Collaborations
Developing models together
We love zebrafish and want to work with others who are curious about zebrafish as a model, interested in expanding the utility of the zebrafish, or already love the zebrafish like us. We collaborate with labs on a variety of projects. Take a look below! If you are interested in collaborating with us on a project, please reach out!
Disease models in zebrafish
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Zebrafish are excellent models for studying genetic diseases. Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency, one of the most common human genetic enzymopathies, is caused by over 160 different point mutations and contributes to the severity of many acute and chronic diseases associated with oxidative stress, including hemolytic anemia and bilirubin-induced neurological damage particularly in newborns. As no medications are available to treat G6PD deficiency, we collaborated with the Mochly-Rosen lab to develop a zebrafish model of G6PD deficiency for drug screening. Our works suggests that a pharmacological agent, of which AG1 may be a lead, will likely alleviate the challenges associated with G6PD deficiency.
Biosensors for drug discovery​
Zebrafish are excellent models for drug development and toxicology studies. Technologies that enable detection of drugs and their metabolites inside individual cells improve drug delivery and optimization, enhancing therapeutic outcomes, and minimizing adverse effects. Aptamers offer versatile solutions for biosensing, enabling the identification of various small molecules including drugs, toxicants, and metabolites. We therefore generated the first transgenic vertebrate harboring an encoded aptamer biosensor, enabling sensitive and long-term studies of drug cellular uptake throughout the lifespan of a vertebrate.
