Lab members
Cecilia Sahlgren, Docent in Cell and Developmental Biology
Position: Principal investigator (ÅAU and TU/e), Professor of Cell Biology (ÅAU), Professor in Biomedical Engineering (TU/e)
Malin Åkerfelt, Docent in Translational Cancer Biology
Position: Senior researcher (ÅAU)
Elenaé Vázquez-Ulloa, PhD in Biochemical Science
Position: Post-doctoral researcher (ÅAU)
Project: Jagged interactions in neuroendocrine cancer
Ezgi Özliseli, MSc in Biomedical Imaging
Position: PhD student (ÅAU; co-supervised together with Professor Jessica Rosenholm)
Project: 3D printed bioactive scaffolds integrated with cell-directed delivery of Notch inhibitor for muscle tissue engineering
Rasmus Niemi, MSc in Cell Biology
Position: PhD student (ÅAU)
Project: Probing the tumour microenvironment
Freddy Suarez-Rodriguez, MSc in Biology
Position: PhD student (ÅAU)
Project: Notch signalling in the vasculature
Marjaana Parikainen, MSc in Biochemistry
Position: PhD student (ÅAU; co-supervisor Professor Jyrki Heino, UTU)
Project: Roles of Jagged and alpha2beta1-integrin in breast and prostate cancers
William Eccleshall, MSc in Drug Discovery and Development
Position: PhD student (UTU; co-supervised together with Adjunct professor Päivi Koskinen, UTU)
Project: PIM kinases and Notch receptors in breast cancer
Janine Grolleman, MSc/Ir. in Biomedical Engineering
Position: PhD student (TU/e; co-supervised together with Professor Carlijn Bouten, TU/e)
Project: Mechanical forces in sprouting angiogenesis
Sami Sanlidag, MSc in Biomedical Imaging
Position: PhD student (ÅAU)
Project: Spatiotemporal control of Notch signaling
Noora Virtanen, MSc in Biochemistry
Position: PhD student (ÅAU)
Project: Mechanical regulation of Notch signaling in vascular development and homeostasis
Kai-Lan Lin, MSc in Biomedical Imaging
Position: PhD student (ÅAU)
Project: Tools and technologies to study and control cell-cell signaling
Cansu Karakaya, MSc in Biomedical Science and Engineering
Position: PhD student (TU/e, co-supervised together with Associate professor Sandra Loerakker)
Project: Mechanoregulation of Notch signaling for functionally organized engineered vessels
Alexandra Manea, MSc in Drug Discovery and Development
Position: Project assistant (ÅAU)
Project: Tumor and Lymph Node on Chip for cancer studies (ÅAU)
Elena Martinez-Klimova, PhD in Synthetic Biology
Position: Post-doctoral researcher (ÅAU)
Project: Bioelectronic control of cell functions
Elmeri Kiviluoto, MSc in Biomedical Imaging
Position: PhD student (ÅAU)
Project: Cytoskeleton and Jagged dynamics upon ligand-receptor interactions on dynamic micropatterns
Erica Långbacka, MSc in Cell and Molecular Bioscience
Position: PhD student (ÅAU, co-supervisor Senior researcher Malin Åkerfelt)
Project: Notch crosstalk in the tumour microenvironment
Jordy van Asten, MSc in Biomedical Engineering
Position: PhD student (TU/e, co-supervised together with Associate professor Sandra Loerakker)
Project: Computational modeling of the interplay between Notch and mechanics to improve the organisation of engineered tissue
Shayan Zarin-Bal, MSc in Molecular Biology
Position: PhD student (TU/e, co-supervised together with Tommaso Ristori)
Project: YAP/TAZ and Notch crosstalk in sprouting angiogenesis
Büşra Dayıoğlu, MSc in Bioengineering
Position: Research assistant (ÅAU)
Project: Flagship InFLAMES
Eva van den Hurk, MSc in Biomedical Engineering
Position: PhD student (TU/e, co-supervised together with Professor Carlijn Bouten)
Project:ERC-ADvG Align
Jessica Salo, MSc in Biomedical Imaging
Position: PhD student (ÅAU, co-supervised together with Prof. Hongbo Zhang)
Project: Targeted intracellular CRISPR/Cas9 delivery in vivo applications for novel liver cancer therapy through c-Myc knockout
Alumni:
PhD students
- Laura Tiemeijer (2022, ÅAU), next step: pharmaceutical specialist at Organon, the Netherlands
- Valeriy Paramonov (2021, UTU), next step: postdoctoral researcher at Karolinska Institute, Sweden
- Nicole van Engeland (2021, ÅAU), next step: system test engineer at ASML, the Netherlands
- Daniel Antfolk (2020, ÅAU), next step: postdoctoral researcher at Moffitt Cancer Center, USA
- Christian Antila (2020, ÅAU), next step: postdoctoral researcher at the Päivi Koskinen lab, University of Turku, Finland
- Jelle Sleeboom (2020, TU/e), next step: postdoctoral researcher at the Jaap den Toonder lab, TU/e Mechanical Engineering, the Netherlands
- Rob Driessen (2020, TU/e), next step: project manager at Mechanobiology Services Eindhoven (MS/e), the Netherlands
- Arianna Mauretti (2018, TU/e), next step: junior researcher QC at Merck Group, Italy
- Iris Lähdeniemi (2018, ÅAU, co-supervised with Diana Toivola), next step: postdoctoral researcher at Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland (FIMM), Finland
- Sebastian Landor (2016, KI, co-supervised with Urban Lendahl), next step: postdoctoral researcher at Åbo Akademi University
- Marika Sjöqvist (2015, ÅAU), next step: postdoctoral researcher at the Emma Andersson lab, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden
- Anders Mutvei (2014, KI, co-supervised by Urban Lendahl), next step: postdoctoral researcher at the John Blenis lab at Weill Cornell Medicine / Harvard Medical School, USA; PI, Uppsala University, Sweden
Postdocs
- Kati Kemppainen, next step: project coordinator, Research Services, Åbo Akademi University, Finland
- Oscar Stassen, next step: postdoctoral researches at the Jaap den Toonder lab, TU/e, the Netherlands
- Hetty Manenschijn
- Sebastian Landor
- Johanna Ahlskog, next step: senior scientist, Orion Corporation, Finland
- Marika Sjöqvist, next step: design transfer specialist, Perkin Elmer, Finland
- Tommaso Ristori, next step: postdoctoral researcher at the Christopher S. Chen lab, Boston University, USA; assistant professor, TU/e, the Netherlands
- Jolanta Lundgren, next step: postdoctoral researcher at the Pirta Hotulainen lab, University of Helsinki, Finland
- Adolfo Rivero-Müller, next step: professor at Medical University of Lublin, Poland
- Veronika Mamaeva, deceased with dignity 6.1.2018
MSc students, research technicians, research assistants
- Valtteri Lempinen (ÅAU, 2022)
- Emma Suhonen (ÅAU, 2021)
- Sara Koivuluoma (ÅAU, 2021), next step: Precordior, Finland
- Iris M.T. Pijnenburg (TU/e, 2021)
- C. van den Bersselaar (TU/e, 2021)
- D.D.J.I. Bakker (TU/e, 2021)
- Linda Boekestijn (TU/e, 2021)
- Jaakko Ahlberg (ÅAU, 2021), next step: Thermo Fisher Scientific, Finland
- Iida-Maria Laiho (ÅAU, 2020-2022), next step: Orion Corporation, Finland
- Lana Selhorst (TU/e, 2020)
- T.N.E. Volleman (TU/e, 2020)
- Sami Sanlidag (ÅAU, 2019), next step: PhD student at Cell Fate Lab, Finland
- Jakob Storbacka (ÅAU, 2019), next step: chemistry and biology teacher, Finland
- Janine Grolleman (TU/e, 2018), next step: PhD student at Cell Fate Lab, the Netherlands
- R.A. Quiñonez Uribe (TU/e, 2016)
- Jelle Sleeboom (TU/e, 2016), next step: PhD student at Cell Fate Lab, the Netherlands
- Laura Tiemeijer (TU/e, 2016), next step: PhD student at Cell Fate Lab, the Netherlands
- F.E. Nieuweboer (TU/e, 2016)
- Rob Driessen (TU/e, 2015), next step: PhD student at Cell Fate Lab, the Netherlands
- M.J.H. Vogel (TU/e, 2015)
- B.C.A. Zwarthoed (TU/e, 2015)
- G.J. Lancee (TU/e, 2014)
- M.I. Verspoor (TU/e, 2014)
National and international collaborators:
- Associate professor Emma R. Andersson, Karolinska Institute, Sweden
- Associate professor Kayla Bayless, Texas A&M University, USA
- Dr. Katie Bentley, Francis Crick Institute, UK
- Professor Carlijn Bouten, Eindhoven University of Technology, the Netherlands
- Professor Christopher Chen, Boston University, USA
- Assistant professor Vito Conte, Eindhoven University of Technology, the Netherlands and IBEC, Spain
- Professor Patricia Dankers, Eindhoven University of Technology, the Netherlands
- Professor Jaap den Toonder, Eindhoven University of Technology, the Netherlands
- Professor John Eriksson, Åbo Akademi University, Finland
- Professor Penny Handford, University of Oxford, UK
- Professor Apostolos Klinakis, Biomedical Research Foundation of the Academy of Athens, Greece
- Adjunct professor, Päivi Koskinen, University of Turku, Finland
- Professor Rhett Kovall, University of Cincinnati, USA
- Professor Urban Lendahl, Karolinska Institute, Sweden
- Professor Bernhard Lendl, Vienna University of Technology, Austria
- Professor Mika Lindén, Ulm University, Germany
- Associate professor Sandra Loerakker, Eindhoven University of Technology, the Netherlands
- Professor Milos Pekny, University of Gothenburg, Sweden
- Professor Jessica Rosenholm, Åbo Akademi University, Finland
- Professor Chris Siebel, Genentech, USA
- Associate professor Diana Toivola, Åbo Akademi University, Finland
- Professor Per Uhlén, Karolinska Institute, Sweden
- Assistant professor Ye Wang, Eindhoven University of Technology, the Netherlands
- Professor Ioanna Zergioti, Institute of Communication and Computer Systems, National Technical University of Athens, Greece
- Professor Ronald Österbacka, Åbo Akademi University, Finland
and many valuable collaborators at Åbo Akademi University within Cell Biology, Pharmacy, Physics Chemistry and Molecular Modeling.