https://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/go/zfweb-2017

Zebrafish Webinar Series

Zebrafish with relationship diagram

Using Informatics to Improve Data Analysis of Chemical Screening Assays Conducted in Zebrafish

The small size and rapid development of the zebrafish make it a useful vertebrate model for assessing potential effects of chemicals on development in a medium to high-throughput manner. However, a lack of harmonization in several key protocol components hinders the broader adoption of the zebrafish model for toxicological screening. In an effort to address this issue, NTP launched the Systematic Evaluation of the Application of Zebrafish in Toxicology (SEAZIT) program.

SEAZIT is addressing the issues of variability among laboratories in the endpoints measured, as well as the nomenclature used for each endpoint. NICEATM organized a webinar series in support of the SEAZIT program that considered how these issues might be addressed by implementation of standardized nomenclature systems, also known as ontologies.

  • Webinar 1 (February 2, 2017): Introduction to Zebrafish Screening
    This webinar provided an overview of the SEAZIT program and reviewed the variability found in zebrafish screening data.
    Speakers:
  • Webinar 2 (February 16, 2017): Ontologies 101
    This webinar defined ontologies and described how they are employed to improve data analysis.
    Speaker: Lyle Burgoon, Ph.D., Leader, Bioinformatics and Computational Toxicology Group, U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center
    Presentation: Ontology 101: An Introduction
  • Webinar 3 (March 2, 2017): A Review of Relevant Ontologies and Application of Reasoners
    This webinar provided information on relevant zebrafish, phenotype, and anatomy ontologies and examples of the application of ontologies and reasoners.
    Speaker: Melissa Haendel, Ph.D., Director, Ontology Development Group, Department of Medical Informatics and Clinical Epidemiology, Oregon Health and Science University
    Presentation: A Review of Relevant Ontologies and Application of Reasoners

View Federal Register notice announcing webinar series (December 29, 2016)

The Utility of Zebrafish Models for Toxicology

  • Webinar 1 (September 27, 2018): Molecular Mechanisms for Persistence of the Effects of Developmental Toxicants: The Fetal Basis of Adult Disease/Dysfunction, and Potential for Transgenerational Inheritance
    This webinar provided information on the development of a zebrafish model to investigate the transgenerational effects of methylmercury exposure.
    Speaker: Michael Carvan, Ph.D., Shaw Professor, School of Freshwater Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
    Presentation: Transgenerational Inheritance
  • Webinar 2 (October 25, 2018): Unraveling the Role of AHR Gene Duplication in PAH Toxicity in Zebrafish
    This webinar provided information on the identification of zebrafish aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) genes, and AHR interactions with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.
    Speaker: Robert Tanguay, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor of Molecular Toxicology, Department of Environmental and Molecular Toxicology, Oregon State University
    Presentation: AHR Gene Duplication *Please note that this is a very large presentation that may take a while to load*
  • Webinar 3 (December 06, 2018): Genome Duplication and Fish Models for Toxicology
    This webinar discussed genome duplication events in vertebrates, how genes evolve after genome duplication, the impact of evolution after genome duplication on the utility of teleosts as models for toxicology, and the effects of toxicants from global distillation and a formerly used defense site on local fish in Alaska.
    Speaker: John Postlethwait, Ph.D., Professor of Biology, Institute of Neuroscience, University of Oregon
    Presentation: Genome Duplication