5th International Conference held in Tainan, Taiwan from November 4th to 8th, 2025^th At the Conference of the International Society of Fish and Shellfish Immunology, graduate student Guruge Aika Tarindi won the Fish & Shellfish Immunology Abstract Award.

【Winner】
Guruge Aika Tarindi (1st year doctoral student, Applied Life Sciences, Graduate School of Marine Science and Technology)

[Title of award-winning research]
Transportation of bacterial antigens in the rainbow trout intestine

[Details of award-winning research]
　"Aquaculture vaccines" are a widely used preventive method for reducing the damage caused by infectious diseases in fish. However, administering vaccines by injection requires enormous labor costs, so there is a need to develop safer and simpler vaccination methods. Guruge has shown that vaccines administered to the digestive tract of fish are taken up by goblet cells and macrophages in the intestinal epithelium. These research results will make a significant contribution to the development of oral (feeding) vaccine technology for fish, and are expected to lead to the production of safe and secure farmed fish that do not rely on antibiotics.

Award recipients Rowena Cadiz (second from left) and Guruge Aika Tarindi (third from left) with laboratory members who participated in the 5th International Conference on Fish and Seafood Immunology.

<Related links>
5th Conference of the International Society of Fish and Shellfish Immunology