Dr. Thomas Gitterle is a senior scientist with more than 20 years of experience working with genetic improvement programs in aquatic species. He has been associated with several research and breeding companies.

Gitterle was the director of the genetic department at CENIACUA in Colombia from 2005 to 2011. From 2006 to 2011, he was also a senior scientific advisor at Aquaforsk Genetic Center in Norway, where he advised on the breeding programs of many aquatic species in Belize, Ecuador, India and Thailand. In 2011, Gitterle moved to Thailand to head the breeding program at SyAqua Group. Along with his continued work for SyAqua Group in Florida, he is also the breeding and genetic director at Regal Spring Tilapia. Gitterle served on the Scientific Committee of the International Association for Genetics in Aquaculture from 2006 to 2011.

Over the course of his career, Gitterle has always applied advanced technologies to quantitative genetics and genomic selection. One of his special interests is the development of new ways to accurately select for disease resistance. Gitterle is the author of more than 20 scientific articles in indexed journals and two book chapters. He has been a special guest speaker at over 50 international symposiums.

Gitterle received a bachelor's degree in marine biology and a doctoral degree in selective breeding in aquatic species from the University of Life Sciences in Norway (UMB).