CURRENT MEMBERS
Scientific Minds
TOKAMEH MAHMOUDI
Group Leader
Tokameh was born in Tehran, Iran. She attended UC Berkeley where she completed her Balechor’s degree followed by her Master’s studies at the Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto, Canada and obtained her PhD in Molecular Medicine from Leiden University Medical Centre (LUMS), The Netherlands. As a trained biochemist she applied her expertise during her post-doctoral studies at UCSF at the Gladstone Institute of Immunology and Virology in the lab of Dr. Eric Verdin and later in stem cell based technologies in the lab of Dr. Hans Clevers at the Hubrecht Institute in The Netherlands. Now she is an Associate Professor of Biochemistry at Erasmus MC, Rotterdam. In her free time, she likes to travel, paint and read.
ROBERT-JAN PALSTRA
Senior scientist
Robert-Jan obtained his BSc in 1995 from the Hogeschool Rotterdam. After several years of research abroad (Switzerland, Ethiopia and The United Kingdom) he moved to the lab of Prof. Frank Grosveld (ErasmusMC) to obtain his PhD which resulted in the first studies that demonstrated that cis-regulatory elements communicate with genes via chromatin loop formation. Current research interests include the fundamental mechanisms of enhancer action, the role of non-coding DNA variation in long-range gene activation and molecular control of reactivation of the HIV provirus. When he's not in the lab he likes to spend my time rock-climbing or kayaking.
SHRINGAR RAO
Senior post-doctoral researcher
Shringar Rao completed a B.Sc in Microbiology and Biochemistry at St. Xavier’s college, Mumbai, India and then received a scholarship at the University of Nottingham, UK for an M.Sc in Molecular Medical Microbiology. Her PhD research brought her to McGill University, Canada where she conducted her research on HIV-1 and RNA-binding proteins. Her current post-doctoral research investigates innovative approaches to treat HIV and HBV. Aside from science, she spends her time reading classic literature, travelling and fighting the patriarchy.
MARYAM AKBARZADEH
Post-Doctoral Fellow
Maryam was born in Tabriz, Iran. She completed her PhD in Clinical Biochemistry in Tabriz University (2017). She joined the lab in 2019 to work on modelling bladder cancer on patient-derived bladder organoids.
AMENEH BAZRAFSHAN
Post-Doctoral Fellow
Ameneh was born in Shiraz, Iran and completed her PhD in Medical Physiology at University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran. She first joined the lab as an internship student in 2018 and ater as a Post-Doc in 2020. She works on liver and bladder organoid platforms.
TSUN WAI KAN
Lab manager
Tsun Wai was born in Zwolle, Netherlands. He completed his degree in Biology and Medical Laboratory Research in 2006 in The Netherlands, and joined the lab in 2014.
MATHIJS SCHOLTES
PhD Candidate
Mathijs was born in Gouda, Netherlands (hence the cheesy humor). He is an MD and PhD candidate investigating chemotherapy response in muscle-invasive bladder cancer using patient-derived organoids and descriptive genomics.
SHAHLA ROMAL
Research Technician
As our experienced Research Technician, Shahla is a fundamental part of what makes Mahmoudi Lab such a successful Science Lab. She is truly an invaluable member of our hardworking team.
RAQUEL CRESPO
PhD Candidate
Raquel obtained a BSc in Microbiology at Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona in 2017. Her interests in immunology and infectious diseases led her to Rotterdam where she completed a MSc in Erasmus University. During her master, Raquel performed a long intership in Dr. Mahmoudi’s lab, where she studied HIV-1 latency and reactivation-based therapies. This led her to obtain a PhD position after completion of her master, where she continues to study the molecular mechanisms behind HIV-1 latency. Outside of the lab, she enjoys sci-fi books, cooking shows and beach days.
TANVIR (TONMOY) HOSSAIN
PhD Candidate
Tonmoy was born and raised in Dhaka, Bangladesh. He obtained his B.S. and M.S. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from University of Dhaka, Bangladesh and MSc in Infection & Immunity from Erasmus University Rotterdam. He joined the lab in 2019 as an masters intern and currently, doing his PhD. He is interested in research related to chronic viral infection (HBV and HIV) and using patient derive organoids platform for viral infection study.
ALICJA GORSKA
Research Technician
Alicja was born in Poland and obtained the title of Master and engineer in Biotechnology at the University of Agricultures Hugona Kołłątaja in Kraków, where she also finished her postgraduate studies in Dietetics at the Kraków School of Health Promotion. In her laboratory adventure, she worked at the Polish Academy of Science in the field of dendrology in the United Kingdom. Now happy to be part of this high-profile Biochemistry laboratory at the ErasmusMC, as well as working as a EHEG research technician.
She is interested in good crime and comedy (written or filmed), travel, sports and nutrition.
KATIE HENSLEY
PhD candidate
Katie is an MD and PhD candidate and have officially been a part of the Biochemistry lab since February 2021. My main focus is working on finding a cure for HIV! I was born in Belgium to Dutch and British parents and moved to the Netherlands for my medical degree. In my free time I can be found reading a sci-fi/fantasy book or dancing ballroom and latin.
MANDAR VENGURLEKAR
PhD Candidate
Mandar, born and brought up in Mumbai, completed his Bachelor’s in Microbiology from Jai Hind College in Mumbai. He then pursued Master’s in Virology from the ICMR-National Institute of Virology, Pune, India. During his Master's dissertation at ICMR-National AIDS Research Institute, his work compromised of study of drug resistance developed in HIV against Integrase inhibitors. He worked as a Junior Research Fellow at ICMR-National Institute for Research in Reproductive and Child Health, Mumbai, India. In 2022, he joined Mahmoudi Lab as a Ph.D. fellow to pursue further research in HIV latency. Apart from research work, he is a Football enthusiast and loves watching Rom-Com movies and mystery documentaries.
STEN DE SCHRIJVER
Bachelor Intern
Sten is currently working on his dissertation in order to obtain his BSc degree in Nanobiology. In his semester-long internship, he will be working on HIV latency.
JOCHEM WEEKERS
Bachelor Intern
Jochem is currently in the final stages of finishing his BSc in the field of Nanobiology at the University of Technology Delft and Erasmus Medical Centre. He joined the lab to finish his Bachelor End Project and is currently enjoying his internship.