4th Congress of the International Society of Fish and Shellfish Immunology

WELCOME to the 4th International Conference of Fish and Shellfish Immunology. We invite you to come and share the latest and most important findings on the immunology of aquatic organisms with the most relevant researchers in the field, at this scientific congress of the International Society of Fish & Shellfish Immunology. Hundreds of international delegates representing researchers and students from universities, research institutions, and industry have continuously participated in the previous editions of this event. The aim is to reduce disease in aquatic animals including farmed fish and shellfish, improve animal welfare, reduce the impact of antibiotics on the environment through vaccination, and ultimately produce a superior market product for the consumer. The next meeting will be hosted by Nord University in Bodø, Norway, on December 12-15, 2022. The Nordland Region as a well-recognized international hub for aquaculture research and development guarantees the active and vibrant participation of several stakeholders keen to listen to the latest advances in the field and seek new networking opportunities. The conference will last for 4 days and will consist of plenary lectures, and oral and poster presentations covering a wide range of topics including immunology, molecular biology, and microbiology. We proactively encourage the participation of undergraduate, and graduate (MS/Ph.D.) students and young researchers.

Aquaculture is recognized globally as the fastest-growing food-producing sector for human consumption. However, satisfying increasing international demand will necessarily involve implementing innovative actions in production while also targeting effective health control measures and considering animal welfare. Diet, environment, and host genotype have been repeatedly demonstrated to play an essential role in defining the fish gut composition. However, only a few studies have examined the association between disease severity and dysbiosis shift in cultured fish and shellfish. Likewise, the management of pathogens and parasites remains a sustainability challenge industry-wide due to poor understanding of the associated fish immune mechanism across species, and the effects of climate change on aquaculture remain uncertain and complex to validate. While these concepts are not necessarily new, applying modern high-throughput sequencing approaches and state-of-the-art immune techniques will accelerate our understanding of the complex trophic structures, the host recognition systems within aquaculture species and systems, and the effect of an intervention on eventual health outcomes allowing aquaculture to benefit from parallel advances in related disciplines. In the 4th CISFSI, the issues presented above will be approached following ten broad thematic areas: -Crustacean Immunology; -Fish Immunology; -Molluscan immunology; -Interactions between the microbiota and the immune system; -Neuro-immune interactions; -Immunostimulants, adjuvants & vaccines; -Nutritional modulation of immune function; -Stress and immune function; -Fish and shellfish functional genomics; -and, New technologies for immune system evaluation. On each day of the congressan an invited academic expert will conduct plenary talks. The scientific community will use it as a guideline for discussion, though variated stakeholders will also have a fundamental role. Proceedings published further.