Moonika Haahr Marana

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My PhD study project deals with a fish pathogen Aeromonas salmonicida, causing a disease  called furunculosis. The aim of the project is to identify immune-relevant antigens from the bacterium and test them as potential vaccine candidates against furunculosis.  

My research subject is fish diseases and fish immunology. I have studied various fish parasites an my special interest is the immune response in fish against parasites and other pathogens. Little is known about the immune system of fish when compared to mammals. The genetic diversity among fish species and adaptions to different environmental factors make this study even more challenging.

I wrote my Master Thesis on the immune response of rainbow trout against a parasitic ciliate Ichthyophthirius multifiliis. I used antibodies targeted against rainbow trout immune cells and gene expression of immune-relevant genes to characterize the immune response against the parasite.

Later on, I have worked with immunohistochemistry technique that is an important tool identifying certain tissue components by means of a specific antigen/antibody reaction. This special binding makes it possible to visualize the distribution and localization of specific cellular components within a cell or a tissue.