Name: Kate F. Barald, Ph.D.
Title: Professor of cell and developmental biology
Kate Barald finds zebrafish to be an invaluable addition to her research on development and regeneration of sensory cells and neurons in the inner ear and peripheral nervous system. Her work on pathways common to the nervous system and immune system has been designated as “transformative” by the National Science Foundation. Barald’s lab has recently developed a technique to incorporate genetic material directly into the tiny rudimentary inner ears of a zebrafish embryo and block the activity of genes controlling early inner ear development. For more information: www.umich.edu/~eardevel/.
Name: Eva Feldman (Ph.D. 1979, M.D. 1983)
Titles: Russell N. DeJong Professor of Neurology
Director, A. Alfred Taubman Medical Research Institute
Director, Program for Neurology Research & Discovery
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a devastating progressive disease characterized by the deterioration of motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord that control the ability to move, speak and breathe. Although the cause of most cases of ALS remains unknown, one form of the disease is caused by mutations in a gene called SOD1. Feldman has developed a mutant strain of zebrafish with these SOD1 mutations and is studying them to learn how the mutated form of SOD1 affects developing motor neurons in zebrafish embryos. She also hopes to use zebrafish to screen potential therapeutic drugs for ALS. For more information: www.med.umich.edu/PNRD/Research/als.htm.
Name: Friedhelm Hildebrandt, M.D.
Titles: Frederick G.L. Huetwell Professor for the Cure and Prevention of Birth Defects
Professor of pediatrics and of human genetics
Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Zebrafish are helping Friedhelm Hildebrandt identify the genetic mutations responsible for a group of chronic kidney diseases that affect children and young adults. Working with an extensive network of international scientific colleagues, Hildebrandt has discovered 14 gene mutations involved in congenital cystic kidney diseases like nephronophthisis and nephrotic syndrome, and he continues to search for others. Because many zebrafish genes are similar to human genes, Hildebrandt can determine the effects of a human genetic mutation by blocking the activity of the gene in zebrafish and observing the outcome as the embryo develops. Hildebrandt hopes his research will lead to the development of genetic screening tests and new drugs to reverse kidney damage. For more information: www.hhmi.org/news/hildebrandt_bg.html.
Name: Peter Hitchcock, Ph.D.
Titles: Professor of ophthalmology and visual sciences
Professor of cell and developmental biology
Zebrafish hold the key to a central question in Peter Hitchcock’s research: How do adult zebrafish regenerate damaged retinal cells to restore normal vision? Hitchcock believes the answer will be found in growth factors — extracellular signaling molecules that trigger primitive neural stem cells to develop into specialized nerve cells called photoreceptors in the retina. Learning how these molecular signals work in zebrafish could help scientists understand the fundamental causes of human retinal diseases and develop more effective ways to treat them. For more information: www.kellogg.umich.edu/bios/hitchcock.html.
Name: Alon Kahana, M.D., Ph.D.
Title: Assistant professor of ophthalmology and visual sciences
Alon Kahana is an ophthalmic plastic surgeon who specializes in diseases of the ocular orbit — a complex network of muscles, blood vessels, nerves and bony structures surrounding the eye. He uses the transparent embryos of zebrafish to study the biology of orbital development with a focus on stem cells involved in human diseases like cancer, congenital malformations and thyroid eye disease. His research on the development and regeneration of eye muscles in zebrafish could lead to new ways of regenerating damaged tissue in his human patients. For more information: www.kellogg.umich.edu/bios/kahana.research.html.
Name: Evan Keller, Ph.D.
Titles: Professor of urology
Professor of pathology
Prostate cancer can be deadly, but it’s not usually the original tumor that kills. Much more dangerous are new tumors that grow from malignant cells that metastasize or spread to skeletal bone. Evan Keller directs a team of scientists and clinical researchers who are trying to understand what causes malignant prostate cancer cells to move into bone and start forming new tumors. By inducing multiple mutations in zebrafish genes, the researchers are able to study the effects of all the proteins involved in the process. Identifying specific factors in the bone microenvironment that encourage cancer to metastasize could help researchers develop new targeted therapies to prevent metastasis. For more information: www.umich.edu/~etklab.
Name: John Kuwada, Ph.D.
Title: Professor of molecular, cellular and developmental biology
John Kuwada has been working with zebrafish longer than any other U-M scientist. In 1987, he established the U-M’s first zebrafish facility using fish he bought at local pet stores and mutant fish from other researchers. Kuwada uses genetic, molecular and electrophysiological methods to study neural circuits — groups of connected neurons that process information and generate a specific behavior — and the genes that regulate these circuits. To determine the function of neural genes, researchers in the Kuwada laboratory generate mutant and transgenic zebrafish and then watch for behavioral changes as the embryos develop. Many of the zebrafish mutations he has identified in his research have been found to cause neurological disorders in humans. In current research, Kuwada is focusing on neural circuits and genes that regulate aggressive behavior in zebrafish. For more information: www.mcdb.lsa.umich.edu/labs/kuwada/research.php.
Name: Jordan Shavit, M.D., Ph.D.
Title: Assistant professor of pediatrics
Johnson Family Scholar
When it comes to blood clotting, too much can be just as dangerous as too little. Jordan Shavit studies the underlying genetic causes of common bleeding and clotting disorders — like von Willebrand disease, hemophilia and deep vein thrombosis. These diseases are caused by a primary mutation in a single gene. Because modifier genes can alter the effects of the primary mutation, the disease severity varies in different individuals. While most primary mutations have been identified, many of the modifier genes remain unknown. That’s where Shavit believes zebrafish can help. Shavit uses chemicals to induce lethal clotting mutations in adult zebrafish, which then pass those mutations on to their offspring. By studying the genomes of zebrafish offspring that survive, Shavit hopes to identify the modifier genes and learn how they work. For more information: www2.med.umich.edu/pcdv2/provider/ dsp_provprofile.cfm?individual_id=120345.
READER COMMENTS (0)
POST A COMMENT