LAZEN was created in 2010, as an AMSUD-Pasteur Network, in a first meeting of researchers from Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Uruguay. This meeting took place at Institut Pasteur de Montevideo and Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de la República, Uruguay, on December 10-11.

The main aims of the network are to promote the use of the experimental model, to facilitate the exchange of materials and to foster advanced training of young scientists in the region. A critical mass of laboratories in these countries has been reached and investigators are looking for ways in which to create synergy by combining efforts.

The ICGEB-LAZEN Course and Symposium aims to promote international collaboration and free sharing of resources and experience among research groups interested in using zebrafish as a research model. It is expected that participants will gain knowledge in state-of-the-art techniques in fish husbandry, gene editing, optogenetics, gene expression analysis and advanced visualization and behavioral studies that can be applied in their home country laboratories.