Tatiana Antonovna Dettlaff (Russian: Татьяна Антоновна Детлаф; 1912–2006) was a Russian developmental biologist renowned for her pioneering research on oocyte growth and maturation in sturgeons, a group of ancient fish species facing significant conservation challenges. A key aspect of her work involved developing methods for the artificial propagation of sturgeons through hormonal induction of spawning, controlled fertilisation, and embryo rearing.
Dettlaff was Professor Emeritus of the Kol'tsov Institute Developmental Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, where she headed the Filatov Laboratory of Experimental Embryology for more than 20 years and served as the Editor-in-Chief of ontogenez (Russian Journal of Developmental Biology). She was an honorary member of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, and a member of the International Society of Developmental Biologists. Dettlaff was the recipient of Kowalevsky Prize, the most important scientific award in Russia in the field of developmental biology.
Early life and education
Dettlaff was born in Moscow to Sofia Aronovna and Anton Iosifovich. Her mother was a physician, and her father was a teacher who headed the pedagogical and agricultural training colleges in Volokolamsk from 1918 to 1929.
After graduating from a seven-year school and completing two courses of training college, Dettlaff appeared and passed the entrance exams for the biology department of the 2nd Moscow Pedagogical Institute in 1925. However, she did not secure admission as a few slots were reserved for the children of employees. Instead, she enrolled in the Simferopol Pedagogical Institute. A few months later, Dettlaff transferred to the 1st Moscow State University after the biological faculty announced additional admission spots. She joined the Department of Developmental Dynamics under Prof. Mikhail M. Zavadovskii, a Russian and Soviet biologist specialising in the reproductive biology of livestock.
During her third year, while at the Zvengorod Biological Station, Dettlaff attended a practical course in microsurgery in developmental mechanics conducted by Prof. Dmitrii P. Filatov, an eminent scientist and embryologist. Although she was interested in the field of developmental mechanics, Dettlaff did not follow Prof. Filatov for her diploma work as she dreamed of working in phenogenetics. In response, Filatov invited her to the Institute of Experimental Biology and introduced her to the director Prof. Nikolai K. Kol’tsov, who proposed she work on a project on Morphology of embryonic lethaIs in Drosophila. He accompanied Dettlaff as a technician to the Institute where she was tasked with looking after axolotls who regularly became ill and died.
References
- ^ Dettlaff, T. A. (December 1997). "A personal approach to embryological research in Soviet Russia. An interview with Professor Tatiana A. Dettlaff. Interview by Sergei G. Vassetzky". The International Journal of Developmental Biology. 41 (6): 789–791. ISSN 0214-6282. PMID 9449454.
- ^ Vassetzky, S. G.; Goncharov, B. F. (2007-07-01). "Tatiana Antonovna Dettlaff (1912–2006)". Russian Journal of Developmental Biology. 38 (4): 253–255. doi:10.1134/S106236040704008X. ISSN 1608-3326.
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