Our team.
Marco Demaria, PhD
 Marco  is an Associate Professor in Cellular Ageing at the Medical Faculty of the University of Groningen. Marco obtained his PhD in Molecular Medicine at the University of Torino, Italy, under the supervision of prof. Valeria Poli. In Poli’s lab, he characterized the role of the transcription factor STAT3 as a master regulator of cancer cell survival and metabolism.  He joined the laboratory of prof. Judith Campisi at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging, California USA, in the summer of 2010. In the Campisi lab he developed tools and models to analyze senescent cells in vivo, and characterized the biological functions of senescent cells in tissue repair, cancer and aging. He also started to be interested in therapeutic approaches to target senescent cells to improve healthspan. He joined the University of Groningen and the European Research Institute for the Biology of Ageing (ERIBA) in September 2015 as an Assistant Professor and Group leader of the laboratory “Cellular Senescence and Age-related Pathologies”. In 2018 he co-founded a start-up company, Cleara Biotech, devoted to develop anti-senescence drugs. Dr Demaria also serves as academic editor for Aging Cell, Frontiers in Oncology and Plos One. In his free time, Marco likes to spend time with his wife and  two kids, run, travel, cook and drink good wine. 
PostDoctoral Researchers
PictureBoshi Wang, PhD
I come from China and I did my BSc at Shanghai Jiao Tong University and my MPhil at The University of Hong Kong. In September 2020, I received my PhD from the University of Groningen under the supervision of Prof. Marco Demaria. My PhD was mainly focused on three projects: 1) Exploring the roles of CDK4/6 inhibitors in senescence induction and cancer therapy; 2) Identifying the contribution of senescent cells to natural ageing; 3) Investigating the differential features of senescent cells from different sex origin. In my projects, transgenic/xenograft mouse models, mammalian cell models, RNA-sequencing and a series of biochemical methods were used. Now, I will continue in Marco Demaria’s lab as a Postdoc to finish my PhD projects.
PictureAbel Soto-Gamez, PhD
My name is Abel Soto-Gamez (B.Sc. in Biotechnology Engineering ITESM Monterrey Mexico / INSA Lyon France, and M.Sc. in Medical and Pharmaceutical Drug innovation, RUG, Netherlands). In 2016 I started my PhD in the department of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Biology at the University of Groningen in collaboration with the European Research Institute for the Biology of Aging (ERIBA). In my project I specialized in protein-based senotherapeutics. I am currently working as a Post Doctoral researcher in Radiotherapy and Molecular Cell Biology in the Department of Biomedical Science of Cells & Systems at the UMCG, under the supervision of Profs. Drs. Rob Coppes, Sarah Pringe, and Marco Demaria.  I am especially interested in the identification of exploitable pathways for the selective elimination of senescent cancer cells in the salivary gland and the use of novel approaches to modulate pro-inflammatory aspects of the senescence-associated secretory phenotype. 
PictureJamil Nehme, PhD
I obtained my BSc and MSc degrees in Molecular Biology from the Lebanese University. During my master’s project, I focused on developing and characterizing a primate model for the Hepatitis B virus in CRCL (Cancer Research Centre of Lyon), Lyon, France. Because of my fascination with the biology of senescence, I received a scholarship and started my Ph.D. in Marco Demaria’s lab in the spring of 2018 to study the complex phenotypes of senescent cells. My research is focused on understanding how a cell can decide between death and senescence in response to stressors, in addition to the implication of this decision in health and disease. In my free time, I enjoy drawing, reading, exercising and spending time with my friends. 
PictureMartijn Rutten, PhD
My name is Martijn Rutten and I come from the Netherlands. I did my BSc (University College Maastricht, a Liberal Arts and Sciences programme) and my MSc (Biomedical Sciences) at Maastricht University. During my MSc, I pursued internships in the laboratories of prof. dr. Cor Calkhoven (European Research Institute for the Biology of Ageing (ERIBA)) and prof. dr. Marianne Rots (Department of Pathology and Medical Biology) at the University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG). In September 2017, I started my PhD in the Department of Pediatrics in the UMCG under the supervision of dr. Maaike Oosterveer and prof. dr. Bart van de Sluis. In my PhD, I focused on metabolic imbalance-driven tumorigenesis in the inborn error of metabolism Glycogen Storage Disease type Ia (GSD Ia), especially focussing on understanding the role of phenotypic heterogeneity and nutrient sensors (specifically ChREBP and SIRT1). In September 2022, I started as a postdoctoral researcher in Marco Demaria’s lab, where I will mainly focus on characterizing the effects of (intermittent) hypoxia and hypoxia-mimetic compounds in relation to senescence. 
PictureSjors Maassen, PhD
I come from Duiven (Gelderland) where I was born and raised. In Nijmegen I did a BSc in applied science from the Hogeschool Arnhem Nijmegen and a MSc in Clinical Biology at the Radboud University. During this time, I did four internships. Which ranged from sortase-reactions to construct nano-reactors from virus-like particles, mRNA-lipid nanoparticle synthesis, click-chemistry on peptides, to developing a transmembrane antigen model for T cell activation by cross-presentation in dendritic cells. After my MSc I moved to Groningen for my PhD at the group of Geert van den Bogaart. Here I specialised in inflammation biology driven by the immunometabolism of human blood-derived macrophages using various techniques. During my time at the Demaria lab I will work on detecting senescence in patient tissue with snRNA-seq.
PhD students
PictureLotte Steeneken, MSc
I was born and raised in Groningen, where I also completed both my bachelor and master at the University. During my master’s in Biomedical Sciences (research) I specialized in cancer research, conducting my first internship at the lab of Marco Demaria. After my second internship in Norway, I moved back and worked as a technician in a collaboration between Marco’s lab and the Medical Oncology department at the UMCG. In February 2023 I started with my PhD, focussing on the effects of cancer treatments on the development of senescence and ageing.
PictureMengling Huang, MSc
I grew up in Sichuan, China. I obtained my BSc and MSc in Shanghai Jiao Tong University. During my bachelor and master’s study, I spent much time working with zebrafish. And my master project was focused on the role of transcription factors during hematopoietic development. In November 2022, I joined Marco’s group as a CSC-scholarship PhD student, mainly working on establishing a senescence reporter killifish model. In my spare time I like to paint and play video games.
PictureLetícya Melo, BSc
I am a biomedical specialist from the Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE), Brazil, my country of origin. During graduation, I conducted research in two major areas: Neuroendocrine Physiology and Population Genetics. In Physiology, I developed in vivo experiments with the objective of understanding the response of the HMGB1 protein in the Hypothalamus-Neurohypophyseal Axis in the face of sepsis situations. In the area of Genetics, I worked with the development and updating of the Database of Genetic Profiles of a State in Brazil. I am now a PhD student, in the double-degree modality at the University of Groningen and at PUCRS in Brazil, and my main topic of interest includes microglia and their relationship with aging brain. In my free time I enjoy writing, exercising, and discovering new places.
PictureMyrthe Klaver, MSc
I was born in the ‘kop van Overijssel’ but moved to Groningen to obtain both my BSc and MSc in Biomedical Sciences at the University of Groningen. During my bachelor I got captivated by cellular senescence, which brought me to Marco’s group for my first master internship. Here I examined the effect of histone deacetylase inhibitors on the induction of senescence. After graduating, I worked at the Radiotherapy and Molecular Cell Biology department of the UMCG for a year. As of July 2022, I’m happy to join Marco’s lab once again for a PhD project. This time I will work on a project that focuses on liver senescence.
PictureAbdullah-Altulea, MSc
I come from Iraq. I obtained a BSc in biomedical sciences (honors) from the University of Malaya, Malaysia; and a MSc in biomedical sciences (research) from the University of Groningen, the Netherlands. During my Master's internships, I focused on molecular biology and the diseases of old age. I did one of my Master’s internships in Marco’s lab, where we studied the association between dietary macronutrients and cellular senescence in mice. I started my PhD in January 2022. I am currently interested in the differences between beneficial and detrimental senescence, and identifying transcriptomic profiles for each type. I mainly deal with single cell RNA-seq datasets and bioinformatics using R language. I also work at the lab to generate my own data. I like to spend my free time playing video games, learning more about computers, and weight training.
PictureTeodora Gheorghe, MSc
I grew up in Romania, where I also obtained my first degree: a BSc in Biology. I decided to move to Groningen to learn more about the biology of aging at ERIBA. I enthusiastically participated in two research projects here, while completing a MSc in Biomedical Sciences at the University of Groningen. I was captivated by the work done in Marco Demaria's lab, which convinced me to remain here for a while longer. In partnership with the lab of Lene Rasmussen at the University of Copenhagen, we developed a project to study the intriguing link between mitochondrial dysfunction, oxygen-dependent metabolic control and the regulation of the senescent phenotype.
PictureChen Ge, MSc
​I was born in Shanghai and my hometown is in Anhui Province, both of them are in the east of China. I obtained my BSc at Qingdao University of Science and Technology in 2018 and my MSc at Beijing University of Technology in 2021. During my master's study, I mainly studied the role of specific genes in tumor development and the interaction between tumor cells and tumor microenvironment. In November 2021, I arrived in the lab of Marco Demaria as a CSC-scholarship PhD student for further study. My current research interests mainly focus on mechanisms and functions of senescent cell accumulation in cancers.
PictureYao Lin, MSc
I was born in Sichuan, a Province in the Southwest of China. I obtained a BSc at Capital Normal University and a MSc at Beijing Normal University. My master’s project was mainly focused on the identification and classification of cucumber long non-coding RNAs based on RNA-Seq data. Ιn January 2021, I joined Marco Demaria’s lab as a PhD student, working on the characterization of senescence heterogeneity. In my free time I like to watch movies and hang out with friends.
PictureSebastian Mackedenski, MSc
I was born and raised in a small agricultural town on the prairies of western Canada. I picked up a BSc and MSc in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and spent a few years as a research associate studying KRAS-driven cancers of colorectal origin at the University of Northern British Columbia. Later, notwithstanding a couple great years in Vancouver at one of Canada’s largest biotechnology companies, I decided to pursue my PhD at ERIBA to help further our understanding of cellular senescence in age-associated degenerative disease. In partnership with the Dutch Society for Research on Ageing, and the Vitality Oriented Innovations for the Lifecourse of Aging Society (DuSRA-VOILA), my work focuses on cellular senescence in tissues that make up our musculoskeletal system.
Technicians
PictureSimone Brandenburg, BSc
Originally I’m from the province of Friesland but now I live with my family in Assen, the capital of the beautiful province of Drenthe. Drenthe with all its nature is ideal for trail running. Besides trail running I like to play waterpolo. I have been working as a research technician in the first 10 years of my career, at the Medical Biology department in the UMCG. At the laboratory of Pulmonary Diseases, the main focus of research concerned COPD and Asthma using the following techniques: (primary) cell cultures, ELISA, Western Blotting and ECIS. In September 2015 I became the lab manager of the Demaria lab, where my main task is to keep the lab running, and besides that I’m trying to implement new techniques to take our research to a higher level.
MSc students
TBA - Fall 2023
Alumni
Marta Varela Eirín, PhD (former PostDoc) - Postdoctoral Researcher at Instituto de Investigación Biomédica de A Coruña (INIBIC)
Nynke Talma, PhD (former PhD student) - Scientific Secretary at Stitching Beoordeling Ethiek Biomedisch Onderzoek (BEBO)
Eleni Fitsiou, PhD (former PostDoc) - Project Manager in Research BV at the University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG)
Michela Borghesan, PhD (former PostDoc) - Manufacturing Systems Officer at Thermo Fisher Scientific
Jaskaren Kohli, PhD (former PostDoc)- PostDoctoral Researcher at University College London (UCL)
Alejandra Hernandez Segura, PhD (former PhD student)-Bioinformatician at National Institute for Public Health and Environment (RIVM)
Thijmen van Vliet (former PhD student)-Clinical Study Manager at PRA Health Sciences
former BSc/MSc students: S. Abrahams, A. Agovic, A. Altulea, C. Bonasia, P. Corrieri, S. Feitsma, J. Gajjar, J. Geertsma, T. Gheorghe, M. al Hajj,  W.Y Huang, R. Jansen, M. Klaver, D. Lozano, P. Maissan, N. Olvera Ocaña, S. Reimann, L. Rimmer, N. la Rose, R. Rubingh, L. Steeneken, I. Veenstra, Jente Zeubring
Visiting PhD students
Domenico Aprile, University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli"
Feba Mariam Varughese, Amedeo Avogadro University of Eastern Piedmont
Francesca Casciaro, University of Bologna
Andreas Domen, University of Antwerp
​Hadis Shakeri, University of Antwerp
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