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: | Mate Majtenyi |
| Hosting institution: | Sanquin Research, Amsterdam |
| Secondments (institutions): | Station Biologique De Roscoff, Sorbonne University |
| Nationality: | Hungary |
| Master degree (university, country): | Master in Biotechnology, University of Glasgow |
| What was the title of your master thesis? | ‘Investigating the presence of multiple antimicrobial resistance genes in novel bacterial isolates’ |
| What is the key objective of your PhD project? | Studying the role of ion channels and amino acid transporters in erythropoiesis, characterising downstream signalling and metabolic pathways, and applying these insights for the cost-efficient upscaling of in vitro erythropoiesis |
| What do you like best about your new location? | Warm, welcoming community and beautiful city. |
| What do you still need to get used to? | Cycling in rain. |
| Your Name: | Nayssen Naouara |
| Hosting institution: | Fondazione IRCCS Ca’ Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico |
| Secondments (institutions): | Saarland University in Saarbrücken, Faculty of Natural Sciences (NT) |
| Nationality: | Tunisian |
| Master degree (university, country): | Engineering degree in Biology, National Institute of Applied Science and Technology, Tunis |
| What was the title of your master thesis? | ‘Red blood cell channelopathies: diagnosis, characterisation of disease and thrombotic complications’ |
| What is the key objective of your PhD project? | The project aims to advance the diagnosis and characterization of red blood cell channelopathies by investigating ion channel activity, red cell functional changes, and thrombotic risk associated with different genetic variants |
| What do you like best about your new location? | Friendly people, good food, museums and fashion |
| What do you still need to get used to? | Ciao and grazie are not enough to become Milanese, I still need to learn the language |
| Your Name: | Sara Savino |
| Hosting institution: | Saarland University, Saarbrücken |
| Secondments (institutions): | Station Biologique De Roscoff, Sorbonne University |
| Nationality: | Italian |
| Master degree (university, country): | MSc in Biomedical Engineering (Politecnico di Milano, Italy) |
| What was the title of your master thesis? | ‘Towards a bone-marrow on chip model: establishment of mesenchymal stromal cells and hematopoietic stem cells coculture in a microfluidic platform’ |
| What is the key objective of your PhD project? | Development of a screening method for measuring the membrane potential of erythrocytes in a suspension |
| What do you like best about your new location? | That is a small city with a lot of nature around 😊 |
| What do you still need to get used to? | That everything close early and that on Sundays nothing is open |
| Your Name: | Angélica Niño Hernández |
| Hosting institution: | Station Biologique de Roscoff (CNRS РSorbonne Universit̩) |
| Secondments (institutions): | UMC Utrecht (April 2025) and Nanion Technologies (November 2025). |
| Nationality: | Colombian |
| Master degree (university, country): | Universidad Nacional de Colombia (Bogotá, Colombia) |
| What was the title of your master thesis? | ‘Interaction of peripheral and cortical somatosensory stimulation on somatosensory information processing in the vibrissal primary motor cortex in rats’ |
| What is the key objective of your PhD project? | Advance in the understanding of red blood cell (RBC) physiology by combining electrophysiology and complementary techniques, with the goal of elucidating the mechanisms of ion movements and ion channel activity upon differentiation and RBCs membranopathies. |
| What do you like best about your new location? | The international and tranquil environment here in Roscoff which gives me both focus and the chance to meet people from diverse scientific backgrounds. |
| What do you still need to get used to? | Balance between independence and guidance, and sometimes the lack of plantain in my diet. |
| 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: | Andrea Caputo |
| Hosting institution: | Cysmic GmbH Saarbrücken |
| Secondments (institutions): | Â Saarland University, more to be scheduled |
| Nationality: | Italian |
| Master degree (university, country): | Master’s degree in Physics of Complex Systems, Università di    Torino (Italy) |
| What was the title of your master thesis? | Uncertainty Prediction in Deformable Image Registration for Contour Propagation: Application of Deep Learning on the ANACONDA Algorithms |
| What is the key objective of your PhD project? | To develop a robust, highly accurate AI model for the classification of Red Blood Cells (RBCs) in flow, using images acquired by different instruments during their motion. This AI model will be integrated into Erysense, to deliver an image-based characterization of RBCs. |
| What do you like best about your new location? | Stimulating scientific environment, quiet city, city surrounded by greenery  |
| What do you still need to get used to? | Rainy and cold weather |
| 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! |