The Universities of Aberdeen and Stirling have been awarded £830,000 to set up a new research centre for fish immunology.
The new state-of-the-art centre, which will have facilities at both the University of Aberdeen’s Department of Zoology and the Institute of Aquaculture at Stirling, has been funded by the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council (SHEFC).
Scientists from the Universities of Aberdeen and Stirling, and the SERAD Marine Laboratory in Aberdeen will utilise the most up-to-date approaches to identify protein markers on the surface of the cells of the immune system in fish. These will then be used to study the response of fish to infection.
Professor Secombes, of the University of Aberdeen, said that the present understanding of fish immunology is very poor in comparison to that of immunology in humans, so that it is difficult to investigate fish disease and to develop vaccines.
“Fish, especially farmed fish such as salmon, can be dramatically affected by diseases and this has significant consequences for employment in the aquaculture and fishing industries,” he said.
“This new centre will allow us to bring the techniques for studying fish immunology more in line with the advanced knowledge of human immunology.”
University of Aberdeen Principal C Duncan Rice, said: “I am very pleased to see the development of this centre. The Scottish Executive has recognised the importance of fundamental work that will underpin the study of animal diseases.
“We all recognise now the disasters that can befall the agriculture and fishing industries through disease. This centre is especially important to the University of Aberdeen which has a commitment to using the most advanced technologies to support rural economies.”
The Principal of Stirling University, Andrew Miller, commented “I am delighted by the opportunities for collaboration between Aberdeen and Stirling Universities in such an important area. Globally, the aquaculture industry is already tremendously important for food provision.
“The work done by this new centre will also help to assess the contribution of disease to dwindling wild fish stocks and the potential for pollution to affect the immune system of fish.”
