Meet our DCs
| Your Name: | Bita Asghariastanehei |
| Hosting institution: | University Claud Bernard Lyon 1 |
| Secondments (institutions): | Rosscoff Biology Station |
| Nationality: | Iranian |
| Master degree (university, country): | Molecular Medicine at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway. |
| What was the title of your master thesis? | Investigating the Role of ALK2 Receptor in Multiple Myeloma |
| What is the key objective of your PhD project? | Investigating the Role of Red Blood Cell (RBC) Ion Channel Activity in RBC Disorders, Rheology, Senescence, and Coagulation. |
| What do you like best about your new location? | I really like the warm, friendly, and welcoming atmosphere in Lyon. I also enjoy the pleasant weather and the delicious desserts 😉 |
| What do you still need to get used to? | I need to spend a bit more time learning the French language. Other than that, I adapted to life in Lyon almost immediately! |
| Your Name: | Federica Giovannelli |
| Hosting institution: | UMC Utrecht |
| Secondments (institutions): | Station Biologique De Roscoff, Sorbonne University |
| Nationality: | Italian |
| Master degree (university, country): | Gent University, Belgium |
| What was the title of your master thesis? | ‘Towards new scaffolds with hierarchical vascular structures and patterned cells for tissue engineering’ |
| What is the key objective of your PhD project? | Understanding how activating the Piezo1 channel—using chemical modulators—impacts the mechanical properties of red blood cells, particularly their deformability, in both healthy donors and individuals with sickle cell disease. |
| What do you like best about your new location? | I really love how vibrant and cozy Utrecht feels. There’s always something going on, but it’s not overwhelming like some bigger cities. Plus, the canals and old buildings are super charming! |
| What do you still need to get used to? | Definitely the Dutch weather! I’m still figuring out how to dress for all four seasons in one day. |
| Your Name: | Ariel Coli |
| Hosting institution: | Saarland University |
| Secondments (institutions): | Nanion Technologies (Munich, Germany) and Sanquin Blood Bank (Amsterdam, Netherlands) |
| Nationality: | Italian |
| Master degree (university, country): | Politecnico of Milan, Italy |
| What was the title of your master thesis? | Efficient Cellular Penetration And Biocompatibility Of FE23-Functionalized Magnetite Nanoparticles: A Promising Platform For Targeted Drug Delivery |
| What is the key objective of your PhD project? | Develop a novel drug delivery system using red blood cells |
| What do you like best about your new location? | Saarbrucken is a small city so everything is close by |
| What do you still need to get used to? | The weather (so cold!) and the language barrier (though I am working on this one😊) |
| Your Name: | Reetta Penttinen |
| Hosting institution: | Nanion Technologies GmbH |
| Secondments (institutions): | – |
| Nationality: | Finnish |
| Master degree (university, country): | Aalto University, Finland |
| What was the title of your master thesis? | Optimization and characterization of a flexMEA multi-target electrochemical aptasensor for the detection of malaria biomarkers |
| What is the key objective of your PhD project? | Unravelling the function of erythrocytes’ ion channels in healthy RBCs and RBC disorders via high-throughput electrophysiological investigations |
| What do you like best about your new location? | Munich is a big city that has everything possible, yet it is close to nature. I also really enjoy all the Bavarian traditions |
| What do you still need to get used to? | The weather can sometimes be a bit too warm for me and it can get very crowded here. |
| Your Name: | Wadea Abu Dahoud |
| Hosting institution: | Cysmic GmbH |
| Secondments (institutions): | University of Saarland |
| Nationality: | Israel |
| Master degree (university, country): | University of Haifa, Israel |
| What was the title of your master thesis? | Impact of the Russo-Ukrainian War on Chronic Pain Fluctuations in Ukrainian Patients |
| What is the key objective of your PhD project? | Developing a deep learning model to classify red blood cell morphologies to improve diagnostic accuracy for hematological conditions |
| What do you like best about your new location? | What I like best about Saarbrücken is its cultural mix, especially being so close to France and Luxembourg. |
| What do you still need to get used to? | long bureaucratic processes, which often require patience and persistence |
| Your Name: | Loane Schertzer |
| Hosting institution: | Sanquin Research, Amsterdam |
| Secondments (institutions): | Not yet |
| Nationality: | French |
| Master degree (university, country): | Double cursus: Master in Biotechnology Engineering (Superior School of Biotechnology of Strasbourg, France) and Master in Pharmaceutical Biotechnology (University of Strasbourg, France) |
| What was the title of your master thesis? | The role of persistence in the evolutionary pathway of bacterial antibiotic responses from susceptible to resistant – University of Boston, USA |
| What is the key objective of your PhD project? | Investigating the involvement of ion channels during erythropoiesis through a CRISPR screen, a large-scale experimental approach to discover genes involved in a specific phenotype. |
| What do you like best about your new location? | Amsterdam is a very friendly and dynamic city, with lots of cultural, musical and sporting events. It’s impossible to get bored here. |
| What do you still need to get used to? | Restaurants that close very early in the evening! |