2026 Midwest Zebrafish Meeting
The Midwest Zebrafish Meeting highlights research that employs zebrafish models across a wide range of fields, including developmental biology, cellular biology, cancer, regeneration, genetics, biochemistry, drug development, and more.
With many speaker slots reserved for trainees, the meeting offers an outstanding opportunity for graduate students and postdocs to present their work. The agenda also includes ample networking time to foster connection and collaboration.
Professor of Molecular Biology, Princeton University
Associate Professor, Washington University School of Medicine
Dr. Mayssa Mokalled is an Associate Professor in the Department of Developmental Biology, the Hope Center for Neurological Disorders and the Center of Regenerative Medicine at Washington University School of Medicine in Saint Louis, USA. Dr. Mokalled grew up in Lebanon where she pursued undergraduate studies at the American University of Beirut. She then moved to the U.S. and completed her Ph.D. at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas studying neuromuscular development and regeneration using mouse models. As a postdoc at Duke University, she pioneered studies of spinal cord regeneration in zebrafish. Adult zebrafish possess an elevated regenerative capacity and lack the anti-regenerative complications displayed after mammalian nervous system injuries. The Mokalled Lab leverages repair strategies employed by zebrafish to engineer pro-regenerative cell states in mouse and human models. Dr. Mokalled’s work has been recognized by multiple awards including the first Rising Star Award from the Society of Regenerative Biology and the Junior Faculty Award for Excellence from the Zebrafish Disease Modeling Society.
The program is in development. Stay tuned!
Poster abstracts may be submitted during registration. For questions or to be added to our email list, please contact Courtney Zirkle.
Already registered? Submit your poster abstract!Eligibility
Students, postdoctoral fellows, faculty and research staff are welcome to submit an abstract. If the number of submitted poster abstracts exceeds the space, the organizers will select the abstracts that are most relevant to the conference theme.
Abstract format
Submitted abstracts should represent original research. The title should be brief and descriptive, and the body should include rationale, methods and results. Please prepare abstracts using the below template.
Abstract submission
Poster abstracts will be accepted through May 1, 2026.
Questions?
Questions regarding abstract submission, posters or the poster session can be directed to Courtney Zirkle.
TITLE OF ABSTRACT IN ALL CAPS (STYLE = TITLE)
Presenting Author1,2, Other Author1, and Last Author1,3(Style = Authors)
1First Dept., Institution, City, State, Country, 2Second Dept., Institution, City, State, Country, and 3Last Dept., Institution, City, State, Country (Style = Affiliations)
Body of abstract using 300 words or less. Define each abbreviation at first use. All fonts should be Arial, 11 pt. and text should be single spaced. Once you have filled in this template, choose File>Save As and save your file as a Word document (.doc or .docx) with the filename lastname_abstract. (Style = Body)
EXAMPLE
WNT AND β-CATENIN SIGNALING IN HEMATOPOIETIC STEM CELL DEVELOPMENT
Stephanie Grainger1
1Department of Cell Biology, Van Andel Institute, Grand Rapids, MI, United States
Wnt activation is required for hematopoietic stem cell development in zebrafish…
Postdoctoral Fellow, Grainger Laboratory, Van Andel Institute
Postdoctoral Fellow, Grainger Laboratory, Van Andel Institute
Assistant Professor, Van Andel Institute
Stem cells give rise to every cell type in the human body and play important roles in health and disease. Dr. Stephanie Grainger seeks to understand how these special cells develop, how they are maintained and how they can become cancerous, with the goal of developing new strategies for combating cancer.
Postdoctoral Fellow, Grainger Laboratory, Van Andel Institute
Staff Scientist, Van Andel Institute
Event Details
Contact Info:
Email: Courtney Zirkle
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