title: A student team in a University of Michigan biomedical engineering design course constructs a microfluidic bioreactor for studies of zebrafish development.
abstract: 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).
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Medical School, University of Michigan, 109 Zina Pitcher Place, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2200, USA.
authors.forename: Yu-chi
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Al-Shoaibi
authors.forename: Tom
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Bersano-Begey
authors.forename: Hao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Shahid
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ali
authors.forename: Betsy
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Flak
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Perrin
authors.forename: Max
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Winslow
authors.forename: Harsh
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Shah
authors.forename: Poornapriya
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ramamurthy
authors.forename: Rachael H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Schmedlen
authors.forename: Shuichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Takayama
authors.forename: Kate F
authors.initials: KF
authors.lastname: Barald
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001698:Biomedical Engineering / Q000193:education* / Q000379:methods; D046210:Microfluidic Analytical Techniques; D014495:Universities; D015027:Zebrafish / Q000196:embryology*