Seminar: Prophylaxis of infectious diseases in fish, shrimp and pigs

More about the speakers

Prof. Eric Cox, DVM, PhD
Director of the Laboratory of Immunology
Chair of the Department Translational Physiology, Infectiology and Public Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University

• Graduated in 1983 as doctor in Veterinary Medicine at the University of Gent. He became appointed as professor Immunology in 1993.
• His main research topic is the intestinal mucosal immune system of animals and how to activate this using innovative vaccination strategies.
• His research group uses the knowledge on mucosal immunity to study the host-pathogen interaction at the intestinal mucosa of F4 enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC), F18 shigatoxin-producing E. coli, Toxoplasma gondii and Chlamydia species in pigs, and Toxoplasma gondii, enterohemorrhagic E. coli in sheep and calves, which resulted among others in the discovery of the intestinal receptors for F4 and F18 ETEC and 3 patents on innovative strategies to prevent infection. More recently, food allergy and desensitization strategies are studied.
• Eric Cox is author or co-author of more than 280 publications in refereed journals and 6 book chapters. He has been promotor of 45 PhD theses and has given more than 145 oral presentations on national and international conferences.

Prof. Daisy Vanrompay, DVM, PhD
Director of the Laboratory of Immunology and Animal Biotechnology
Director of the National Diagnostic Reference Laboratory for Chlamydia psittaci Infections in Humans
Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University

• Daisy Vanrompay graduated in 1990 as doctor in Veterinary Medicine at Ghent University. She became appointed as professor in Immunology and Animal Biotechnology in 2000. Daisy is Director of the Laboratory of Immunology and Animal Biotechnology at Ghent University and Director of the National Diagnostic Reference Laboratory for C. psittaci Infections in Humans.
• She is a member of PROVAXS, the UGhent Center for Strategic
  Prophylaxis and Vaccine Development and of BlueUGENT, a research consortium for sustainable Aquaculture. She is also a member of the UGent ‘One Health’ research consortium.
• Here research involves: i) the development of new molecular diagnostic methods for identifying bacterial pathogens in both humans and animals, ii) unravelling the cellular and molecular pathogenesis of bacterial infections, and iii) gaining insight in the induction of protective mucosal immunity.
• The laboratory focuses on Chlamydia infections in humans and animals, Escherichia coli infections in ruminants and chickens and Vibrio spp infections in aquatic animals. In vitro and in vivo models are used to study bacterium host interactions in order to develop innovative prophylactic tools such as virulence blockers, novel antimicrobials and genetic vaccines.
• Daisy Vanrompay is author or co-author of over 150 papers in refereed journals and of 15 book chapters. She received 6 scientific awards and was promotor of 36 PhD students.