The 3rd Strategic Conference of Zebrafish Investigators is the third conference based on a concept devised by a group of biomedical researchers utilizing zebafish as a model organism. The first meeting was organized by Brant Weinstein (NICHD/NIH) and took place September 15 to 17, 2005 at Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratories in Salisbury Cove, Maine. The goal was to establish a workshop for zebrafish and medaka principal investigators to discuss current projects and promote coordinated advancement of fish research. Because the community was growing rapidly, the goals of the SCZI were to foster increased communication between PIs working on disparate research topics, and promote cohesiveness of the community as a whole.

      For the 2005 conference, a Workshop Selection Committee of 14 members was appointed by community consensus to represent the diversity of the field, including scientists from different continents and research areas covered at the conference. Principal investigators from all over the world using zebrafish and medaka as model organisms attended the first SCZI and all 129 interested applicants were able to participate.

      The 2nd SCZI, co-organized by Lila Solnica-Krezel (Vanderbilt Univ.) and Wolfgang Driever (Univ. of Freiburg) was held in Asilomar February 2 to 6, 2007. The meeting was strengthened by small breakout discussion groups and the increased participation of approximately 170 PIs. An important emphasis was on new molecular biology and transgenic technologies, and some reagents were freely distributed on site. The meeting was characterized by a strong representation of junior PIs, extensive discussion sessions, and productive scientific interactions.