PITTSBURGH, PA (PTTP) – The University of Pittsburgh holds one of the largest zebrafish
facilities in the world holding over 11,000 tanks. These tanks hold zebra fish that range in age,
with the youngest being five days old. These researchers use these fish to study how organs
develop in the embryo.
Dr. Michael Tsang, a professor of cell biology, is the principal investigator that leads the projects.
The focus of his research is on heart developments and heart regeneration in which he uses
zebrafish to study the processes. Zebrafish are used because they are very small and easy to
maintain, but also because they are able to grow their embryos in a dish and look at them under a
microscope for the first five days. They have easy access to them and they can watch their
development from the one cell stage all the way until they are adults. Dr. Tsang states, “In this
day and age we can manipulate and change the genomes, so all the genes in zebrafish…are
highly conserved to human genome and so any genes that we have we are likely to find a
counterpart in the fish and so we can study what those genes are doing in terms of development,
in terms of physiology.” These zebrafish assist in understanding the human heart.
The facility is designed to have multiple research projects running at the same time. Some other
projects research the zebrafish, but focus on the liver and kidney instead of the heart. This
research dates back to the late 70s, early 80s and has expanded widely since then.
For more information on the research facilities and the zebrafish research project, you can visit
https://www.devbio.pitt.edu/research/facilities