Dr. Roman Franek, Dr. Aaron Torres Martinez, and Dr. Essaikiammal Konar attended the First German Fish Model Research Meeting at the Center for Organismal Studies, Heidelberg University, Germany. The visit provided an opportunity to present our laboratory’s research on reproductive aging in zebrafish, explore other areas of fish model research, and exchange ideas with the international scientific community.
Dr. Franek delivered the oral presentation ‘A young gonadal environment reverses reproductive aging of male germ cells’. Dr. Torres Martinez and Dr. Konar presented the poster ‘Morphological and molecular signatures of ovarian aging in zebrafish,’ and ‘Postovulatory oocyte aging disrupts early embryonic development and germline formation via oxidative stress in zebrafish’. These contributions highlighted complementary aspects of our research on male reproductive aging, ovarian aging, and postovulatory oocyte aging.
The conference covered diverse topics, including embryonic development, cell signaling, regeneration, aging, disease models, toxicology, and comparative physiology, using zebrafish, medaka, and killifish. Although many studies extended beyond our laboratory’s focus, they shared interests in aging, development, and cellular function. Imaging, genetic manipulation, cell transplantation, and advanced sequencing approaches offered ideas for future studies of the gonadal environment, germline function, and early embryonic development. Talks, poster sessions, and informal discussions during the rooftop gala dinner provided valuable opportunities to exchange ideas and build scientific connections.
