders to meet the challenges presented by the increasing demand of food while reducing the impacts on environment and biodiversity. If mastered, the emergence of genomics should provide means to solve this equation. The aim of EGS-ABG is to generate the future key international leaders of the animal breeding and genetics sector, whether for employment in academia or in industry.

The EGS-ABG Consortium involves four leading European Higher Education Institutions in the field of life sciences:

The duration of the doctoral programme is 4 years. It includes carrying out an independent research work on a specific topic (the PhD project). The main characteristics of the PhD project are:

The training activities are jointly organized by the consortium and aim to give to doctoral candidates a high level scientific background in their field of expertise, knowledge in connected fields, an opening on the industry and economic world and a preparation to future employment. During the 4 years of the programme, the activities consist of:

Doctoral candidates who will have successfully completed the programme will be awarded a joint degree or a double degree, according to the context, completed by a diploma supplement. The criteria to be awarded are demanding, ensuring a high recognition of the diploma.

The Erasmus Mundus Joint Doctorate EGS-ABG is finished. The funding period from the European Commission has ended. Therefore there will be no more open applications.

PhD projects & Fellowships

The Erasmus Mundus Joint Doctorate EGS-ABG is finished. The funding period from the European Commission has ended. Therefore there will be no more open applications.

The current Erasmus-Mundus fellowships are:

Category (1) Gross salary (2) (per month) Contribution to participation costs (3) (per month) Contribution to travel and installation (4) (per grant)
A € 2.800 € 600 € 7.500
B € 2.800 € 600 € 3.000

(1) Category A : candidates not originating from a “EU-AREA” country (i.e. one of the 28 EU countries + Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein, Switerland, Turkey, ARYM) and who are not residents nor have carried out their main activity (studies, work, etc.) for more than a total of 12 months over the last five years in one of these countries. The only exception to this rule applies to candidates who have previously received an Erasmus Mundus fellowship to follow an Erasmus Mundus Master Course. Category B : any candidate who does not fulfill the criteria of a category A applicant.

(2) The gross amount is not intended as an employee gross but as an employer gross. Therefore, each partner institution, according its national legislation, will deduct from the monthly amount both the employer’s taxes and the employee’s taxes. The salary of the doctoral candidate will be at least equal to the usual salary of a doctoral candidate in the country of the host institution. Contact local EGS-ABG representatives for information about net salary in each partner country.

(3) This contribution is used to cover the tuition/bench fees, including University fees, costs for the oral defense and thesis printing, contribution to research costs in the host institutions, and costs of the EGS-ABG training activities.

(4) Only applicable for category B applicant if there is a foreseen mobility to Third Country partners / associate members.

The whole fellowship is transfered by EGS-ABG to the “first” host Institution, where the doctoral candidate is employed. Then, the fellowship is used according to the general scheme described in the above table and the local rules.

EGS-ABG PhD projects have a duration of 4 years, whereas the EM fellowships have a duration of 3 years. For each project, the EGS-ABG consortium has secured funds to pay the salary and cover other costs during the fourth year.

Depending on the availability of external funds, other kinds of fellowships could be available.

PhD Projects proposed in 2015

The PhD projects listed below are scheduled to start in September 2015.

In the below list, the first number indicates a simple rank of receipt and the two acronyms refer to the two institutions jointly supervising the project:

Important note
Candidates are informed that, to apply for a given project, they must have a Master degree from a country different from the two countries of the institutions supervising the project.

Applications are closed
N° Topic
2 (SLU-WU) Antibody quality of colostrum and milk in dairy cows and uptake of colostral antibodies in dairy calves: importance for health and production, and potential for genetic selection
3 (WU-SLU) Genetics of seasonal timing in the great tit (Parus major)
4 (AU-APT) Identification of causal factors for recessive genetic defects for embryonic lethality in dairy cattle combining whole exome and genome sequencing
5 (AU-SLU) Quantifying the value of genetically specific organic lines within dairy breeding
6 (WU-SLU) The application of Genomic selection to Genotype by Environment interactions in Nile Tilapia
7 (SLU-APT) Resource allocation in farm animals
8 (APT-SLU) Identification of biomarkers to allow the sustainable breeding for genetic resistance to gastro-intestinal nematodes in small ruminants under a tropical environment
11 (SLU-AU) Genomic evaluation for male fertility in dairy cattle
12 (WU-AU) Development and evaluation of poultry breeding programs for smallholders in Africa
14 (AU-WU) Genetic evaluation of feed efficiency of tropical adapted chicken in Sub-Saharan Africa

Application & Tuition fees

The Erasmus Mundus Joint Doctorate EGS-ABG is finished. The funding period from the European Commission has ended. Therefore there will be no more open applications.

The last cohort of PhD candidates are starting their thesis in September 2015.

Calendar & Deadlines

Indicative Calendar for Application 2015

All candidates have been informed about their status in February 2015. Here you can see the final selection results

APPLICATION TIP - If you are interested in the EGS-ABG programme, we advise you to prepare your application documents as early as possible, even before the call for application, since some documents may be difficult to gather. In particular, the English proficiency test should be anticipated since the test calendar may be constrained according to your home country and candidates may have to wait a few weeks for the results.

FAQ

You will find in this FAQ answers to the most frequent questions about applying to EGS-ABG. Contact us if you need additionnal information (see the Contact page).

Q: How do I apply? What is the deadline?
A: The deadline for application is December 2nd, noon (CET). All candidates must apply using the online application tool.

Q: I have a TOIEC test / an English language certificate from my university / from a private language school: can I use it for my application?
A: No. We need to make sure you have a very good level in English. To do so, we need to know the criteria and grades of your test. This is why we need a recognized test such as TOEFL or IELTS (see the Application page for more details about proving your English level).

Q: I am taking the TOEFL test : which institution code should I use to have my results forwarded directly to the FIPDes Executive Secretary in AgroParisTech ?
A: AgroParisTech is not affiliated to the Educational Testing Service (ETS) which administers the TOEFL test. When applying to FIPDes, please upload your personal results sheet on our online application tool.

Q: I had my diploma more than 2 years ago, but the application says certificates older than 2-year-old will not be accepted. What does it mean?
A: Diploma and certificate are two different things. By diploma, we mean “official diploma from the university”. Some universities deliver the diploma several months/years after the degree has been completed, because editing a diploma takes time.
By certificate, we mean “temporary document from your university saying that you have graduated”. Most universities deliver such a document so that the student can prove he/she has graduated even if the official diploma has not been edited yet.
We accept all diplomas, even if you graduated more than two years ago. But certificates are temporary. If you graduated more than two years ago, you should have your official diploma and not a temporary certificate. This is why in the case that you graduated more than two years ago, we require the diploma and we don’t accept a certificate.

Q: I’m currently undertaking the last year of my Master degree. I will graduate in June. Can I apply to EGS-ABG?
A: Yes. Please enclose to your application the transcripts for your 1st year of Master degree and a document from your university stating that you are currently undertaking the last year of your Master degree and the expected date of graduation.
In case you are selected, you must complete the Master before the start of the programme (September). This means that if you fail to complete your Master degree at the expected date of graduation, your selection will be cancelled.

Q: Where can I find the form for the reference letters?
A: You can download the form after on the EGS-ABG website, on the Application Procedure page (Tuition Fees and Application section).

Q: How many reference letters should I send?
A: Two references letters are expected. If you send more than two, only the first two reference letters will be taken into account.

Q: I wish to upload several documents but there is only one “upload button” per section. What can I do?
A: You can upload only one document for each supporting document, so if you wish to submit several pages (for your transcripts for instance), please create one PDF file with several pages. Please upload the correct document in the correct tab.

Results of the 2015 applications

A total of 165 applications were received on time. This number is the highest number of applications received across the five rounds!

All 132 eligible applications were evaluated by the Selection Committee, with the help of members of the EGS-ABG Consortium.

The 5 applicants with the highest ranking were proposed for an Erasmus-Mundus PhD fellowship (main list). The reserve list comprises 10 other applicants: if a candidate on the main list drops out, then the candidate with the highest ranking on the reserve list will be moved to the main list, taking into account EU regulations and topics availability.

These lists have been validated by the EACEA (the Agency managing Erasmus-Mundus programs). The PhD projects are scheduled to start in September 2015. All candidates have been informed by the EGS-ABG Secretary. Congratulations to the scholarship holders!

Candidates who were granted a fellowship (sorted by category and alphabetic order)

Cat. Name Project Topic
A CHU Tuan Thinh 14-AU-WU Genetic evaluation of feed efficiency of tropical adapted chicken in Sub-Saharan Africa
A CORDERO-SOLÓRZANO Juan 2-SLU-WU Antibody quality of colostrum and milk in dairy cows: importance for health and production, and potential for genetic selection
A DA SILVA Vinicius 3-WU-SLU Genetics of seasonal timing in the great tit (Parus major)
A UDDIN Md Mesbah 4-AU-APT Identification of causal factors for recessive genetic defects for embryonic lethality in dairy cattle combining whole exome and genome sequencing
B ABOSHADY Hadeer 8-APT-SLU Biomarkers allowing the sustainable breeding for genetic resistance to gastro-intestinal nematodes in small ruminants under a tropical environment

Current participants

Group Years No of candidates Spots on the map
1 2011-2015 10 blue
2 2012-2016 6 red
3 2013-2017 9 green
4 2014-2018 5 yellow
5 2015-2019 5 purple

Group 1: 2011-2015


First group of EGS-ABG doctoral candidates, including 7 non-EU candidates and 3 EU candidates.
Paris, September 2011. Photo: E. Verrier

Name Topic Institutions
Nancy AMUZU Utilizing non-additive effects in genomic crossbreeding schemes of laying hens WU - SLU
Sandrine DUCHEMIN Mapping and fine-mapping of genetic factors affecting bovine milk composition WU - SLU
Hadi ESFANDYARI Strategies for using genetic interactions in genomic breeding programs for cross-bred performance AU - WU
Edin HAMZIC Innate and adaptative immune parameters controlling response to coccidiosis in chicken APT - AU
Andre HIDALGO Genetic analysis of performance traits in pigs: exploiting genomic information WU - SLU
Ahmed ISMAEL Genetic variation in sensitivity to environmental changes in dairy cattle AU - SLU
Belén JIMENEZ MENA Comparative analysis of estimators of the effective population size APT - AU
Gabriel ROVERE Sport horses: breeding specialists from a single breeding program? WU - AU
Doreen SCHWOCHOW Molecular identification of colour gene patterns in birds SLU - APT
Irene VAN Den BERG Use of whole sequence data in genomic selection of dairy cattle APT - AU

EGS-ABG employability: Doctoral candidates’ current positions

Name Current position Country
Nancy AMUZU Research scientist under a USAid project “Feed the Future - Genomics to improve poultry” at Iowa State University Netherlands - Sweden - United States
Sandrine DUCHEMIN Postdoctoral position “genomic selection against non-coagulating milk in Swedish Red cows” Sweden
Hadi ESFANDYARI Postdoctoral position at Aarhus University Denmark
Edin HAMZIC Data analyst at SocialExplore Inc. Bosnia-Herzegovina
Andre HIDALGO Researcher at CRV Netherlands
Belén JIMENEZ MENA Postdoctoral position at the Danish Technical University, department of AQUA National Institute of Aquatic Resources, Section for Marine Living Resources Denmark
Doreen SCHWOCHOW Ending her thesis at SLU Sweden
Irene VAN Den BERG Postdoctoral position at the University of Melbourne Australia

EGS-ABG is happy to thank the funders of Group 1:

Group 2: 2012-2016

Name Topic Institutions
Mathieu BESSON Using life cycle assessment to design breeding programs in aquaculture that balance productivity with environmental sustainability WU - APT
LE Hong Thu Breeding for stronger sows: association between leg weakness, fertility and mothering ability of sows SLU - AU
Xiaowei MAO Population level genome wide association studies in dairy cattle AU - SLU
Merina SHRESTHA Identification of the causative genes and mutations for the complex trait insect bite hypersensitivity in the horse SLU - WU
Amabel TENGHE Genetics of fertility with whole genome genotypes imputed from sires sequence information WU - SLU
Gebremedhin WELDERUFAEL Genetic evaluation for resistance to and ability to recover from mastitis SLU - AU

EGS-ABG is happy to thank the funders of Group 2:

Group 3: 2013-2017

Name Topic Institutions
Anoop ARYA Development of an integrative bioinformatic pipeline APT - WU
Sonia EYNARD Genetic erosion and long term genetic improvement WU - APT
Zih-Hua FANG Genomics of bovine milk protein composition APT - WU
Bingjie LI Genomic and phenotypic indicators of feed efficiency SLU - AU
Jovana MARJANOVIC Genetics of social interactions in Aquaculture WU - SLU
Wossenie MEBRATIE Genomics of feed conversion efficiency in poultry AU - WU
Christina ROCHUS Genetics of coat colour and reproduction traits in sheep SLU - APT
Tao XIANG Genomic evaluation with cross-bred and pure-bred animals AU - APT
Qianqian ZHANG Methods of association study for rare variants using NGS AU - WU

EGS-ABG is happy to thank the funders of Group 3:

GROUP 4: 2014-2018

Name Topic Institutions
Gareth DIFFORD Genetic control of methane emission, feed efficiency and metagenomics in dairy cattle AU - WU
Grum GEBREYESUS Fine mapping and genomic selection for detailed milk composition AU - WU
Andrew MARETE Use of large scale cow genotyping to dissect the genetic determinism of complex traits beyond additive effects APT - AU
Maulik UPADHYAY A genomic breeding program that use primitive cattle breeds to re-generate the aurochs WU - SLU
Shizhi WANG Selection for health in purebred dog APT - SLU

EGS-ABG is happy to thank the funders of Group 4:

Group 5: 2015-2019

Name Topic Institution
CHU Tuan Thinh Genetic evaluation of feed efficiency of tropical adapted chicken in Sub-Saharan Africa AU-WU
CORDERO-SOLÓRZANO Juan Antibody quality of colostrum and milk in dairy cows: importance for health and production, and potential for genetic selection SLU-WU
DA SILVA Vinicius Genetics of seasonal timing in the great tit (Parus major) WU-SLU
UDDIN Md Mesbah Identification of causal factors for recessive genetic defects for embryonic lethality in dairy cattle combining whole exome and genome sequencing AU-APT
ABOSHADY Hadeer Biomarkers allowing the sustainable breeding for genetic resistance to gastro-intestinal nematodes in small ruminants under a tropical environment APT-SLU

EGS-ABG is happy to thank the funders of Group 5:

Doctoral courses

Each EGS-ABG doctoral candidate must obtain a minimum of 30 ECTS credits from training activities during his/her PhD studies, with a distribution as follows:

Activity Total No of credits (ECTS) Organizer Place Period
Welcome to EGS-ABG 2 Consortium + local Institution Paris, Aarhus, Uppsala or Wageningen End of September, or October
Fall Research School 2x2=4 Consortium + local Institution Paris, Aarhus, Uppsala or Wageningen End of September, or October
Ethics in research 1.5 Each Institution Paris, Aarhus, Uppsala or Wageningen During the year
Skills improvement courses 6 Each Institution Paris, Aarhus, Uppsala or Wageningen During the year
Advanced scientific courses 16.5 Consortium + Partners or Associated partners According to oragnizer During the year

Course “Welcome to EGS-ABG”

The purpose of the course “Welcome to EGS-ABG” is multiple-fold: to present the content of a doctoral programme in general, the EGS-ABG programme and the common rules adopted by the consortium for diploma awarding, to introduce the main stakes (scientific, technical, economical, ethical, etc.) for the animal breeding sector, and to establish a network between doctoral candidates.


First group of EGS-ABG doctoral candidates plus a part of EGS-ABG staff.
Paris, September 2011. Photo: E. Norberg


First group of EGS-ABG doctoral candidates plus a part of EGS-ABG staff.
Paris, September 2011. Photo: E. Verrier

Partners & contact

EGS-ABG is jointly managed by four leading higher education institutions (red spots on the map), in connection with six associated partners (blue spots on the map) representing international universities, research centres or breeding companies

EGS-ABG Secretary

Clara Berthet and Isabelle Laissy
AgroParisTech
UFR Génétique, Elevage et Reproduction
16 rue Claude Bernard
75231 PARIS cedex 05
France

e-mail: egsabg@agroparistech.fr
Web: www.egsabg.eu

EGS-ABG Consortium

AgroParisTech
Animal Breeding and Genetics Group
16 rue Claude Bernard
75231 Paris 05
France
http://www.agroparistech.fr
Contact persons: Prof. Etienne Verrier, Dr. Thomas Heams, Irina Vassileva
AgroParisTech is member of Agreenium and of ParisTech

Aarhus University
Genetics and Biotechnology Depnt
Research Centre Foulum
P.O. Box 50
8830 Tejle
Denmark
http://www.au.dk/en
Contact persons: Dr. Elise Norberg, Dr. Peter Sørensen

Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Animal Breeding and Genetics Depnt
P.O. Box 7023
75007 Uppsala
Sweden
http://www.hgen.slu.se
Contact persons: Prof. Erling Strandberg, Dr. Susanne Eriksson

Wageningen University
Animal Breeding and Genomics Center
PO Box 338
6700 AH Wageningen
The Netherlands
http:// www.wageningen-ur.nl
Contact persons: Dr. Hans Komen, Prof. Martien Groenen

EGS-ABG Partners

European Forum of Farm Animal Breeders
Dreijenlaan, 2
6703 AH Wageningen
The Netherlands
http://www.effab.info
Contact person: Dr. Marjolein Neuteboom

INRA Jouy-en-Josas Center
Domaine de Vilvert
78350 Jouy-en-Josas
France
http://www.jouy.inra.fr
Contact person: Dr. Muriel Mambrini
INRA is member of Agreenium

Iowa State University of Science and Technology
Department of Animal Science
Kildee Hall 239D
50011 Ames
USA
http://www.iastate.edu
Contact person: Prof. Jack Dekkers

University of Melbourne
Department of Agriculture & Food System
Parkville
3010 Victoria
Australia
http://www.unimelb.edu.au
Contact person: Dr. Mike Goddard

International Livestock Research Institute
Biotechnology Research Theme
P.O. Box 30709
00100 Nairobi
Kenya
http://www.ilri.org
Contact person: Dr. Tadelle Dessie

The WorldFish Center
Department of Agriculture & Food System
Jalan Batu Maung, Batu Maung
11960 Bayan Lepas
Malaysia
http://www.worldfishcenter.org
Contact person: Dr. Raul Ponzoni

EGS-ABG benefit from the input of an International Advisory Board:
Peer Berg (NordGene)
Irene Hoffman (FAO)
Marjolein Neuteboom (EFFAB)
Peter Sandoe (CeBRA)

Coordinator

Prof. Etienne Verrier
AgroParisTech
UFR Génétique, Elevage et Reproduction

EGS-ABG Consortium

The EGS-ABG Consortium met in February 2015 in SLU university in Uppsala in Sweden.
During this yearly Consortium Committee Meeting the new EGS-ABG PhD candidates were selected!

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