Workshops Listing

• Thursday, June 21   3:30 PM–5:30 PM

Protein Trap / Insertional Mutagenesis

The purpose of this workshop is to coordinate shared efforts to generate genome-wide protein trap and insertional mutagenesis resources for the zebrafish community, share common technologies such as the deployment of next-gen sequencing of insertion sites, and develop plans for group efforts such as the Zebrafish Phenome Project.

Insertional mutagenesis approaches including retroviral vectors and protein trapping are expanding with new tools and approaches with contributions from a rich array of scientists in the field. New tools invite exciting new research opportunities.

The purpose of this workshop is to:
1. Open discussion of new technologies and coordination for next generation vectors
2. Coordinate shared efforts to generate genome-wide protein trap and insertional mutagenesis resources for the zebrafish community
3. Share common technologies such as the deployment of next-gen sequencing of insertion sites
4. Develop plans for potential group effort projects and grant applications for areas such as the Zebrafish Phenome Project

Confirmed participants:

Jeff Essner, Iowa St
Karuna Sampath, National University of Singapore
Darius Balciunas, Temple University
Xiao-Yan Wen, St. Michael's Hospital and University of Toronto
Anand Chadrasekhar, Univ Missouri
Xiaolei Xu, Mayo Clinic
Karl Clark, Mayo Clinic
Shawn Burgess, NIH
Steve Ekker, Mayo Clinic

• Thursday, June 21   3:30 PM–5:30 PM

The Planar Cell Polarity (PCP) Pathway in Development and Disease

The workshop will discuss the latest advances, highlighting critical unresolved issues, and chart strategies for elucidating the role of PCP genes in regulating context-dependent cellular polarity.

Genes regulating planar cell polarity (PCP) play critical roles during development, and deregulation of PCP signaling is a hallmark of several diseases. Developmental processes that employ PCP strategies include oriented cell divisions, directed cell movements during gastrulation and neuronal migration, and synapse formation. Although many of these processes are controlled by a set of overlapping PCP genes, it is unclear how the combined action of these genes establishes context-dependent cellular polarity. The workshop will discuss recent advances, highlighting critical unresolved issues, and chart strategies for tackling these issues. It will also identify tools and resources needed to address these questions.

Speakers
Carl-Philipp Heisenberg, Jason Jessen, Cecilia Moens, Hitoshi Okamoto, Victoria Prince

Panel Discussion
Rachel Brewster, Diane Sepich, Diane Slusarski, Masazumi Tada, Jacek Topczewski

• Thursday, June 21   3:30 PM–5:30 PM

Glial Cell Development and Function

This workshop will provide the opportunity to discuss research problemsand approaches relevant to glia, including central and peripheral and approaches relevant to glia, including central and peripheral myelinating glia, radial glia and microglia.

• Thursday, June 21   3:30 PM–5:30 PM

Models of infection and immunity in zebrafish

The focus of the workshop will be on new tools and models to understand infection and immunity in zebrafish.

• Thursday, June 21   3:30 PM–5:30 PM

Digestive organ physiology and disease

Summary: The organs of the digestive system are affected by a large number of heritable and acquired diseases. The goal of this workshop is to better define the niche for zebrafish in disease oriented physiological and translational studies. Beyond general discussions devoted to understanding how to best exploit the zebrafish for this purpose, the workshop will provide a forum for the community to discuss the development of tools and funding strategies. Participation in this workshop will allow participants to develop a better understanding of their research programs, thus fostering new collaborations.

Format:

1. First 15 - 30 minutes: A "get to know you" slide blast (1 slide per participant: 1 minute time limit) that will be open to all participants (slides must be submitted prior to the meeting). If the workshop is over subscribed, the organizers will select participants.

2. Next 30 minutes: Devoted to discussion of ideas/strategies (i.e. - how to translate zebrafish discoveries to mammalian models); new tools and novel data related to larval phenotypes and physiology. (presentations limited to 5 min)

3. Next 30 minutes: Same as above but for juvenile and adult phenotypes.

4. Finale: Funding strategies: NIH, Private foundations. How to promote zebrfish as a viable model for biomedical research: review articles, meetings, solicitation of research foundations, etc.

If you would like to present your work in the, "Get to know you slide blast" please email us your slide prior to the meeting (mpack@mail.med.upenn.edu; farber@ciwemb.edu).

We are looking forward to your participation at this workshop.

• Friday, June 22   3:30 PM–5:30 PM

Targeted gene disruption by transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs)

This workshop will discuss the methods and resources for engineering Transcription activator-like effector (TALE) nucleases that will enable the generation of targeted zebrafish gene knockouts in every lab.

• Friday, June 22   3:30 PM–5:30 PM

Imaging cellular activities

The workshop aims to discuss imaging of cellular activities by using cutting-edge tools and methods including DNA-encoded calcium and voltage indicators.

• Friday, June 22   3:30 PM–5:30 PM

Cancer in the zebrafish: Where do we go from here?

A workshop aimed at exploring emerging tools for studying cancer in zebrafish, with an emphasis on ways to improve integration with the broader cancer community studying human tissues.

Modeling cancer in the zebrafish has witnessed impressive growth over the past 10 years, but remains on the fringes of mainstream cancer biology. One of the challenges of the field is to use the fish for gaining insight into basic and translational aspects of human disease. The workshop will focus on technologies, approaches and strategies for integrating zebrafish cancer studies with work in human cancer biology.

Potential Topics:
1. Zebrafish cancer: an overview of where things stand
2. Emerging technologies for establishing new cancer models (transgenesis, screens and other)
3. Somatic mutagenesis in zebrafish models of cancer
4. Cell lineage tracing in zebrafish cancer
5. Epigenetics in zebrafish cancer
6. Chemical biology: moving from fish to humans
7. Imaging cancer in the zebrafish
8. "-Omics" across species: how zebrafish cancer omics integrate with human omics data

• Friday, June 22   3:30 PM–5:30 PM

Epiboly: molecules, mechanisms and meaning

This interactive workshop seeks to bring together researchers interested in epiboly with the goal of formulating a working model of epiboly that incorporates recent work, highlights open questions and ultimately provides a framework for future research.

Although considerable progress has been made in identifying individual factors that are involved in epiboly, very little is understood about how these factors cooperate to drive the process. One aim of the session is to work towards an updated model of zebrafish epiboly, which the field currently lacks. Such a model would incorporate recent work on the topic, highlight open questions and ultimately provide a framework for future research. In addition, the workshop will provide a forum to strategize about how to place the work in a larger context- one that granting agencies view favorably. The topic is often considered somewhat esoteric when in fact epiboly is used widely in animal development and zebrafish epiboly is an excellent model for addressing cellular and molecular mechanisms of cell rearrangement, epithelial polarity and morphogenesis.

The workshop will consist of 4 short talks followed by small group discussions. The group discussions will be based on issues raised in the talks. Each group will present a short summary of their discussion leading to a larger discussion during the final part of the workshop.

Speakers:
Carl-Philipp Heisenberg/ Institute of Science and Technology Austria
Don Kane/ Western Michigan University
Lila Solnica-Krezel/Washington University School of Medicine
Daniel S. Wagner / Rice University

• Friday, June 22   3:30 PM–5:30 PM

Zebrafish in Education I

This workshop will bring researchers, teachers, and students together to share what is already being done with zebrafish in the classroom, identify key elements needed to expand our impact on learning, and find ways to disseminate curricula and materials more broadly and effectively.

Organizers: Ann Davidson, Jeffrey Essner, Melanie Fields, Yevgenya Grinblat, Lara Hutson, Jennifer Liang, Michael Pickart, Chris Pierret, Henning Schneider, Henry Tomasiewicz

The same characteristics that make zebrafish a powerful system for research into fundamental biological processes also make it an excellent tool for teaching developmental biology, genetics and genetic engineering, drug development, toxicology, the etiology of disease and many other topics. The purpose of this education workshop is to bring researchers, teachers, and students together to share what is already being done with zebrafish in the classroom, identify key elements needed to expand the impact on learning and implement our ideas in the classroom, and disseminate information broadly and effectively. This workshop consists of four discussion sessions over two days, each focused on a specific topic and goal. In addition, please join us in the "Zebrafish in Education" room, located in the Old Madison Room on the 3rd floor of Memorial Union. This room will be open for the entirety of the conference, and will provide a place to discuss and build collaborations, for K-12 students and teachers and others to get advice and guidance about the meeting, for students and teachers to make connections, and for additional display of education and student posters.

3:30-3:45     Welcome
3:45-4:35      Topic 1: Making an Impact-Models of Outreach and Curricula
4:40-5:30      Topic 2: Measuring our Impact-Assessment and Aligning Curricula to Standards

• Saturday, June 23   1:30 PM–3:30 PM

Zebrafish in Education II

This workshop will be a continuation of the presentations and discussion from the first Zebrafish in Education workshop.

1:30-1:45      Welcome and Introduction
1:45-2:35      Topic 3: Broadening our Impact: Sharing protocols and Ideas
2:40-3:30      Topic 4: Sustaining our Impact: Publication and Funding

2012 Important Dates: