''Tatjana Piotrowski'' (born 1968) is a German molecular geneticist who researches

zebrafish The zebrafish (''Danio rerio'') is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Danionidae of the order Cypriniformes. Native to South Asia, it is a popular aquarium fish, frequently sold under the trade name zebra danio (an ...

as models of vertebrate development. She has worked at

Stowers Institute for Medical Research The Stowers Institute for Medical Research is an independently operated, non-profit organization focused on foundational biological research, based in Kansas City, Missouri. The institute is home to Principal Investigator labs and core Techn ...

since 2011 and is

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, organization, a ...

of the ''

Annual Review of Genetics The ''Annual Review of Genetics'' is an annual peer-reviewed scientific review journal published by Annual Reviews. It was established in 1967 and covers all topics related to the genetics of viruses, bacteria, fungi, plants, and animals, includi ...

''.

Early life and education

Tatjana Piotrowski grew up in

Herrenberg Herrenberg (; Swabian German, Swabian: ''Härrabärg'' or ''Haerebärg'') is a town in the middle of Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about 30 km south of Stuttgart and 20 km from Tübingen. After Sindelfingen, Böblingen, and Leonberg, it ...

, Germany which is near the

Black Forest The Black Forest ( ) is a large forested mountain range in the States of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is th ...

. She credits her upbringing near the forest for her interest in

life science Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, organisation, metabolism, growth, adaptation, respon ...

s, and knew from the time she was in high school that she wanted to study

zoology Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the anatomy, structure, embryology, Biological classification, classification, Ethology, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinction, extinct, and ...

animal behavior Ethology is a branch of zoology that studies the behaviour of non-human animals. It has its scientific roots in the work of Charles Darwin and of American and German ornithologists of the late 19th and early 20th century, including Charle ...

. She lived for a year in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

as an

au pair An au pair (; : au pairs) is a person working for, and living as part of, a homestay, host family. Typically, au pairs take on a share of the family’s responsibility for child care as well as some homemaking, housework, and receive a monetary ...

, where she simultaneously enrolled at the

University of San Francisco The University of San Francisco (USF) is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit university in San Francisco, California, United States. Founded in 1855, it has nearly 9,000 students pursuing undergraduate and graduate degrees ...

to take classes in biology and geology. She attended the

University of Tübingen The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (; ), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The University of Tübingen is one of eleven German Excellenc ...

, where she graduated with a bachelor's degree in biology and a master's degree in zoology. Her master's thesis research on the evolution and anatomy of nervous systems in

fish A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...

, using the

as a

model organism A model organism is a non-human species that is extensively studied to understand particular biological phenomena, with the expectation that discoveries made in the model organism will provide insight into the workings of other organisms. Mo ...

, was conducted at the

University of California, San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego in communications material, formerly and colloquially UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California, United States. Es ...

. After completing her PhD at

Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology Max or MAX may refer to: Animals * Max (American dog) (1983–2013), at one time purported to be the world's oldest living dog * Max (British dog), the first pet dog to win the PDSA Order of Merit (animal equivalent of the OBE) * Max (gorilla) ( ...

Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard Christiane (Janni) Nüsslein-Volhard (; born 20 October 1942) is a German developmental biologist and a 1995 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine laureate. She is the only woman from Germany to have received a Nobel Prize in the sciences. N� ...

's laboratory, she returned to the US for a research fellowship at the

National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in 1887 and is part of the United States Department of Health and Human Service ...

's Laboratory of Molecular Genetics in Maryland.

Career

Tatjana Piotrowski was employed at

University of Utah School of Medicine The University of Utah School of Medicine is located on the upper campus of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah. It was founded in 1905 and is currently the only MD-granting medical school in the state of Utah. History The school bega ...

as an associate professor in the Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy before accepting a position at the

in 2011. Her more recent research is on the zebrafish

lateral line The lateral line, also called the lateral line organ (LLO), is a system of sensory organs found in fish, used to detect movement, vibration, and pressure gradients in the surrounding water. The sensory ability is achieved via modified epithelia ...

, which is a sensory organ. She researches mechanisms that allow the regeneration of

hair cell Hair cells are the sensory receptors of both the auditory system and the vestibular system in the ears of all vertebrates, and in the lateral line organ of fishes. Through mechanotransduction, hair cells detect movement in their environment. ...

s in the lateral line of zebrafish. Her research on hair cells has the potential to function as a model for reversing

hearing loss Hearing loss is a partial or total inability to hear. Hearing loss may be present at birth or acquired at any time afterwards. Hearing loss may occur in one or both ears. In children, hearing problems can affect the ability to acquire spo ...

in mammals, including humans. In 2022 Piotrowski succeeded

Nancy Bonini Nancy M. Bonini (born 1959) is an American neuroscientist and geneticist, best known for pioneering the use of ''Drosophila'' as a model organism to study neurodegeneration of the human brain. Using the ''Drosophila'' model approach, Bonini's la ...

of the ''

''.

Personal life

She is married to Alejandro Sánchez Alvarado, who is also a scientist at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research. They have two children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Piotrowski, Tatjana Living people People from Herrenberg 21st-century German zoologists University of San Francisco alumni University of Tübingen alumni Max Planck Society alumni University of Utah School of Medicine faculty 21st-century German women scientists 1968 births Stowers Institute for Medical Research people Annual Reviews (publisher) editors