Doctoral candidates

DC1: Ioanna Mina

My name is Ioanna, and I come from Greece. I obtained my integrated master’s in biotechnology at the Agricultural University of Athens. I did my first internship at the National Hellenic Research Foundation, where I got to know the “omic” technologies and their potential to characterise and better understand complex molecular mechanisms underlying diseases. I continued my internship and conducted my thesis with title “Study of the mammary gland during lactation in tgRANKL transgenic mice” at the Biomedical Sciences Research Centre “Alexander Fleming”. During the thesis project I discovered my love for research and my interest in understanding basic molecular mechanisms and how they are altered in disease. I am now joining DisCo-I, looking forward to contribute to the understanding of the mechanisms of the collagen I degradation process during fibrosis. I believe that, in cooperation with the other 5 doctoral candidates of DisCo-I, we will be able to provide a missing knowledge on pathophysiology of collagen I degradation, which in the future may improve the lives of patients with chronic diseases with fibrotic component.

DC2: Emily Martin

I am Emily and originally from Bristol, UK. I completed my bachelor's degree in biomedical science at Cardiff University, graduating in 2021. During my degree, I took the opportunity to complete an Erasmus+ traineeship at the University of Copenhagen in hypoxia-induced extracellular matrix remodelling. My bachelor's thesis was on cytokines in atherosclerosis. Having enjoyed research so much whilst in Copenhagen, I continued with my master's studies at the University of Edinburgh, graduating with distinction in 2022. There, I completed two research projects, the first investigating matrix metalloproteinases in skin cancer metastasis and the second determining any role for macrophages in salivary gland development. Now, I am a DisCo-I ESR supervised by Dr. Federica Genovese at Nordic Bioscience A/S and Prof. Michael J. Davies at the University of Copenhagen. I am investigating and developing a novel Collagen I-specific biomarker assay for better diagnosis of kidney, heart and liver diseases. When I'm not in the lab, I enjoy sports and spending time with friends.

DC3: Juliana Boukhaled

Juliana was born in Houston, Texas in 1999 to Lebanese/Dutch parents and moved throughout the middle east during her childhood. After finishing high school, she moved to Europe to begin her academic journey. She completed her Bachelor's degree in Biomedical Science and her Master's degree specializing in Inflammation and Pathophysiology at Maastricht University. This is where she discovered her love for the cardiovascular system. Her graduate internship took place at the School for Cardiovascular diseases and investigated the effects of drug-induced vascular calcification in atherosclerotic mice. From 2022 onwards, she will begin her PhD project at RD Nephrologie investigating collagen 1 metabolism in cardiovascular disease associated with renal failure.

DC4: Hanne Devos

Hi, I’m Hanne. I’ve lived in Ghent, Belgium for my entire life. Fascinated by the human body and diseases, I studied Biomedical Sciences at Ghent University. There, I discovered my passion for research. During my bachelor years, I appreciated the interplay of experiments and data-analysis. Fascinated by the latter, I proceeded in the Master of Biomedical Sciences in the major Systems Biology. I came in touch with proteomics research and I was immediately enraptured by its power and possibilities. At the same time, during my master thesis at the VIB-UGent Centre for Medical Biotechnology, I investigated tissue-specific phosphorylation events in the human proteome, and their functional implications and their relation with disease, using the ionbot search engine, appreciating the variety of Post-Translational Modifications. In addition, I took courses on data-analysis of genomics and transcriptomics data as well as algorithms. I hope to delve further into the exiting world of proteomics, learning both experimental techniques and data-analysis skills. The DisCo-I programme immediately appealed to me, both for the research as well as the amazing opportunity to work with both academics and industry. I’m excited to go abroad and learn about new cultures!

DC5: Teresa Frattini

Hi, I am Teresa and I am from northern Italy. I am 25 years old and I have been passionate about scientific subjects since high school. I obtained my Bachelor's degree in 2016 in Biotechnology at Alma Mater Studiorum in the University of Bologna. I subsequently enrolled in the Master's degree course in Medical, Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Biotechnology at the University of Parma. Here I was able to expand my knowledge in the field of regenerative medicine, developing a thesis on the evaluation of a decellularised equine cartilage matrix as a therapy in joint injuries. After graduating in 2021, I won a research fellowship at the Normal Anatomy Laboratory in Parma where I was able to refine my skills in a histology laboratory.
In my spare time I love reading and going running. I like travelling a lot, so the idea of interfacing with students all over Europe for the DisCo-I project is very appealing to me. I am young and I am eager to learn new things, so I am very grateful for this new opportunity and I am looking forward to starting the DisCo-I project as a PhD student at the I2MC institute in Toulouse, France.

DC6: Mayra Alejandra Jaimes Campos

Hello, my name is Mayra Jaimes. I come from Bucaramanga, Colombia. I finished my bachelor's degree in microbiology and bioanalysis at the Industrial University of Santander in 2017. During my undergraduate, I joined a research seedbed that stimulated and supported my investigative and creative spirit. In my last year of undergraduate, I developed my research work supporting the activities of a master's student. I participated by standardizing the Raman technique for metabolite detection, identifying the metabolic profile, and analyzing the data. I knew I wanted to continue the research path, so I started my master's degree in microbiology. My master's work focused on the use of the HPLC-MS technique for the detection of metabolic biomarkers in serum samples from patients with different grades of infection and chronic disease. Then, I started an internship at the Institute of Parasitology and Biomedicine López-Neyra in Granada, Spain, where I developed two projects to analyze genomic datasets using bioinformatic tools. In December 2022 I will start my Ph.D. at mosaiques-diagnostics GmbH of Hannover, Germany, where my main contribution will be focused on the analysis of molecular features associated with COL1 degradation by gene expression/ transcriptomics data and integrative analysis of the multi-omics molecular data.

Beneficiaries

Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, France

Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM) unit U1297 is both affiliated to Inserm and to the University of Toulouse. Inserm counts 360 laboratories and 6000 scientists focused entirely on human health. The host laboratory is internationally recognized for expertise in (renal) physiology, animal disease models, transcriptomics, proteomics and systems biology.

Websites: https://www.inserm.fr/en/, https://renalfibrosis.fr/

Nordic Bioscience A/S, Denmark

Nordic Bioscience (NB) is a leader in biomarker development and extracellular matrix expert. Since the early 1990’s it has produced a large number of immunoassays (>150) to detect remodelling of the extracellular matrix. NB proprietary technology, the Protein FingerprintTM technology, allows to quantify the process of extracellular matrix protein formation and degradation in a serum, plasma or urine sample. Two assays for collagen type III and VI formation have been recognized by the FDA with a letter of intent (https://www.fda.gov/media/138541/download) and a letter of support.

Website: https://www.nordicbioscience.com/

RD –Nephrologie SAS, France

RD-Néphrologie (RDN) is a SME, spin-off of the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) in France. Its aim is to promote and coordinate medical research, particularly in the renal field, and exploit the obtained results. The scientists of RDN have expertise in fundamental research, clinical studies and management of intellectual property rights and patents. RDN develops innovative methods to personalize renal replacement therapies. RDN is involved in both national and international projects and collaborations.

Website: https://www.rd-n.org/en/home/

Biomedical Research Foundation, Academy of Athens, Greece

The Biomedical Research Foundation of the Academy of Athens (BRFAA) is a non-profit institute dedicated to understanding, treating, and preventing human ailments through biomedical research. BRFAA has gained prominence as one of the major Institutes for Biomedical research in Greece and researchers from the Institute have been awarded multiple competitive grants, including Marie Curie fellowships, and training programs.

Website: http://www.bioacademy.gr/, http://www.bioacademy.gr/lab/vlahou

mosaiques diagnostics GmbH, Germany

Mosaiques Diagnostics (MOS) is the worldwide leader in clinical proteomics. MOS is focused on the application of capillary-electrophoresis coupled to mass spectrometry (CE-MS) in diagnosis, monitoring of disease progression, predicting therapeutic response and assessment of the efficacy of drugs, with one of the main areas of applications in chronic disease. The approach rests on over 85,000 datasets, is published in over 300 high-ranking scientific publications, and has also received acknowledgement from the US-FDA via a letter-of-support (https://www.fda.gov/media/98846/download). MOS has already commercialised multiple urine-based biomarker tests in Europe for early and accurate diagnosis chronic diseases e.g., cardiovascular, kidney and liver diseases.

Website: https://mosaiques-diagnostics.de/

Associated partners

National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Medical School, Greece

The Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA), Greece is staffed by clinical and academic researchers working across the University and at University Hospitals in Athens. The expertise within the University spans a full range from molecular techniques through clinical research and clinical trials. State-of-the-art research facilities such animal facility unit, molecular biology, gene transfer/therapy and many other modern molecular technologies are available. Clinical studies are focused among others on the molecular mechanisms of kidney disease, cardiovascular diseases and carcinogenesis.

Website: https://school-en.med.uoa.gr/

University of Copenhagen, Denmark

With more than 40,000 students (including 4,000 international students) enrolled, just over 2,500 PhD students and an additional 9,000 employees (both research and administrative) as well as an annual budget of >1 billion Euro, the University of Copenhagen (KU) is the largest research and education institution in Denmark. KU has six faculties with app. 100 departments and research centres. KU is ranked as one of the leading universities globally with the most recent Shanghai Rankings (2020) placing KU as No. 33 worldwide and No. 7 in Europe. In addition, KU’s international outlook is reflected by its active membership of the prestigious International Alliance of Research Universities.

Website: https://www.ku.dk/english/

Universitätsklinikum RWTH Aachen, Germany

Universitätsklinikum Aachen (UKA1) is constituted by the Institute for Molecular Cardiovascular Research (IMCAR), a research institute localized inside the University Hospital of Aachen. UKA1 is dedicated to pursuing scientific excellence in the field of cardiovascular biology with special focus on chronic renal failure, vascular remodelling and cardiovascular disease. UKA1 has built his expertise on transgenic mouse models of disease to study cardiovascular disease and vascular remodelling in an in vivo context, as well as on molecular and cellular biology to unravel associated pathological pathways. In addition, IMCAR has extensive expertise in mass spectrometry and chromatography aiming at the identification of novel prognostic factors for cardiovascular risk assessment and the identification and characterization of novel pharmaceutical targets.

Website: https://www.ukaachen.de/en/, https://www.ukaachen.de/en/clinics-institutes/institute-for-moelcular-cardiovascular-research/

Université Paul Sabatier Toulouse III, France

Since its creation in 1969, University Paul Sabatier (UT3) in Toulouse, France, has been expanding its offer of multidisciplinary education in the fields of science, health, engineering, technology and sports, developing one of the most important scientific research clusters in France. Centred on Toulouse, European space and aeronautics capital, UPS is a renowned European university with a global outlook. UPS has 32 000 registered students and 2,609 teachers and teacher-researchers.

Website: https://www.univ-tlse3.fr/

The DisCo-I project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Doctoral Networks - Industrial Doctorates Programme (HORIZON – MSCA – 2021 – DN-ID) under grant agreement No 101072828.

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

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