Scientific Programme

14 January 2026

12.30 – 13.45 - Registration
13.45 – 14.00 - Opening
14.00 – 15.00 - Keynote Lecture, Elizabeth Patton, Edinburgh University, UK

Chair: Marina Mione

Session 1 - Development and evolution

Chair: Francesco Argenton, Paolo Sordino

15.00 - 15.15 - Zebrafish use spectral information to suppress the visual background, Chiara Fornetto, University of Sussex
15.15 - 15.30 - Mapping THES Gut Pathogenesis: How TTC37 Knockout Induces Intestinal Inflammation

and STAT3 Dysregulation, Annachiara Tesoriere, Università di Padova

15.30 - 15.45 - In vivo High-throughput Screen reveals Pimozide as positive regulator of cardiomyocyte proliferation,

Anja Bühler, Ulm University Hospital

15.45 - 16.00 - A novel CRISPR-Cas9 cdkl5-/- zebrafish mutant recapitulating neurodevelopmental andcircuit-level

alterations of CDD, Marica Albanesi, Università di Padova

16.00 - 16.15 - A breath of fresh air: evolution and development of breathing strategies in the paradise fish

Máté Varga, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University

16.15 – 16.45 Coffee break

Session 2 - Cancer

Chair: Anna Pistocchi, Massimo Santoro

16.45 - 17.00 - Telomere maintenance mechanisms engage RNA sensing to shape the immune landscape in brain

tumors, Irene Pecchini, University of Trento

17.00 - 17.15 - Study of coding BRAFV600E isoforms at early stages of development in zebrafish, Raffaella De Paolo,

IFC-CNR

17.15 - 17.30 - Towards more effective Glioblastoma Multiforme therapies: HDAC6 and HDAC8 combined targeting,

Gaia Galassi, University of Milan

17.30 - 17.45 - Rare HRAS Q61 mutations delineate different biological feature in thyroid development and and

thyroid cancer, Concetta Ambrosino, University of Naples

17.45 – 18.00 - Poster preview 1
18.00 – 20.00 - Poster session 1 and welcome reception

15 January 2025

9.00 – 10.00 - Keynote Lecture, Miguel Moreno Mateos, Centro Andaluz de Biología del Desarrollo(CSIC/UPO/JA) Chair: Lucia Poggi

Session 3 - Emerging Technologies

Chair: Andrea Messina, Judith Habicher

10.00 - 10.15 - Zebrafish as an integrative model for nanotoxicology and biomedicine: insights from bio-based

functional nanoparticles, Cinzia Bragato, University of Milan

10.15 - 10.30 - Uncovering global retinal responses to injury: New pathways in zebrafish degeneration and regeneration

after light damage, Ignacio Babiloni-Chust, University of Trento

10.30 – 11.00 Coffee Break

Session 4: Disease Models I

Chair: Monica Beltrame, Anja Bühler

11.00 - 11.15 - Emilin-1 Deficiency Impairs Cardiovascular Development and Function in Zebrafish, Giulia Buttarello,

University of Padua

11.15 - 11.30 - Zebrafish functional validation of new disease genes link cortical malformations to Golgi and

trafficking defects, Giulia Fasano, Ospedale Pediatrico Bambino Gesù, IRCCS, Rome

11.30 - 11.45 - Telomere shortening triggers cGAS-STING, causing systemic aging in zebrafish, Giulia Allavena,

IRCAN - Institute for Research on Cancer and Aging

11.45 - 12.00 - Histone deacetylase inhibitors as repurposed therapeutic candidates for Myoclonic-Astatic Epilepsy

associated with SLC6A1 disease, Chiara Tesoriero, University of Verona

12.00 - 12.15 - Untangling Sotos Syndrome exploiting multiple CRISPR/Cas approaches in zebrafish, Giuseppe Neri,

University of Pisa

12.15 – 12.30 - Poster preview 2
12.30 – 12.45 - Group Photo
12.45 – 15.30 - Lunch + Poster Session

Session 5: Disease Models II

Chair: Antonella Lauri, Michela Ori

15.45 - 16.00 - Generation of a tgds knock-out zebrafish model to study the developmental defects in Catel-Manzke

Syndrome, Matteo Bozzo, University of Genoa

16.00 - 16.15 - Swimming Toward the Crest: Zebrafish model of TCF4 Neural Crest Cells dysregulation in Pitt-Hopkins

Syndrome, Martina Orefice, Department of Biology, University of Pisa

16.15 - 16.30 - Uncovering PRR12 function: neuro-ocular and behavioral defects in prr12a and prr12b mutants,

Alessia Muscò, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Pisana (AOUP)

16.30 - 16.45 - GBA2 depletion recapitulates Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia symptoms in the zebrafish model,

Francesca Terrin, University of Padova

16.45 - 17.00 - Photoreceptor Degeneration in Zebrafish Models of IMPG2-Related Retinitis Pigmentosa, Alba

Cumplido-Mayoral, CIBIO - University of Trento

17.00 - 17.15 - Modeling collagenopathies in zebrafish to identify therapeutic targets for muscle pathology

Chiara Consorti, University of Padova /Ospedale Pediatrico Bambino Gesù

17.15-17.45 - Coffee break
17.45 – 17.55 - Sponsor talk: New refinement approaches to ZF housing, breeding and health monitoring, Tommaso Sala, Tecniplast
17.55 - 18.05 - Sponsor talk: Living Systems in 4D: Beyond the Focal Plane with ZEISS Light-Field 4D, Riccardo Tognato, Zeiss
18.05 - 18.15 - Sponsor talk: Viventis Lightsheet imaging solutions, Ilaria Costa, Leica

Session 6 - Toxicology and Metabolism

Chair: Livia D’Angelo, Chiara Gabellini

18.15 - 18.30 - Dietary Self-DNA Impairs Reproduction, Metabolism, and Neurogenesis in Zebrafish: First Evidence

in a Vertebrate Model, Ferdinando Flagiello, University of Naples "Federico II"

18.30 - 18.45 - Neurotoxicity of Environmental Contaminants in Adult Zebrafish: Integrating Behavioral, Molecular,

and Histological Endpoints, Shima Tavakolian Haghighi, University of Verona

18.45 - 19.00 - Insights into Cardiovascular Development of Zebrafish Embryo after Exposure to Dolutegravir,

Sara Ferretti, University of Brescia

Social Dinner at Castello del Buonconsiglio

16 January

9.00 - 10.00 - Keynote Lecture, Corinne Houart, Kings College, UK

Chair: Matthias Carl

Session 7 -Aging, Neurobiology and Behaviour I

Chair: Vicenzo Cavalieri, Simona Casarosa

10.00 - 10.15 - A vertebrate ex-vivo brain platform developed in Nothobranchius furzeri, Letizia Brogi,

Scuola Normale Superiore

10.15 - 10.30 - Neuronal circuits mediating the modulatory action of a cytokine on acute stress, Alessandro Filosa,

Max Delbruck Center for Molecular Medicine

10.30 - 10.45 - Artificial light at night as pervasive environmental stressor: molecular, behavioural and cognitive

impacts in zebrafish, Elena Frigato, University of Ferrara

10.45 - 11.10 - Presentations of Associations: EZS, Felasa, ZDMS, ZebOne
11.10 - 11.15 - Earning your Green stripes: enhancing sustainability in zebrafish research, Gaia Gestri, University

College London, London, UK

11.15 – 11.45 - Coffee Break

Session 8: Neurobiology and Behaviour II

Chair: Cristiano Bertolucci, Andrea Pedroni

11.45 - 12.00 - Asymmetry Counts: Linking Neural Asymmetry to Behaviour in Zebrafish (Danio rerio), Alessandra

Gobbo, CIMeC - University of Trento

12.00 - 12.15 - Neurotrophic modulation restores motor and developmental defects in zebrafish models of ints11

deficiency, Alex Pezzotta, Università Degli Studi di Milano

12.15 - 12.30 - Time-dependent adaptations of damaged neurons and their microenvironment in the regenerating

adult zebrafish spinal cord, Judith Habicher, Karolinska Institutet

12.30 - 12.45 - Purkinje cells as gatekeepers of seizure susceptibility: insights from optogenetics, Maria Marchese,

IRCCS Fondazione Stella Maris

13.00 – 13.15 - Awards
13.15 – 13.30 - Election of 6th Italian Zebrafish Meeting venue
13.30 Closing remarks

14.00 - 21.00 Hiking nearby Trento