Solnica-Krezel elected president of international zebrafish research society
Developmental biologist recognized for global leadership in zebrafish research
Solnica-Krezel
Lila Solnica-Krezel, PhD, the Alan A. and Edith L. Wolff Distinguished Professor and head of the Department of Developmental Biology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has been elected president of the International Zebrafish Society. Her term begins July 1, 2021. She currently serves on the society’s board of directors as president-elect.
The International Zebrafish Society supports the study of zebrafish biology to help inform research into human development, health and disease. Solnica-Krezel is a world leader in using zebrafish as a model organism to study the earliest stages of vertebrate development, the time when the embryo’s tissue layers and rudimentary organs begin to take shape. The research has implications for understanding miscarriage, premature birth, cancer and many other genetic disorders. Her laboratory also is leveraging the zebrafish model to understand the genetic basis of scoliosis and undiagnosed human diseases.
Solnica-Krezel led the School of Medicine’s efforts to establish a state-of-the-art zebrafish facility so that more researchers could begin studying zebrafish in their own labs. She also spearheaded the founding of the university’s Center of Regenerative Medicine, which encourages collaboration among faculty members working in stem cell research, cell and tissue engineering, developmental biology and aging.
