Zebra Fish Labs

Washbourne Lab

The brain of an adult human is composed of approximately 100 billion neurons and 1 quadrillion (1,000 trillion) synapses, or connections between neurons. The huge number of neuronal connections leads to the amazing complexity of consciousness, but it also creates a vast potential for developmental errors. Philip Washbourne and his colleagues hope that studying the zebra fish brain can lead to treatments or even cures for a wide variety of human cognitive impairments. Because zebra fish embryos are transparent, the lab can study the mechanisms of synapse formation in vivo (i.e., within a living body). Washbourne and his team hope to pinpoint the connections between synapse formation and developmental disorders such as autism. Visit the Washbourne lab website.

Westerfield Lab

Monte Westerfield’s lab seeks to understand how embryonic neurons are assigned specific roles during embryonic development. He and his team study sensory systems and the underlying mechanisms that cause neurons to acquire specific properties. Using zebra fish and a combination of anatomical, physiological, molecular and genetic techniques, they hope to elucidate the mechanisms that regulate the establishment of specific neuronal cell fates during normal development as well as the mechanisms that can lead to disease. Their current projects include studying the molecular genetics of ear and eye development. In particular, they are using zebra fish to study models of Usher syndrome, the leading cause of deaf-blindness in humans.  Visit the Westerfield lab website.

Postlethwait Lab

The genetic repair mechanisms within our cells are essential to human health. Errors in DNA repair can lead to cancer and other serious diseases. To improve our understanding of these vital intracellular processes, John Postlethwait and his colleagues study the evolution of zebra fish gene networks, along with the development of the reproductive process and the skeleton. Postlethwait’s research could lead to therapies for a wide variety of genetic ailments, including Fanconi’s anemia, a disease that affects DNA repair. Fanconi’s anemia, inherited by humans as a recessive trait, can lead to skeletal anomalies (e.g., short stature), microcephaly (i.e., abnormal smallness of the head) and an increased risk of leukemia. Visit the Postlethwait lab website.

Eisen Lab

Judith Eisen and her research team study the development of neurons in the zebra fish spinal cord. They seek to understand how nerve cells learn their specific roles during embryonic development. They have developed techniques for labeling individual neurons and then watching their development in living embryos. By transplanting single neurons to new locations, they hope to learn when these cells acquire their identities. They have also conducted a variety of screening tests for genes involved in determining the fates of identified neurons. Their goal is to understand the cellular, genetic and molecular mechanisms that govern embryonic cell fate. The Eisen lab also uses the same types of techniques to study neural crest cells, progenitors of the peripheral nervous system. Visit the Eisen lab website.

Guillemin Lab

Karen Guillemin and her team investigate the molecular interactions between bacteria and host cells. Microorganisms are commonly thought of in terms of their capacity to cause infectious disease, but many microbes, such as those that reside in the human gut, confer important benefits on their hosts such as promoting normal tissue development. To shed light on complex host-microbe relationships, Guillemin and colleagues study the bacterium Helicobacter pylori, a pathogen of the human stomach that is associated with a number of diseases including gastric cancer. In addition, they have pioneered a germ-free zebra fish model—a sterilized control group that allows them to observe the benefits of a resident microbial population on zebra fish development. Visit the Guillemin lab website.

Kimmel Lab

Charles Kimmel’s lab focuses on the development of the zebra fish skeletal system. By investigating the behaviors of skeleton-forming cells in embryonic zebra fish, he and his colleagues hope to gain a better understanding of how and why these cells grow into bone and cartilage of specific shapes and sizes, as well as what governs the growth and reshaping of skeletal elements as they develop. A combination of genetic and environmental factors can lead to defects in skeletal development, resulting in malformed cartilage and bone. Kimmel’s work could eventually lead to effective treatments for a variety of human skeletal defects, such as cleft palate. Visit the Kimmel lab website.