Committees
2026 IZFS Committees
Awards Committee
The Awards Committee oversees the nomination process for IZFS awards. The committee determines eligibility criteria, solicits nominations from the membership and recommends recipients to the Board. IZFS awards include: George Streisinger Award, Chi-Bin Chien Award and Christine Beattie Travel Award
Karuna Sampath (Chair)
Katie Drerup
Marc Ekker
Steffen Scholpp
Natascia Tiso
Chengtian Zhao
Committee for Broadening Scientific Engagement (CBSE)
The IZFS Committee for Broadening Scientific Engagement (CBSE) aims to promote and support the increased participation of zebrafish researchers, including those with backgrounds and perspectives that are not well represented in scientific research. We celebrate the scientific contributions of IZFS members of all identities. We strive to foster an open and welcoming environment where all members are encouraged to engage in dialogue, question, learn, and contribute to their fullest potential. We endeavor to offer scientific exchange that emphasizes respect for differences in culture, language, and life experience. By engaging with a broad and varied community of researchers, all members of the society will benefit from enhanced idea exchange and innovation.
Read more about the IZFS CBSE goals here.
Carola Ulrike-Niesler (Chair) - Senior PI Representative
Patrick Amoateng - Senior PI Representative
Rachel Brewster - Senior PI representative
Myra Chavez Rosas - Post-doctoral Fellow Representative
Mary Goll - Senior PI Representative
Megan Leask - PhD Early Career Representative
Beatriz Mercado - Graduate Student Representative
Wael Mohammad - Senior PI Representative
Education and Outreach Committee
The IZFS Education and Outreach Committee aims to promote the use of zebrafish in science education and outreach activities by the international scientific community. We seek to encourage and support the development of teaching and outreach activities by the IZFS membership spanning from elementary, secondary, undergraduate, and graduate education to outreach activities for the general public.
Kara Ceverny (Chair)
Carmen Gloria Feijoo
Raquel Brañas i Casas
Kelly Monk
Zebrafish Sustainability Network (ZSN)
The Zebrafish Sustainability Network (ZSN) provides strategic recommendations to IZFS, EZS and ZDMS leadership regarding initiatives that can maximize the benefits of international scientific interactions and activities whilst minimizing environmental impact.
Follow the Zebrafish Sustainability Network on LinkedIn for tips and tricks to make research activities more environmentally sustainable and to learn more about research that helps save the planet.
Nathalie Jurisch-Yaksi (EZS Rep)(Chair)
Manjari Trivedi (Chair)
Maximilian Breuer
Tom Carney
Gaia Gestri
Erez Raz
Eirini Trompouki (ZDMS Rep)
Viviana Vedder
See more about the Zebrafish Sustainability here.
Newsletter and Publications Committee
The Newsletter and Publications Committee helps to publish quarterly IZFS e-Newsletters, writing newsletter content and soliciting additional content from the officers, board, and membership of the society. The committee works with IZFS staff to assemble the e-Newsletter for distribution to the membership.
Cecilia Moens (Chair)
Maria Blumenkrantz
Yevgenya Grinblat
Megan Leask
Karuna Sampath
Kelly Smith
Kevin Thiessen
Han Wang
Brant Weinstein
Kate Whitlock
Nominations Committee
The Nomination Committee plans and schedules the annual election. The Committee solicits suggestions for nominations for IZFS Officers and Board Members from the IZFS membership, and formulates a slate of candidates for the annual election with approval of the IZFS board.
Feng Liu (Chair)
Corinne Houart
Ken Poss
Didier Stainier
Yonghua Sun
Webinar Committee
The Webinar Committee provides strategic guidance for the IZFS Webinar Series. The Committee identifies topics and secures speakers for the monthly schedule.
Randall Peterson (Chair)
Alexa Burger
Francouis Croix
Saba Perez
Chetana Sachidanandan
Young Researchers Committee (YoRC)
The Young Researcher Committee (YoRC) of the European Zebrafish Society (EZS) and the International Zebrafish Society (IZFS) is a global initiative driven by early-career zebrafish researchers, for early-career zebrafish researchers (ECRs), including students, postdoctoral fellows, and early-stage faculty.
Founded in 2021 within EZS, YoRC is committed to empowering our fellow ECRs by fostering connections, promoting inclusivity, and creating opportunities across all fields. Our mission is to support, connect, inspire, and advocate for ECRs as they grow professionally, while helping shape a collaborative and vibrant zebrafish research community worldwide.
Konstantinos Kalyviotis (EZS BOD Member) (Chair)
Vasiliki (Vania) Tsata (Vice Chair)
Maximilian Breuer (IZFS BOD Member)
Marycruz Flores Flores
Ioanna Koutroumpa
Shannon Paquette
Eugeniusz Tralle
György Ullaga
Annelies Van Dyck
See more about the YoRC goals here.