Board Members
Marina Trombetta-Lima
University of Groningen
Marina is an Assistant Professor and Rosalind Franklin Fellow in the Department of Pharmaceutical Technology and Biopharmacy. Her research explores how ageing changes the tissue microenvironment, including the extracellular matrix, and influences susceptibility to disease. She develops advanced human organoid models to investigate these processes, with particular emphasis on neurodegeneration.
President
Arjan van Caam
Radboud university medical center
Arjan investigates the mechanisms underlying fibrosis in systemic sclerosis, focusing on interactions between immune cells, endothelial cells and fibroblasts. His research examines how these interactions drive excessive extracellular matrix production and identifies potential approaches to prevent or reduce fibrosis.
Treasure
Guus van den Akker
Maastricht University
Guus is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery. His research focuses on cartilage biology and the mechanisms underlying osteoarthritis, including chondrocyte differentiation, inflammation and ribosome dysfunction. His work aims to improve our understanding of cartilage degeneration and repair.
Board member
Cor Ravensbergen
Leiden University Medical Center
Cor’s research focuses on the tumour microenvironment, particularly the role of tumour stroma in cancer progression and treatment response. His work explores relationships between stromal features, immune cells and patient characteristics, including biological ageing, to improve cancer prognosis and treatment selection.
Board member
Ingrid van der Pluijm
Erasmus University Medical Center
Ingrid is an Associate Professor in the Department of Molecular Genetics. Her research investigates the molecular mechanisms of cardiovascular ageing, with particular attention to DNA repair, cellular senescence and extracellular matrix changes. Her group seeks therapeutic and dietary approaches to preserve vascular health and prevent age-related disease.
Board member
Early Stage Researchers (ESR) Committee
Anna Slotboom
Anna Slotboom is a PhD student in the Molecular Cartilage Biology group led by Prof. Dr. Tim Welting, located at the Laboratory for Experimental Orthopedics as part of the department of Orthopedic Surgery of Maastricht University. Her research focuses on elucidating the pathobiology of knee osteoarthritis (OA), which involves chondrocyte phenotyping by fluorescence-activated cell sorting and synovial fluid endotyping using high-throughput phenotypic reporter screening assays.
Contact: Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Maastricht University
Postal address: Universiteitssingel 50, 6229 ER Maastricht (room H4.338)
Phone: +31(0)433881304
Giorgia Mazzini
Giorgia is a PhD student in the Osteoarthritis (OA) research group, within the Biomedical Data Science Department (BDS) led by Prof. Dr. Ingrid Meulenbelt, located at the Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC). Her research focuses on the large-scale, high-quality ‘off the shelf’ creation of engineered large-scale cartilage implants starting from stable human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs), aiming at regenerative treatment technologies for OA patients.
Contact: Department of Biomedical Data Science, Molecular Epidemiology (MolEpi) unit
Postal address: Einthovenweg 20, 2333 ZC LEIDEN (room S5-08)
Phone: (+39) 3460287218
E-mail: g.mazzini@lumc.nl
Melle de Jonge
Melle is a PhD student in the Osteoarthritis (OA) research group, within the Biomedical Data Science Department (BDS) led by Prof. Dr. Ingrid Meulenbelt, located at the Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC). His research focuses on the etiopathology of osteoarthritis, with a particular emphasis on identifying and functionally characterising genetic risk factors through CRISPR interference and activation (CRISPRia) screening in hiPSC-derived chondrocytes.
Contact: Department of Biomedical Data Science, Molecular Epidemiology (MolEpi) unit.
Postal address: Einthovenweg 20, 2333 ZC Leiden (room S5-06)
Phone: +31 643563308
Email. m.de_Jonge@lumc.nl
Suzanne Willems
Suzanne Willems is a PhD student in the Experimental Pulmonology and Inflammation Research (EXPIRE) group at the department of Pathology and Medical Biology in the University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG). Her research focuses on interactions between monocytes/macrophages and the altered lung microenvironment in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). By using novel 3D human derived culture models, she aims to identify factors that drive the behavior of profibrotic macrophages and uncover new therapeutic targets to treat IPF.
Contact: Department of Pathology & Medical Biology, University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG)
Postal address: Hanzeplein 1, 9713 GZ Groningen (room Z2.17)
E-mail: s.h.willems@umcg.nl
