PennState University has developed a phenomenal resource for zebrafish researchers. It is a web-based anatomical and pathological atlas of the zebrafish. The atlas serves as a resource of reference images of ‘normal’ zebrafish at different stages of development.

The atlas is comprised of two-dimensional histology images taken from serially sectioned specimens, and also includes three-dimensional reconstructions. New additions to the atlas include microCT scans. The atlas can be used as a reference tool, a resource to become more familiar with zebrafish anatomy, and it can serve as a tool for comparing different imaging techniques.

The slides in the Zebrafish Atlas allow the user to choose his or her own field of view and magnification, view labeled sections of the zebrafish, and view sections from different stages of development. The authors report on the Zebrafish Atlas website that they plan to add embryonic, larval, and juvenile sections, as well as comparisons (mutant vs. normal, diseased vs. normal, etc) in the future.

Depending on your area of study, you can select a region of interest to learn more about. For example, the Zebrafish Atlas provides a very useful overview of the (adult) Zebrafish brain in the anatomical reference section.

Credits: http://zfatlas.psu.edu/, NIH grant 5R24 RR01744, Jake Gittlen Cancer Research Foundation, and PA Tobacco Settlement Fund.

The Marine Biological Laboratory organizes an intense two week course on Zebrafish Development and Genetics, held in August every year. The next course will be from August 7-21 2011.

The course is both lecture and lab based, with most of the labs being scheduled for mornings and afternoon, and lectures in the evening. The material covers a wide array of topics, including genetic and small molecule screening, mapping and cloning, mRNA overexpression and functional knockdown approaches. Basically, the course is heavily focused on laboratory and molecular biology techniques. Certainly an asset in the development of your skill sets if you are venturing into molecular techniques from a more behavioral perspective of zebrafish research.

Course information for this year’s course, including schedule and materials can be found on the course website. Notes for the lectures can be downloaded as PDFs, which can give a nice impression of whether the material covered is what you are looking for. It seems likely that updated information for the course in 2011 will be on the same URL, so keep an eye out for that.

Applications can be submitted partially online at this address. Supporting documents always have to be mailed in. The application deadline for the 2011 course is in April, and enrollment is restricted to 22 students. The course is recommended for senior graduate students, or post-docs, but on last year’s student list I also spotted quite a few faculty. At $2,575.00 tuition is quite steep for the two weeks. Financial assistance is said to be available, but I wonder how need is truly determined. In the case of graduate students it could be a question of whether or not the student’s lab can cover some or all of the expense.