Tanja Zeller

Tanja Zeller is a DZHK Professor for Genomics and Systems Biology at the University of Lübeck's Medical Faculty, based at the Institute for Cardiogenetics and University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein since October 2014. She leads a research group integrating molecular biology, bioinformatics, and clinical epidemiology to advance cardiovascular systems medicine.

Her research centers on molecular biomarker discovery for cardiovascular diseases using multi-omics approaches. She combines genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic, and metabolomic analyses with molecular experiments and large cohort studies to investigate genetic variants' roles in cardiovascular phenotypes. Key focus areas include myocardial infarction diagnostics, coronary artery disease progression, and hypertension mechanisms.

Professor Zeller's publication record shows consistent innovation in cardiovascular biomarker research, particularly in high-sensitivity troponin applications, microRNA profiling, and transcriptome-wide association studies. Her work bridges basic science and clinical implementation, with strong emphasis on diagnostic and prognostic tool development.

Her scientific recognition includes:

• Award Outstanding Reviewer 2019 for Circulation
• Best Doctoral Thesis from University Gießen

As Speaker of the Systems Medicine Project Committee since 2016, she drives collaborative research initiatives. Her group leverages population-based cohorts and disease registries, supported by DZHK funding, to translate genomic findings into clinical practice. Current work includes the Germany-wide genome sequencing research program for cardiovascular disease.

The Institute for Cardiogenetics at University of Lübeck serves as her primary research base, where her team develops engineered heart tissue models and analyzes multi-omics datasets to unravel cardiovascular disease mechanisms through systems biology approaches.