In May 2019 the PaConDAA team were deeply saddened to learn of the untimely passing of our friend and colleague Dr Valerie Smith. Valerie had dedicated her career to comparative immunology and, in particular, creating an improved mechanistic understanding of the crustacean immune system.

Her early work on the crustacean prophenoloxidase enzyme system transformed the way in which invertebrate immune systems were viewed and precipitated a new wave of research in the field, much of which underpinned the approach taken by the PaConDAA team as we seek to develop mechanistic insights into host virus interactions in cultured crustaceans. Her contributions to our project and the wider field of research will persist long into the future.