Jacinta Agius is a PhD Candidate (supervised by Professor Karla Helbig) working towards developing anti-viral therapeutics against Haliotid herpesvirus (HaHV-1) in Australian abalone while also deepening our current understanding of the anti-viral innate immune response of these animals. Through collaborations with industry partners, a major focus of Jacinta's work is optimising an immune priming strategy for use in aquacultural facilities. Since graduating in 2019 with a Bachelor of Animal and Veterinary Bioscience and a Master of Science in 2021, Jacinta has become highly interested in anti-viral innate-immune pathways in animals which is driven by her goal of strengthening Australia’s biosecurity and aquaculture industry.