Trial lecture
The candidate will first give at trial lecture on the following topic: 'Helper-Less Immunity: Paving the Way to Cod Vaccination Strategies'
Time and place: Sep. 8, 2025 10:15 AM, Nucleus, Bikuben, Kristine Bonnevies hus
Research findings
Atlantic cod can survive in cold, bacteria-rich waters and respond to vaccines, but they lack key immune components that most animals need to make strong, lasting antibodies. This has puzzled scientists for years.
In this project, we developed new research tools to study the cod’s immune system. Using these, we discovered that cod can produce specific antibodies after vaccination that help protect them from disease, even without the typical immune pathways found in mammals.
This is important because cod farming is growing, but vaccines for cod have often worked poorly. Understanding how their immune system works helps us design better vaccines and improve fish health.
Our findings also challenge what we thought we knew about how immune systems must work. Cod show that there are alternative ways to achieve protection.
Therefore, this research helps both fish farming and basic science by revealing how nature can find different solutions to the same problem.
Adjudication committee
Group Leader Tomáš Korytář, Biology Centre CAS, České Budějovice
Senior Researcher & Prof. II Maria K. Dahle, Norwegian Veterinary Institute, UiT
Researcher Sissel Jentoft, Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo
Chair of defense
Prof. Cinzia Progida, Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo
Supervisors
Prof. Finn-Eirik Johansen, Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo
Prof. Shuo-Wang Qiao, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo
Postdoctoral fellow Helle Tessand Baalsrud, Norwegian University of Life Sciences