Janina Costa

Background:

My scientific career has centred on aquaculture research, particularly fish health, and more recently on innovation management and stakeholder engagement. My interest in aquaculture and fish health began during my undergraduate studies in Marine Biology. I started my research career with a young researcher fellowship focused on the diagnosis of bacterial and parasitic diseases in Gilthead seabream, European seabass and Senegalensis sole.

My PhD research focused on B-cell epitopes in fish nodavirus, where I developed expertise in fish virology, immunology, vaccine development, monoclonal antibody and aquatic disease diagnostics. Following my PhD, I worked across academia, industry and consultancy roles in the UK and Spain. At the Institute of Aquaculture and later at the Moredun Research Institute, I worked on and co-managed research projects on salmon cardiomyopathies, seabass and tilapia diseases, diagnostic tool development, and vaccines targeting viruses, bacteria and sea lice. My work also included the discovery of biomarkers for salmon cardiomyopathies. Alongside research I established and managed virology and cell culture laboratories and supervising students and technical staff. I was also taught the Pathology module of the Master in Aquaculture and Fisheries (University of Algarve) from 2011-2016,

Alongside my scientific research, I developed extensive experience in project management, research funding and stakeholder collaboration. As a Fish Health Consultant in Tenerife, I worked closely with fish farmers, government agencies and trade bodies to implement health monitoring programmes and provide technical advice to the aquaculture industry. More recently, at the Sustainable Aquaculture Innovation Centre (SAIC), I managed a diverse portfolio of innovation projects funded through UK and international programmes, supporting collaborations between academia, industry and government to develop impactful research and innovation initiatives for the aquaculture sector.

I am currently the Project Scientific Officer for the BBSRC Business and Academia Prosperity Partnership project Drivers of Salmon Robustness (SalmoStrong), a collaboration between the Roslin Institute and Mowi.

[1998] BSc (Hons) in Marine Biology and Fisheries (University of Algarve)
[2003] MSc in Aquaculture (University of Algarve)
[2005] PhD in Aquatic Veterinary Sciences (University of Stirling)
[2005-2007] Research Assistant and Immunology Technician (Institute of Aquaculture, University of Stirling)
[2008-2013] Fish Health Consultant (Centro de Investigaciones Medioambientales del Atlántico, Tenerife, Spain)
[2013-2022] Postdoctoral Scientist / Research Scientist / Operational Manager (Moredun Research Institute, Edinburgh)
[2022-2025 ] Aquaculture Innovation Officer (Sustainable Aquaculture Innovation Centre – SAIC)Bottom of Form

Favourite aquaculture species

Senegalensis sole, the first love. Tilapia, since it makes an impact in the world.

Interests, hopes and dreams

Outside work I’m interested I like outdoors with walks on not that hard Munros and spend time with my family and my dog Ella. I cannot survive without holidays in sunny places with if they have some nice historical places to visit better.

I hope I can keep working towards what make aquaculture so interesting so many years ago – producing fish to be enjoyed by everyone.