Project 460710

This proposal seeks support for the 17th International Zebrafish Conference, which is to be held for the first time in Canada, at the beautiful Centre Mont-Royal in the heart of Montreal, Quebec. The zebrafish has proven to be a powerful genetic model for various human disease states, including metabolic disorders, cancer, and neurodegeneration, as well as a model for development and congenital defects. Large number of genetic mutations are already available and others can be rapidly generated de novo by targeted mutagenesis, making the fish an attractive system for the functional analysis of genes. The translucent embryo allows live-imaging of internal tissues, organs, individual cells as well as sub-cellular domains in real-time, providing exceptional methods of analysis. Organism-based meetings like the International Zebrafish Conference are essential to disseminate novel organism- specific technologies, to initiate collaborations, and to develop future scientific strategies critical for the field. The principal objective of this meeting is to bring together all researchers who use the zebrafish as an experimental model, to share their latest scientific advances and technologies. Since its inception, the Conference has been guided by principles of openness and community spirit, which have been enormously beneficial to scientific progress. A second objective of the meeting is to perpetuate this collaborative spirit through the presentation of unpublished data and through open communication of new ideas and emerging technologies. A third aim is to make this conference accessible to all members of the community.