Tanja received her PhD in Neurobiology from the Maastricht University in The Netherlands in 2005. She also has a MSc degree in Clinical Psychology from the University of Trier in Germany.

Coming from a clinical background, Tanja has been intrigued by the exploration of mind-body interactions with regard to food intake regulation. For her graduate work Tanja has investigated the role overweight, exercise and weight loss on Glucagon-like Peptide 1 (GLP-1) regulation. From 2005 to 2007 she has been a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Psychiatry at UCSF examining the role of stress on food intake via brain reward circuitries. Tanja has been working as a Research Associate with the Department of Preventive Medicine at USC since 2008. At USC she investigates the role of brain reward as a potential link between Insulin Sensitivity and Weight Gain in Latino children.