Katja Brüeckner, an associate professor in the department of cell and tissue biology in the School of Dentistry at the University of California, San Francisco, died on March 16. She was 54 years old.
A native of Germany, Dr. Brüeckner, received her Ph.D. in biology and cell signaling from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory and the University of Heidelberg She performed postdoctoral research at Harvard Medical School.
The Brüeckner lab has addressed fundamental questions in development, homeostasis, and malignant disease, studying paradigms in the invertebrate genetic model organism Drosophila melanogaster. Recent research focused on cell signaling, the role of the microenvironment, hematopoiesis, innate immunity, epithelial-mesenchymal transition, and organ development.
Dr. Brüeckner was a member of the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research. She also was a member of the School of Dentistry admissions committee and served on the school’s Faculty Council.