FEB 06, 2014 10:00 AM PST

Zebrafish Husbandry Education Efforts by GSCC, UAB, and a Community of Scholars

Speaker
  • Hugh Hammer, PhD

    Director, Aquatic Science and Aquaculture Education and Development Center Aquaculture Instructor, Gadsden State Community College
    BIOGRAPHY

Abstract

A problem facing the rapid growth of zebrafish as a model for human disease is a lack of qualified personnel that understand the benefits and limitations of fish culture. As this model gains prominence, the need for adequately trained personnel and standardization of methods for fish culture among laboratories will only increase. Gadsden State Community College (GSCC) in partnership with the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and the Zebrafish Husbandry Association (ZHA) are developing a training program for zebrafish husbandry. The program has two parts: 1) an online education course offered through GSCC that provides narrated presentations of husbandry content with online quizzes, and 2) a 3- day experience-based workshop held at GSCC to teach technical skills through a team of husbandry experts. In June 2012, 18 world experts in the zebrafish field gathered to initiate development of a new online curriculum and technical workshop. The effort resulted in 30 power-point presentations and the rough outline for a first technical workshop. The online course modules are: Water Quality, Systems and Filtration, Colony Management and Nutrition, and Compliance, Facilities, and Disease. Each module consists of five to ten detailed presentations of 15 to 30 minutes duration. Four major vendors for zebrafish husbandry research systems (Aquaneering Inc., Pentair Aquatic Eco-Systems Inc., Aquatic Solutions by Tecniplast, and Thoren Aquatics Systems, Inc.) donated expertise and stand-alone zebrafish husbandry systems to GSCC in support of the online course and technical workshop. The online course and first technical workshop are planned to launch in the Summer of 2014. This effort will provide a state-of-the-art, cost-effective, and efficient training mechanism for individuals involved with the research and husbandry of zebrafish.


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FEB 06, 2014 10:00 AM PST

Zebrafish Husbandry Education Efforts by GSCC, UAB, and a Community of Scholars



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