Superfund Research Program

Tanguay is shown here helping a colleague analyze a microscopic image of a zebrafish. (Photo courtesy of Robyn Tanguay)

Superfund Research Program (SRP) grant recipient Robyn Tanguay, Ph.D., was recently interviewed by NIEHS Director Rick Woychik, Ph.D. Tanguay, who serves as the director of the Oregon State University SRP Center, discussed her research using zebrafish and why she thinks they represent a paradigm shift in toxicological research.

“The genetic similarities between zebrafish and humans are remarkable because the genes necessary to make a human are quite like the ones necessary to make a fish,” Tanguay said. “By leveraging that similarity and other attributes of zebrafish, researchers can incorporate this model organism in important ways, including to more rapidly identify exposures that are consequential in terms of how they interact with our genetic and biological makeup.”

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