March 2018 Newsletter


Aquaneering Celebrates Women Researchers and Scientists

Dr. Sarah Kucenas:  See What No One Else Sees


Dr. Sarah Kucenas originally became interested in zebrafish when her graduate mentor, Dr. Mark Voigt of Saint Louis University, offered her a choice of two graduate projects:  looking at the role of P2X receptors in neurotransmission using mice/cell culture, which was more typical of his lab, or looking at the role of P2X receptors in development using zebrafish.  Although Dr. Voigt had no experience with zebrafish, Kucenas was intrigued, so she took the plunge... 


Science is Women's Work

Read more about other amazing scientists and their ground-breaking research:


Dr. Kara Cerveny of Reed College researches cell behavior inside the eye of the zebrafish, focusing on understanding the specific mechanisms employed within the retina that govern growth, tissue size, and composition.  Read more...


Dr. Hui Feng, director of Boston University's Lab of Zebrafish Genetics and Cancer Therapeutics, combines observations and experiments in zebrafish with tests in human cells and analysis of human cancer genome databases in order to pinpoint new drug targets and potential therapies for breast cancer.  Read more...

Visit the Feng Lab


At the Saban Research Institute, Dr. Ching-Ling Lien's goal is to use the mechanisms of zebrafish heart regeneration as a blueprint to design potential therapeutic approaches to enhance heart repair in humans.   Read more...

Visit the Lien Lab


In her lab at Brown University,  Dr. Jessica Plavicki  uses the zebrafish model to study CNS angiogenesis and blood brain barrier (BBB) development in order to assess the impact of chemical exposures and genetic mutations on cerebral vascular development and brain health.  Dr. Plavicki has taken first, second, and third places in Aquaneering's Art of Science Photomicrography Contests.



Dr. Sandra Rieger of MDI Biological Laboratory has discovered  that the drug candidates she had previously identified to treat chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy could potentially be used to treat peripheral neuropathy caused by diabetes as well.  Read more...
Visit the Rieger Lab


Somewhere over the brainbow,  Dr. Tamily Weissman-Unni  of Lewis & Clark College is lighting up the brains of zebrafish to create maps of their neural networks.    Read more...
  Visit the Weissman Lab


Dr. Deborah Yelon is researching  how the chambers of the heart are formed and identifying the genes involved in their formation.  This will help Dr. Yelon and her research team at UCSD understand the causes of congenital heart disease and potentially lead to new therapies for heart defects.    Read more...

Visit the Yelon Lab


Biochemical researcher  Dr.  Shizhen Zhu of the Mayo Clinic engineered multiple lines of zebrafish to make it faster and easier to study neuroblastoma - the deadliest childhood cancer in the United States.   Read more...

Visit the Zhu Lab



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