NWO grant for super fast analysis of disease progression
New funding allows IBL-researcher Herman Spaink to purchase a measurement device for more studies on human diseases such as cancer and tuberculosis using zebrafish as the model system.
The Netherlands research council (NWO) has awarded a grant to Herman Spaink for obtaining a novel measurement device called Vertebrate Automated Screening Technology (VAST). The VAST will be used in combination with fluorescence microscopy, which will speed up analyses of disease progression considerably. Together with his collaborator Fons Verbeek from the Leiden Institute of Advanced Computer Science, Herman Spaink will further automate screening of disease symptoms in zebrafish larvae ( Danio rerio).
Progression of human diseases such as cancer and tuberculosis can be investigated well in zebrafish larvae (see figure 1), which has become evident from many recent studies at Leiden University. A new analysis system will be developed with the newly bought research tool in which 3D imaging will allos automated recognition of larvae and disease patterns from microscope images. In this manner the effect of new medicines or potential medicinal compounds can be tested at an extremely fast rate.
