International Zebrafish Conference

PROJECT SUMMARY We propose a series of five annual International Zebrafish Conferences rotating between locations in the US/Canada, Europe and Asia-Pacific that discuss progress made using zebrafish as a model organism to study vertebrate development, homeostasis, and disease. These conferences, to be held in the summers of 2023 – 2027, will be the 18th- 22nd meetings in a successful series initiated in 1994 and partially supported by this grant since 2000. The goal of the meetings is to facilitate communication of cutting-edge research studies on an array of topics to a wide and inclusive cross-section of the zebrafish research community of over 1,500 laboratories. To ensure that the zebrafish researchers, US-based and from different countries, can participate each year, we organized the 2022 conference in a hybrid format, which combined in-person and virtual participation. Such hybrid format reduces the economic, geographic and the Covid-19 pandemic-imposed barriers to participation; it is environmentally sustainable and based on the success in 2022, we plan to extend it to future conferences. The International Zebrafish Conference provides an opportunity for zebrafish researchers to share their most recent discoveries and new technologies. A diverse group of speakers is selected from the submitted abstracts by the organizers and session chairs, based on impact, demographics and novelty with a strong emphasis on unpublished data. Thus, the Conferences have historically had a major “slingshot” effect on the field, launching new eras of research and discovery. Continuing in the tradition of previous conferences, we expect that the proposed conferences will succeed in creating opportunities for sharing results and technologies, forging collaborations, coordinating community resources, and fostering the exposure and success of junior investigators and trainees. Importantly, the International and European Zebrafish Societies embrace the notion that highly talented scientists of diverse backgrounds provide a richness and breadth of varied approaches, expertise and perspectives that not only advance knowledge, but also greatly enrich the scientific discourse at a conference. We, therefore, assembled a thoughtful diversity plan that outlines strategies to increase the number of researchers from traditionally underrepresented groups. The Conference has historically drawn zebrafish researchers of both genders in approximately equal proportions, at a wide range of career levels with strong representation of students, post-docs, and both junior and senior faculty. This grant will support 40 conference grants (registration/housing/travel of in-person and registration of virtual) US-based participants and will support a virtual technology for these hybrid conferences. These 40 US-based recipients of financial support will be chosen based on the impact and originality of their abstracts, as well as on the basis of gender, race, career stage and need.