Tanja studied marine biology and chemistry at Griffith University before starting her PhD under the supervision of Professor Anthony Carroll. Her PhD focused on isolating and identifying antimicrobial natural products from marine invertebrates such as sponges, ascidians and bryozoans. During her PhD, she also assessed the structural overlap of terrestrial and marine microbial natural products.

At Bactobio, Tanja works on the cultivation of selected microbes and the activation of compound production. She is also helping the Compound Discovery team with the isolation and characterisation of the active compounds

Outside the lab, Tanja is a passionate underwater hockey player who enjoys being outdoors and attending live music concerts.