UGOT is one of Sweden’s major universities, with a staff of 5.100, of which 2.400 are teachers/researchers. There are 40.000 undergraduate students and 2.600 PhD-students enrolled. The current budget is 450 M€ of which a third is external funding. The university has a strong marine profile, with two renowned marine biology research stations and a number of research vessels. The Department of  Zoology/Zoophysiology is a prominent Swedish research centre on integrative and comparative physiology, focusing on environmental, neuronal and endocrine regulatory mechanisms of a broad range of physiological functions at molecular, cellular, organ and organismal levels. The  Fish Endocrinology Laboratory is dedicated to research on endocrine control of important physiological processes in fish, especially in salmonids and marine species such as Atlantic cod and halibut. The laboratory has established a broad range of state-of-the art techniques within this research field. Led by Prof. Thrandur Björnsson, it currently consists of five research scientists (two full professors), six doctoral students, a lab technician and a number of undergraduate students. The group focuses on several key endocrine regulatory systems, in particular on the complex growth hormone - insulin-like growth factor I system, and its regulation of growth, development, energy metabolism, osmoregulation, appetite and behaviour. The research is funded by the Swedish Research Council for Environment, Agricultural Sciences and Spatial Planning (FORMAS), the Norwegian Research Council (NFR), as well as the Quality of Life and Management of Living Resources (QOL) program of the European Commission.