Institute of Molecular Biotechnology (IMBA) - Vienna, AT
https://tanakalab.org/

Keynote Speaker / External Scientific Organizer: CMMC Lecture I

Professor Elly M Tanaka is Scientific Director of the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology (IMBA) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences at the Vienna BioCenter, Austria, and an internationally recognized leader in regeneration biology. A biochemist by training, she has held prominent academic positions at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics and the Center for Regenerative Therapies Dresden, and is a member of multiple scientific academies, including the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and EMBO.

Her research focuses on the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying vertebrate tissue regeneration, with a particular emphasis on limb and spinal cord regeneration. Using the highly regenerative salamander *Ambystoma mexicanum* (axolotl) as a model system, her work seeks to understand why some vertebrates can fully regenerate complex structures while this capacity is largely lost in mammals. 

She has made seminal contributions to identifying the cellular sources and molecular signals that drive regeneration. Her group pioneered the use of transgenic and molecular genetic approaches in the axolotl to trace lineage and uncover the stem cells responsible for regenerating limbs and spinal cord tissue, as well as the injury-induced signals that initiate and guide this process. 

By integrating developmental biology, stem cell biology, and advanced genomics, her research has revealed key principles of tissue regeneration, including mechanisms of cell dedifferentiation, patterning, and organ reconstruction. Recent work from her laboratory has mapped the cellular composition of the salamander brain and identified cell types and pathways that enable neuronal regeneration, providing insights into the evolution of vertebrate tissues and potential strategies for regenerative medicine. 

Professor Tanaka has received numerous prestigious awards, including the Ernst Schering Prize, the FEBS | EMBO Women in Science Award, and the Wittgenstein Prize, reflecting the international recognition of her groundbreaking contributions to regeneration biology and their implications for future therapeutic approaches. 

For further information, please visit: 
https://tanakalab.org/