Students

University of Copenhagen (UCPH) ,Denmark

Manasi Sayilekshmy

BSc, MSc Biotechnology

Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology

Nationality: Indian

Manasi Sayilekshmy took her Bachelors in Biotechnology from Amrita Vishwavidhyapeetham University followed by her Masters in Biotechnology from Madras University. She was a Junior Research Fellow at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras, where her main research focus was on “Microfluidics”. She worked on developing a micro-fluidic device for the sorting of droplets and cells and also on 3D scaffolds from collagen for tissue engineering. In the BonePain Network, she will be working on the sensory innervation of human bone during bone metastasis.

University of Copenhagen (UCPH) ,Denmark

Marta Díaz del Castillo

BSc, MDc

Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology

Nationality: Spanish

Marta Díaz del Castillo studied her Bachelor in Biotechnology at the University of Leon (Spain), followed by a combined Master Degree in Biomedicine and Medical Research at the University of Uppsala (Sweden). Her main work so far has been focused on the development of Protein Ligand Assay Multiplex techniques and the study of the Müller cells of the retina. In the BonePain Network, she will be developing an animal model of osteomalacia.

University College London (UCL) ,United Kingdom

Mateusz Wojciech Kucharczyk

BSc, MSc

Department of Neuroscience, Physiology and Pharmacology

Nationality: Polish

Mateusz Kucharczyk is a biotechnologist graduated from Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland. He conducted his MSc project at the Institute of Pharmacology of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Krakow in the Professor Boguslawa Budziszewska’s Lab, where his interests included understanding the mechanisms regulating neurodegenerative and stress-related diseases. Additionally, he worked as a Research Assistant in the Katarzyna Starowicz’s Lab, where he studied the involvement of the endocannabinoid system as well as transient potential ion channels involved in neuropathic pain (Bennett’s rat model) and nociceptive mechanisms in rat models of osteoarthritis (see http://www.painlab.pl/group/). In the BonePain Network, Mateusz will focus on central consequences of cancer-induced bone pain.

University College London (UCL) ,United Kingdom

Carlota Montagut-Bordas

BSc, MSc

Department of Neuroscience, Physiology and Pharmacology

Nationality: Spanish

Carlota Montagut-Bordas graduated from the Autonomous University of Barcelona with a BSc in Biochemistry. She then worked for a year, at the University of California Davis as a Junior Specialist at Dr. Johannes Hell Laboratory. Afterwards she moved to the UK where she completed a MSc degree in Neuroscience from UCL. Her MSc research project involved the study of Voltage Gated Calcium Channels at Professor Annette Dolphin’s laboratory, where she became interested in the molecular mechanisms and role of ion channels in the transmission of nociceptive and neuropathic pain. In the Bone Pain network, she will be investigating the role of Ion Channels in neuropathic pain through electrophysiological recordings in the Spinal Chord in Osteoarthritis animal models.

University College London (UCL) ,United Kingdom

Larissa de Clauser

BSc, MSc

Wolfson Institute for Biomedical Research

Nationality: Italian

Larissa de Clauser did her Bachelor in Molecular Biology at the University of Padova (Italy). After graduating from the University of Leiden (Netherlands) with a Master degree in Biomedical Science she spent additional time as a technical research assistant in the group of Prof. M. Schwab at Zurich University (Switzerland). Her previous work focused on the protective role of farm dust on pulmonary epithelial cells and on skilled forelimb motor learning in rodents. In the BonePain network Larissa will investigate the subpopulation of sensory neurons playing a role in the development of cancer induced bone pain and determine possible molecular key players, with specific focus on sodium channels.

Karolinska Institute (KI) ,Sweden

Alexandra Jurczak

BSc, MSc

Department of Physiology and Pharmacology

Nationality: Polish

Alexandra Jurczak received both Bachelor and Master Degrees in the field of Neurobiology from the Jagiellonian University, Cracow (Poland). During the last two years of her research work, which she had been conducting at the Institute of Pharmacology Polish Academy of Sciences, Alexandra has been focused on the mechanisms of action of new psychoactive drugs and their potential neurotoxic effects in the rat brain. As an ESR in the BonePain Network she will be investigating the antibody and osteoclast – dependent mechanisms of pain in rheumatoid arthritis.

Karolinska Institute (KI) ,Sweden

Resti Rudijto

BSc, MSc

Department of Physiology and Pharmacology

Nationality: Indonesian

Resti Rudjito received her Bachelor Degree in Biology from Bandung Institute of Technology (Indonesia) and Master Degree in Molecular Medicine from Erasmus University (the Netherlands). Her main research interests are bone biology and bone-related diseases and her previous studies gave her experience with osteoarthritis and bone metastasis research. One of the main symptoms of these types of diseases is pain. Resti will be studying the role of bone cell activity in chronic pain mechnisms in rheumatoid arthritis in the Bone Pain Network and she is very excited to expand her knowledge in this area.

Royal Veterinary College (RVC) ,United Kingdom

Rán Magnúsdottir

BA, MSc

Department of Comparative Biomedical Sciences

Nationality: Icelandic

Ran Magnusdottir graduated in Psychology at the University of Akureyri in Iceland and did an MSc in Neuroscience at University College London, UK. During her MSc, she worked on an in situ neuroimaging system to monitor nociceptive activity through calcium imaging. Her project will focus on the mechanisms leading to fracture pain and the effects of novel therapies that may alleviate it. Her PhD is under the supervision of Dr Chantal Chenu with secondments at Transpharmation with Dr Amy Fisher.

Royal Veterinary College (RVC) ,United Kingdom

Freija ter Heegde

BSc, MSc

Department of Comparative Biomedical Sciences

Nationality: Dutch

Freija ter Heegde started her scientific career at the University of Groningen with a bachelor in Pharmacy. She then carried on to do the Research Master Neuroscience and Cognition at the University of Utrecht. Her main research during her master has focussed on two different projects. In the first project she investigated the role of the 5-HT1A receptor in the modulation of anxiety using the ‘fear potentiated startle animal model’ whilst in the second she used electrophysiology to determine the effect of focal neocortical epilepsy on hippocampal plasticity. Furthermore, for her thesis, she wrote a review “The brain mineralocorticoid receptor and stress resilience”, in Psychoneuroendocrinology, 2015. For her PhD fellowship within the BonePain consortium Freija will be working in Dr Chantal Chenu’s lab at the RVC as well as Professor John Wood’s lab at UCL. Her project will aim to unravel the role of ion channels in osteoarthritis and its associated pain.

University Medical Center Utrecht ,Netherlands

Ramin Raoof

BSc, MSc

Laboratory of Neuroimmunology and Developmental Origins of Disease

Nationality: Iranian

Ramin Raoof conducted his master study at the Laboratory of Molecular Neuroscience in the Shahid-Bahonar University of Kerman, Iran. His main work has focused on evaluating the role of hippocampal orexin receptor expression and apoptotic factors involved in pain-induced learning and memory impairment. In the BonePain Network the key objective of his project is to determine the capacity of monocyte-derived macrophages to regulate arthritis pain and provide proof-of-principle that skewing of macrophage polarization is a means of preventing or treating persistent arthritis pain.

Nordic Bioscience (NB) ,Denmark

Anna Katri

BSc, MSc

Department of Musculoskeletal Diseases

Nationality: Greek

Anna Katri obtained her Bachelor from the department of Medical Laboratory Science of the School of Health and Caring Professions at the Technological Education Institution of Athens, followed by a Master Degree in biological applications in medicine at the University of Athens. Her main work so far has been focused on the long-term effects of combined early-life seizures and adolescent stress on motor, cognitive and social behaviour in mice. In the BonePain Network, she will be developing an animal model for examining the role of osteoclasts in osteoarthritis pain and test the effect of a developed analogue of sCT (NBOA) on osteoarthritic pain and structure in rat knees as well as finding biomarkers to measure the effect of NBOA In OA.

Nordic Bioscience (NB) ,Denmark

Niamh Higgins

BSc

Department of Rheumatology

Nationality: Irish

Niamh Higgins is a Genetics and Cell Biology graduate from Dublin City University, Ireland and a Space Studies graduate from the International Space University. Her academic career began at the National Institute for Cellular Biotechnology, Ireland where she worked on several projects ranging from cancer research (biomarker discovery and multi-drug resistance) to Chinese Hamster Ovary cell engineering (studying methylation patterns on mRNA transcripts – epigenetic control of gene expression). At the International Space University, her research focused on harnessing synthetic biology for optimizing human performance in space. In industry, Niamh has worked at the Fraunhofer Project Centre for Embedded BioAnalytical Systems on their innovative microfluidic ‘Lab in a Trench‘ platform and in a more commercial capacity (marketing) at Illumina within the Reproductive and Genetic Health business unit in Cambridge, UK. During her fellowship in the BonePain network, Niamh will investigate the connection between pain, bone and osteoarthritis (OA), using biomarkers reflecting joint tissue turnover.

Grünenthal Gmbh ,Germany

Sonny Sliepen

BSc, MSc

Department of Preclinical Pharmacology

Nationality: Dutch

Sonny Sliepen obtained his Bachelor in Molecular Lifesciences at Maastricht University (Netherlands), followed by the Research Master in Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience; track Fundamental Neuroscience, also at Maastricht University. In the past he worked with an in vivo model for Alzheimers disease and for his master thesis project he was involved in developing a new method to monitor functional recovery after spinal cord injury. In the BonePain Network, he will be characterizing and pharmacologically validate the N/OFQ-NOP receptor system in a cancer-induced bone pain model.

University of Copenhagen (UCPH) ,Denmark

Chelsea Hopkins

BSc (HONS), MPhil Orthopaedics and Traumatology

Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology

Nationality: South African, Hong Kong

Chelsea Hopkins studied her Bachelor of Science at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (Hong Kong), followed by a Master of Philosophy Degree at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (Hong Kong), focusing on the impact of microbes on the development of tendinopathy. She has also worked as a research assistant and as a managing editor of two academic journals. In the BonePainII Network, she will be studying pain mechanisms in an animal model of fibrous dysplasia.

University of Copenhagen (UCPH) ,Denmark

Ahmed Barakat Ibrahim Soltan

BSc, MSc

Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology

Nationality: Egyptian

Ahmed Barakat studied his Bachelor in Pharmacy followed by a Master Degree in Pharmacology and Toxicology, both at the University of Assiut (Egypt). His main work so far has been focused on the molecular mechanisms of morphine tolerance and dependence and the study of the effects of co-administering antidepressants on development of these phenomena. In the BonePainII Network, he will be developing an animal model of cancer-induced bone pain.

King’s College London (KCL) ,United Kingdom

Diego Valiente Cerro

BSc, MSc

Wolfson Centre for Age-Related Diseases

Nationality: Spanish

Diego Valiente Cerro got his Bachelor Degree at the University of Alicante followed by his Master Degree in Neuroscience at the University of Valencia, where his main project focused on nociception and exposure to Bisphenol A (BPA). Diego has also worked at the University of Barcelona studying the seeding and the spreading of tauopathies. In the Bone PainII Project, he will be studying the Mechanisms of Bone Cancer Pain.

Karolinska Institute (KI) ,Sweden

Nils Simon

BSc, MSc

Department of Physiology and Pharmacology

Nationality: German

Nils Simon received both his Bachelor Degree in Biology and his Master Degree in Cell and Molecular Biology at Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg (Germany). He conducted his research investigating JAK-STAT signaling pathways in the ovariectomy-induced mouse model of osteoporosis at the Department of Medicine 3 for rheumatology and clinical immunology in Erlangen. As an ESR in the BonePain II network Nils will investigate autoantibody driven bone erosion and elucidate novel links to chronic pain in rheumatoid arthritis.

University College London (UCL) ,United Kingdom

Clarissa Butti

BSc, MSc

Department of Medicine, WIBR

Nationality: Italian

Clarissa Butti obtained her MSc degree in Medical Biotechnology at Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele in Milan (Italy). She did her thesis internship in the laboratory of Dr. Broccoli (Department of Neuroscience) in the same university, where she cooperated on research projects on Dravet Syndrome. In particular, she worked on the development of a murine cellular model genetically modified for high-throughput screenings of small molecules. After the graduation, she worked for one year in collaboration with Prof. Landsberger and Dr. Chaabane (San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan) on the characterisation of the CDKL5 Deficiency Disorders through molecular approaches and different MRI/MRS techniques. In the BonePain II Network she will investigate the cellular and molecular mechanisms of osteoarthritis-associated pain.

University College London (UCL) ,United Kingdom

Rayan Haroun Mohammed Abdalla

BSc, MSc

Department of Medicine

Nationality: Sudanese

Rayan Haroun Mohammed Abdalla studied her Bachelor in Pharmacy at the University of Khartoum (Sudan), followed by a Master Degree in Drug Discovery Skills at the King’s College London (UK) where she was awarded the best academic performance prize. Her main work so far has focused on the pre-clinical stage of drug discovery with a special focus on the link between chemistry and pharmacology. In the BonePainII Network, she will be investigating the mechanisms of bone pain in cancer in an attempt to discover novel therapeutic targets.

Royal Veterinary College (RVC) ,United Kingdom

Andreea Radulescu

BSc, MSc

Department of Comparative Biomedical Sciences

Nationality: Romanian

Andreea Radulescu obtained her Bachelor Degree in Biochemistry from the University of Surrey. During her studies she has developed a keen interest in animal research and has explored various areas of molecular biology and metabolism as part of a placement year at Texas A&M University. Her interest for drug development and translational science was furthered in a Master’s Degree in Translational Medical Researchat the University of Heidelberg. In the BonePainII network, she will be investigating the causes and management of pain after osteoporotic fractures.

University Medical Center Utrecht (UMCU) ,Netherlands

Christian Martín Gil

BSc, MSc

Center of Translational Immunology

Nationality: Spanish

Christian Martín Gil studied his Bachelor in Biology at the University of Salamanca (Spain), followed by a Master Degree in Biomedicine at the University of Barcelona (Spain). During his MSc project, he worked on the role of long non-coding RNAs in tumor associated macrophages in the context of follicular lymphoma. In the BonePainII Network, his research will focus on immune factors that mediate in osteoarthritis pain.

University Medical Center Utrecht (UMCU) ,Netherlands

Patrícia Ribeiro

MSc

Department: Centre for Translational Immunology – Neuroimmunology of Pain

Nationality: Portugese

Patrícia Ribeiro completed an integrated MSc in Bioengineering at the University of Porto ( Portugal), specializing in Molecular Biotechnology. During her MSc thesis, she explored the role of osteoclasts in cancer-associated bone pain, particularly the interaction with peripheral sensory neurons, making use of microfluidic platforms. In the BonePainII network her project will focus on the identification of mitochondrial changes in osteoclasts and sensory neurons in osteoarthritis and cancer-induced bone pain models. Identifying inhibitory receptors and mitochondrial functions that can be targeted to manage pain is one of the main goals.

Natural and Medical Sciences Institute (NMI) ,Germany

Matthijs Luit van der Moolen

BSc, MSc. Biomedical Engineering

Department of Neuro-Microphysiological Systems

Nationality: Dutch

Matthijs Luit van der Moolen studied his Bachelor in Biomedical Engineering at the Technical University Eindhoven (Netherlands), followed by a Master’s Degree in the UMC Utrecht/TU Eindhoven collaborative ‘Regenerative Medicine and Tissue Engineering’-track within Biomedical Engineering. His main research has involved the establishment of Microfluidic perfusion cultures in both 3D scaffolds and 2D settings for applications at the cross-section of Neuroscience and Angiogenesis. He has great interest in Microfabrication, CAD-based modelling and Electrophysiology. In the BonePain network, he will be working on the development of a novel bone-and-neuron chip for in vitro 3D phenotypic analysis.

Institute of Biomedical Engineering ,Portugal

Andrea Bortolin

BSc

Neuro-Skeletal Circuits

Nationality: Italian

Andrea Bortolin is a Medical Biotechnologist from Padua University (Italy). He first obtained a BSc in Biotechnologies, followed an MSc in Medical biotechnologies. During his MSc studies he won an Erasmus Traineeship scholarship in Nicola Elvassore’s laboratory at the University College London Institute of Child Health, where he worked on the functional differentiation of human Pluripotent Stem cells into hepatocytes in microfluidic chips. In the Bonepainll network he will work on the development of a 3D compartmentalized microfluidic chip model, to study the interactions between osteoblasts, osteoclasts and nociceptive neurons in the contest of breast cancer induced bone pain, for high throughput drug screening.

Nordic Bioscience (NB) ,Denmark

Khaled M. Elhady Mohamed

BSc, MSc

Department of Endocrinology

Nationality: Egyptian

Khaled Elhady Mohamed has done his Bachelor’s Degree in pharmacy at Alexandria University (Egypt). For two years, he worked as a clinical pharmacist. Then he completed his Master’s Degree in nanomedicine for drug delivery which is an EMJMD in 4 universities in France, Italy and Greece. The focus of his work was on using extracellular vesicles for protein drug delivery. As a PhD student in the BonePainII Network, Khaled will be exploring a novel Calcitonin/Amylin Receptor Agonist for its ability to improve structure and pain in rat models of osteoarthritis.

Cellectricon (CT) ,Sweden

Lydia Moll

BSc, MSc

Department of Chronic Pain Research

Nationality: German

Lydia Moll received her Bachelor’s Degree in Molecular and Technical Medicine from Furtwangen University (Germany) and graduated with a Master Degree in Cell and Tissue Engineering at Keele University (UK). Her research projects focused on musculoskeletal diseases and stem cell differentiation. After graduating she worked as a research fellow on Adipose-Organ-on-a-Chip systems at the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology, Stuttgart (Germany). In the BonePainII network Lydia will develop “disease in a dish” models combined with Cellectricon’s optical electrophysiology platform. She will develop high capacity microfluidic co-cultures of bone and neuronal cells in order to perform functional screening to reveal molecular mechanisms of arthritis, and potential treatments for Bone Pain.

AstraZeneca ,United Kingdom

Pravallika Manjappa

MBBS, MRes

Department of Neuroscience

Nationality: Indian

Pravallika Manjappa obtained her Bachelor Degree in Medicine from Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (India). after which she worked as a Research Fellow at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences with a focus on Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. She then went on to do her Research Masters in Stem Cells from the University of Chester (UK) where she worked on the influence of bone marrow microenvironment on the susceptibility of leukemic cells to repurposed drugs. In the BonePainII Network, her work will focus on characterization and pharmacological validation of a novel bone-loading model of OA pain along with determining the role of mechano-sensitive ion channels in the regulation of pain related gene expression in response to mechanical stress.

Nordic Bioscience (NB) ,Denmark

Stefania Kalogera

BSc MSc

Department of Reumatology

Nationality: Greek

Stefania Kalogera is a biologist graduated from the University of Patras (Greece). She continued her studies for obtaining her Master degree in the field of “Human Genetics” from the department of Medicine at the University of Thessaly (Greece), where she focused on studying the status of c-Myc proto-oncogene and relevant signaling molecules on patients with pancreatic cancer (metastatic and non-metastatic). In the BonepainII network she will be involved with the development and validation of novel biomarkers reflecting pain and tissue turnover in osteoarthritis as well as the investigation of the role of inflammatory pathways in chronic pain in osteoarthritis.