Cancer researcher Rita Fior uses zebrafish to study human cancer. Though this may seem like an unlikely match, her work shows great promise with forthcoming applications in personalized medicine.
The basic principle of Fior’s approach relies on transplanting human cancer cells into dozens of zebrafish larvae. The fish then serve as “living test tubes” where various treatments, such as different chemotherapy drugs, can be tested to reveal which works best. The assay is rapid, producing an answer within four short days.
