“Our Fellowship is strengthened not only by individual distinction, but by the diversity of perspectives and experiences its members bring,” said Sir Paul Nurse, President of the Royal Society in an announcement of the new fellows. “This incoming cohort highlights the truly international character of contemporary science and underscores the vital role that plays in achieving breakthroughs that benefit us all.”
IMBA Scientific Director Elly Tanaka is a pioneer in regeneration biology whose research has transformed the understanding of how complex tissues and organs regenerate. Tanaka’s work focuses on the molecular and cellular mechanisms that enable animals such as the axolotl salamander to regrow limbs, spinal cord tissue, and parts of the brain, which has provided fundamental insights with implications for regenerative medicine.
“The admission of Elly Tanaka into the Royal Society is a great honor and well deserved,” said Heinz Faßmann, President of the Austrian Academy of Sciences. “The Academy is proud that Tanaka leads IMBA, one of the most renowned institutes in its field, and that she continually produces groundbreaking work in regenerative biology.”
Founded in 1660, the Royal Society is the United Kingdom’s national academy of sciences and the world’s oldest scientific academy in continuous existence. It was established to advance knowledge through observation, experimentation, and the open exchange of ideas, and has played a central role in the development of modern science for more than three and a half centuries. Its Fellowship, which recognizes exceptional contributions to scientific research, comprises many of the world’s most distinguished scientists, engineers and technologists, elected in recognition of exceptional contributions to research.
There are currently 1900 living fellows and about 8000 throughout its history. The Royal Society has counted exceptional figures among its Fellows and Foreign Members, including Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Dorothy Hodgkin, Albert Einstein, Lise Meitner, and Stephen Hawking.
Alongside Elly Tanaka, quantum physicist Peter Zoller (University of Innsbruck) was also elected. Their fellowships increase the number of Royal Society Fellows currently affiliated with Austrian institutions from four to six.
About Elly Tanaka
Tanaka studied biochemistry at Harvard University and earned her PhD from University of California, San Francisco in 1993. Following postdoctoral research with Jeremy Brockes at University College London, she established her own laboratory at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics in Dresden in 1999. In 2008 she became Professor at the Center for Regenerative Therapies Dresden and later served as its director. In 2016, Tanaka moved to Vienna to join the Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP) as a senior scientist, and in 2024, she became Scientific Director of the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (IMBA).
Tanaka’s scientific achievements have been recognized through numerous prestigious awards, including the Ernst Schering Prize (2027), the Erwin Schrödinger Prize (2018), the FEBS | EMBO Women in Science Award (2020), the Schleiden Medal and the FWF Wittgenstein Award (both 2025). She has also been awarded multiple prestigious grants from the European Research Council, including Advanced Grants and a Synergy Grant.
Tanaka’s election to learned societies reflects her international standing. She is a member of Academia Europaea (2015), the European Molecular Biology Organization (2017), the Austrian Academy of Sciences (2021), the National Academy of Sciences (2023), and the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina (2024). She also serves on the Board of Directors of the International Society for Stem Cell Research.
About IMBA
The Institute of Molecular Biotechnology (IMBA) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences is one of Europe’s leading research institutes in the field of molecular biology. With over 200 scientists from more than 40 countries, IMBA is committed to excellent fundamental research. At IMBA, scientists seek to gain insight into human health, including inborn diseases of the heart and brain, degenerative diseases and regenerative strategies. Research topics pursued at IMBA include chromosome biology, RNA biology, cell and developmental biology, stem cell biology, neuroscience, and organoid research. IMBA is located at the Vienna BioCenter, Austria's vibrant cluster of universities, research institutes, and biotech companies in the life science field.