A student team in a University of Michigan biomedical engineering design course constructs a microfluidic bioreactor for studies of zebrafish development.
The zebrafish is a valuable model for teaching developmental, molecular, and cell biology; aquatic sciences; comparative anatomy; physiology; and genetics. Here we demonstrate that zebrafish provide an excellent model system to teach engineering principles. A seven-member undergraduate team in a biomedical engineering class designed, built, and tested a zebrafish microfluidic bioreactor applying microfluidics, an emerging engineering technology, to study zebrafish development. During the semester, students learned engineering and biology experimental design, chip microfabrication, mathematical modeling, zebrafish husbandry, principles of developmental biology, fluid dynamics, microscopy, and basic molecular biology theory and techniques. The team worked to maximize each person's contribution and presented weekly written and oral reports. Two postdoctoral fellows, a graduate student, and three faculty instructors coordinated and directed the team in an optimal blending of engineering, molecular, and developmental biology skill sets. The students presented two posters, including one at the Zebrafish meetings in Madison, Wisconsin (June 2008).
Shen
Yu-chi
YC
Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Medical School, University of Michigan, 109 Zina Pitcher Place, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2200, USA.
Li
David
D
Al-Shoaibi
Ali
A
Bersano-Begey
Tom
T
Chen
Hao
H
Ali
Shahid
S
Flak
Betsy
B
Perrin
Catherine
C
Winslow
Max
M
Shah
Harsh
H
Ramamurthy
Poornapriya
P
Schmedlen
Rachael H
RH
Takayama
Shuichi
S
Barald
Kate F
KF
D000818:Animals; D001698:Biomedical Engineering / Q000193:education* / Q000379:methods; D046210:Microfluidic Analytical Techniques; D014495:Universities; D015027:Zebrafish / Q000196:embryology*