Tanja Stadler earned her PhD in 2008 from the Technical University of Munich with a dissertation titled Evolving Trees – Models for Speciation and Extinction in Phylogenetics. Since then, she has advanced from a junior group leader to a full professor of computational evolution at ETH Zurich, bridging the gap between statistical mathematics and genomic data analysis.
Academic Foundation and Rise at ETH Zurich
Stadler completed her initial studies in applied mathematics and statistics across the Technical University of Munich, the University of Cardiff, and the University of Canterbury. Following her doctorate under advisors Anusch Taraz and Mike Steel, she engaged in postdoctoral research with Sebastian Bonhoeffer at ETH Zurich. She transitioned to an assistant professor role in 2014, earning promotions to associate professor in 2017 and full professor in 2021. She currently serves as the Vice-Chair of the Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering.
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Her research develops statistical frameworks utilizing birth-death processes to interpret phylogenetic trees. By accounting for sampling variations through time, her models allow for the consistent analysis of both fossil records and contemporary genomic sequences. Her team founded the Taming the BEAST initiative in 2016, an educational platform and workshop series supporting the use of the Bayesian phylogenetic software BEAST 2. Her work extends beyond theoretical mathematics into macroevolution, including studies on dinosaur extinction and developmental biology.
Epidemiological and Public Policy Engagement
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Stadler presided over the Swiss National COVID-19 Science task force from August 2021 to March 2022. She led data-driven monitoring, specifically providing the Federal Government with daily calculations of the reproductive number. Her team developed the tracking platform cov-spectrum, which supported international lineage designation and vaccine policy discussions. Additionally, she coordinates wastewater surveillance projects between ETH Zurich and Eawag to track pathogen variants such as SARS-CoV-2 and influenza.
Fast facts
- Born: 1981, Stuttgart, Germany
- Citizenship: Germany, Switzerland
- Current Position: Professor of Computational Evolution, ETH Zurich
- Education: PhD, Technical University of Munich, 2008
- Key Software: BEAST 2, cov-spectrum
- Awards: Rössler Prize (2022), ETH Golden Owl (2016)
- Professional Membership: German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina
- Research Focus: Phylodynamics, Epidemiology, Macroevolution
Questions readers ask
What is the primary focus of Tanja Stadler's mathematical research?
She develops statistical tools to estimate evolutionary and population dynamics, applying them to fields such as epidemiology, macroevolution, and immunology.
What role did she play during the COVID-19 pandemic in Switzerland?
She chaired the Swiss National COVID-19 Science task force and provided the government with epidemic monitoring data, including reproductive numbers and variant tracking.
Achievements
- Held posts at ETH Zurich
