Tomasz Nowakowski

2025 National Award Finalist — Faculty

Tomasz Nowakowski

Current Position:
Associate Professor

Institution:
University of California, San Francisco

Discipline:
Neuroscience

Recognized for: Pioneering living brain tissue models, uncovering principles of human brain development, and defining design principles to develop targeted therapies for newborn and pediatric brain injury.

Areas of Research Interest and Expertise:
Human Brain, Stem Cells, Autism

Previous Positions:

Postdoctoral Fellow, University of California, San Francisco (Advisor: Arnold Kriegstein)
PhD, The University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom (Advisor: David Price)
BSc, The University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Research Summary:

Tomasz Nowakowski, PhD, is advancing our understanding of human brain function by studying the human brain directly rather than relying on traditional mouse models. His lab develops innovative human-centric tools— including spatial genomics, live brain tissue cultures, and stem cell-derived organoids—to reveal how brain cells are generated and form connections during early development. Their research revealed that, unlike in mice, complex brain wiring in humans begins long before birth. The Nowakowski Lab is also developing gene delivery methods for brain cells that could lead to safer, more effective treatments for neurological disorders that are advancing toward clinical trials.

“I am deeply honored to be recognized as a Blavatnik National Award Finalist and sincerely thank the Blavatnik Family for their invaluable support of research in human neuroscience. Their commitment brings us closer to understanding and treating neurological and psychiatric disorders.”

Key Publications:

  1. RS Ziffra, CN Kim, JM Ross, A Wilfert, TN Turner, M Haeussler, AM Casella, PF Przytycki, KC Keough, D Shin, D Bogdanoff, A Kreimer, KS Pollard, SA Ament, EE Eichler, N Ahituv, TJ Nowakowski. Single-cell epigenomics reveals mechanisms of human cortical development. Nature 2021.
  2. RN Delgado, DE Allen, MG Keefe, WR Mancia Leon, RS Ziffra, EE Crouch, A. Alvarez-Buylla, TJ Nowakowski. Individual human cortical progenitors can produce excitatory and inhibitory neurons. Nature 2022.
  3. DE Allen, KC Donohue, CR Cadwell, D Shin, MG Keefe, VS Sohal, TJ Nowakowski. Fate mapping of neural stem cell niches reveals distinct origins of human cortical astrocytes. Science 2022.
  4. JP Andrews, J Gen, K Voitiuk, MAT Elliott, D Shin, A Robbins, A Spaeth, A Wang, L Li, D Solis, MG Keefe, JL Sevetson, JA Rivera de Jesús, KC Donohue, HH Larson, D Ehrlich, KI Auguste, S Salama, V Sohal, T Sharf, D Haussler, CR Cadwell, DV Schaffer, EF Chang, M Teodorescu, TJ Nowakowski. Multimodal evaluation of network activity and optogenetic interventions in human hippocampal slices. Nature Neuroscience 2024.

Other Honors:

2024 Vilcek Foundation Prize for Creative Promise in Biomedical Sciences, Vilcek Foundation
2023 Joseph Altman Award in Developmental Neuroscience, Japan Neuroscience Society
2022 New York Stem Cell Foundation Neuroscience Robertson Investigator, New York Stem Cell Foundation
2021 Sontag Foundation Distinguished Scientist Award, Sontag Foundation
2021 Scholar, Shurl & Kay Curci Foundation
2021 Klingenstein-Simons Fellowship in Neuroscience Award, Esther A. & Joseph Klingenstein Fund and the Simons Foundation
2018 Next Generation Leader, Allen Institute for Brain Science
2018 Eppendorf & Science Prize Finalist for Neurobiology, The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

In the Media:

Website