News Splash Issue 19 Spring 2025

Letter from the NewsSplash Editor

Welcome, IZFS members new and old, to the Spring 2025 News Splash. I am excited to introduce some new members to the editorial team and with them some new sections that I hope you will enjoy reading. New team members Dr. Yevgenya Grinblat (University of Wisconsin, Madison) and Dr. Pascale Bomont (INSERM, Lyon – France) introduce a new section on Zebrafish in Translational Research by highlighting Dr. Rita Fior’s zebrafish avatar system for personalized cancer treatment. Meanwhile Maria Blumenkrantz, a Ph.D. student in the Smeeton lab at Columbia University New York and our first early career member introduces a new Career Corner section that highlights alternatives to academic research careers for zebrafish trainees. Maria kicks off her section with an interview with Dr. Sarah Cheeseman, VP of Strategic Partnerships at InVivo Biosystems. Finally, new team member Megan Leask (University of Otago, New Zealand), working with old member Kate Whitlock (University of Valparaiso, Chile) gives the backstory of one of the beautiful images that decorate the header of the IZFS web page. I’d also like to highlight this issue’s Science Spotlight section with articles by volunteer science writers Curtis Boswell, a post-doc in the Giraldez lab at Yale U., and Cynthia Ufuoma Adjekukor, a graduate student in the Childs lab at the University of Calgary. Thanks to Dr. Karuna Sampath for her dedication to mentoring the aspiring science writers who have contributed Science Spotlight articles to the News Splash since 2020!

I look forward to seeing many of you at the IZFS International Zebrafish Conference in Madison in July (early bird registration deadline is April 23^rd). Wishing you all the best in these globally turbulent times.

Cecilia Moens.

Spotlight on Zebrafish in Translational Research

Zebrafish researchers around the world are thinking beyond using the zebrafish to address fundamental questions in developmental biology, and even beyond using zebrafish models to understand the basis of human genetic disease. These researchers are using the zebrafish to discover and optimize treatments for human disease. In this issue of the News Splash, we are introducing a new section that highlights the use of zebrafish in translational research. For this inaugural spotlight we spoke with Dr. Rita Fior, Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown, Lisbon, Portugal,about her zebrafish avatar system for the real-time optimization of cancer treatment.  

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Career Corner: Alternatives to Academia

While pursuing an academic career is a popular choice for those who complete a PhD or postdoctoral fellowship in a zebrafish lab, many successfully apply their skills and knowledge to a variety of other industries. To introduce early-career members of IZFS to the wide range of non-academic career paths available to them, we are launching “Career Corner: Alternatives to Academia”, a new issue where we detail the career trajectories of former zebrafish lab trainees who pursued non-academic positions.    

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Zebrafish Images

As our members may know, a more recent development in the International Zebrafish Website is to incorporate photos that convey the fascinating science being done using zebrafish as a model system for investigation and teaching, as well as celebrating the beauty of zebrafish.  We are pleased to present our top pick for the next edition of the IZFS website banner: a high resolution and high definition image captured by Laura Gutierrez Miranda.

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Science Spotlight

In each issue of the News Splash we invite two early-career members of the zebrafish community to write an article in the newsletter covering recent high-impact zebrafish publications of their choice. If you are interested in participating in this mentored science writing opportunity by writing an article for a future issue, contact Science Spotlight editors Cecilia Moens (cmoens@fredhutch.org) and/or Karuna Sampath (K.Sampath@warwick.ac.uk).

Swim-mune System: The Zebrafish Axillary Lymphoid Organ as a Model for Immune Function
By Dr. Curtis Boswell

Big discoveries can be hidden right under your nose, or in the case of recent work by Castranova et al., right under your gills. The Weinstein group recently made waves in the fish field by identifying and characterizing an entirely new immune organ: the Axillary Lymphoid Organ.  

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An integrated view of single-cell transcriptomics with spatially resolved imaging
By Dr. Cynthia Ufuoma Adjekukor

Since ancient times, biologists have sought to comprehend how cells package into tissues, organs, and finally, an organism. Although every cell has the same DNA, each organ is unique due to the specific gene sets expressed by each cell at distinct times and locations. This question has accelerated the advancement of technology to gain a deeper understanding of gene expression and regulation at the cellular level. The zebrafish has emerged as a valuable model organism for studying embryo and organ development. In the mid-1990s, before the zebrafish genome project and RNA sequencing in the 2000s, tools like microarrays were employed to study gene expression data.

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Meet the PI - Dr. Peng Fei: “Interest is the Best Teacher”

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Member News

Click here to read about fellowships, awards and honors bestowed on zebrafish community members.

19th International Zebrafish Conference (IZFC):

The IZFC has been THE “go to” meeting for the zebrafish community for more than two decades! The 19th International Zebrafish Conference will return to Madison, WI, USA July 9-13, 2025! Register for the meeting today! Early Bird Registration will remain open until April 23rd, 11:59pm CDT. Poster Abstract Submissions Close on May 5, 2025, 11:59pm CDT.

Save the Date! 11th Strategic Conference of Zebrafish investigators (SCZI):

The 11th (Strategic Conference of Zebrafish Investigators (SCZI) will take place January 14-17, 2026, at the National University of Singapore (NUS) in Singapore! The SCZI is designed for zebrafish and medaka principal investigators and intends to create an environment that enables meaningful discussions among zebrafish and other fish model professionals. To learn more about the last SCZI, please visit: https://www.izfs.org/education/past-meetings/10th-strategic-conference-of-zebrafish-investigators. We hope you will plan to join us in 2026 in advancing zebrafish research worldwide!

Upcoming Events

See more about our Community Events on our Community Calendar!

MBL Course - Zebrafish Development and Genetics
July 24 - August 7, 2025
Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA

European Zebrafish Principal Investigators Meeting
April 2-5, 2025
Paris, France

3rd Annual CZRC Meeting
May 6, 2025
Toronto, Canada

Lorentz Workshop: Zebrafish Against Cancer – Towards Clinical Relevance
June 3-6, 2025
Leiden, Netherlands

19th International Zebrafish Conference
July 9-13, 2025
Madison, WI, USA

11th Strategic Conference of Zebrafish Investigators
January 14-17, 2026
Singapore, Singapore

Job Posts

To post to the IZFS Job Board you must be a member. Click here to join. If you have a job to post, please send an e-mail to info@izfs.org

Have an idea for the newsletter or would like to contribute? Contact us at info@izfs.org! We'd love to hear from you!