Tanja Godenschwege

Tanja Godenschwege serves as Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at Florida Atlantic University with laboratory facilities at both the Jupiter (MC-19, 209) and Boca Raton (SC, 209) campuses.

Education:

• Ph.D. from Bayerische Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, Germany

Her research program investigates neurological disease mechanisms using Drosophila melanogaster as a model system, leveraging evolutionary conservation of neural genes between flies and humans. Key focus areas include neurodegeneration/regeneration processes, axonal transport dynamics, injury signaling pathways, and synapse formation mechanisms. The lab characterizes disease-relevant genes like APP/APPL, L1-CAM/Neuroglian, and attractin/Dsd through anatomical, electrophysiological, molecular, and live imaging techniques, with direct relevance to Alzheimer's disease, cancer, and aging.

Recent publications (2017-2019) demonstrate consistent emphasis on L1-type cell adhesion molecules in axonal trafficking and neuronal survival, with emerging work on conopeptide screening for nervous system therapeutics. These studies employ Drosophila genetic models to explore fundamental neurobiological processes applicable to human disorders.

She maintains an active collaboration with Frank Mari's Lab (now at Hollings Marine Laboratory) developing novel approaches to screen bioactive conopeptides for neurological applications.