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Anita Vinke (MUMC+), is a Neurologist and PhD student at the Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, in the Division Neuroscience at the School for Mental Health and Neurosciences at Maastricht University.
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anita-vinke-130a231bb/?originalSubdomain=nl |
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Anja Schöttler, is a PhD-student at the Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, in the Division Neuroscience at the School for Mental Health and Neurosciences at Maastricht University. Anja’s particular interests developed during her studies focus on neuro- and autoimmunology, as well as virology. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Biology at the University of Cologne (Germany) in 2016 and subsequently followed the Master in Biomedical Sciences at Maastricht University, where she graduated in 2019. During her Master’s degree education she spent 8 months at the University of Cambridge for her Master thesis, focusing on HSV-1 interactions with DNA repair mechanism. In December 2019, Anja started working in the group of Prof. Pilar Martinez and Dr. Mario Losen after receiving the Student Talent Division 3 fellowship (from the Division Translational Neuroscience of MHeNS). During ger PhD she investigates the role of the complement system in Myasthenia Gravis and the effect of complement inhibition as potential treatment strategy for AChR-MG.
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anjasch%C3%B6ttlerb89325183/?locale=de_DE |
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Britt Arets, is a PhD student at the department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, the division of Translational Neuroscience at the Mental Health and Neuroscience Research Institute. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Biology with a focus on Molecular Life Science from Utrecht University, followed by a master’s specialization in Inflammation and Pathophysiology from Maastricht University. Her PhD research is driven by a commitment to bridging scientific discovery and clinical practice, contributing to meaningful advancements in the field of neuroscience. She focuses on a critical mission: improving diagnosis and treatment of Myasthenia Gravis (MG). Her work is multifaceted, involving the development and refinement of animal models to explore and evaluate innovative therapeutic strategies. Additionally, she collaborates closely with MUMC+ and Washington University to investigate the role of the thymus and plasma cells in MG. These efforts aim to enhance are diagnostic accuracy and predict disease progression, paving the way for better patient outcomes.
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/britt-arets-64b70515a/?originalSubdomain=nl |
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Peng Du, is a PhD student at the Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, Division of Translational Neuroscience at the School for Mental Health and Neuroscience (Maastricht University). Peng received his Bachelor’s degree in Clinical Medicine at the University of Shanxi (China) in 2017 and then followed with the Master in Neurosurgery at Shandong University (China), where he graduated in 2021. In November 2021, Peng got a 4-year fellowship from China Scholarship Council for his PhD research in Maastricht. He started working in the group of Prof. Pilar Martinez and Dr. Mario Losen. During his PhD he investigates the role of autoantibodies and their pathogenicity in neurological and neuromuscular disorders.
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Michelle Koster, is a PhD student at the Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, division Translational Neuroscience at the School for Mental Health and Neuroscience at Maastricht University. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Medicine at Maastricht University in 2019, followed the Master in Medicine for two years before switching and receiving her Master’s degree in Biomedical Science with a specialization in Inflammation & Pathophysiology in 2022. The main focus of her PhD is investigating and characterizing of ceramide transporter in the context of neuroinflammation and neurodegenerative diseases, particularly Alzheimer’s disease.
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelekoster/?originalSubdomain=nl |
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Beatriz Gonçalves Arede, is a PhD student at the Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, division of Translational Neuroscience at the School for Mental Health and Neuroscience at Maastricht University. She obtained her BSc from the University of Leeds (England) in Genetics with an Industrial Placement in 2020, during which she spent 12 months at iMM-Lisbon studying molecular functions of KSHV's LANA protein. This was followed by an MSc in Biomedical Sciences, with a specialisation in Inflammation and Pathophysiology at Maastricht University in 2023. The focus of her PhD is on the role of the complement system in neuroinflammation, specifically in Alzheimer's disease, and possible ways of targeting it.
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/beatriz-a-144577200/ |
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Milo Imbeni, is a PhD student in the Center for Integrative Neuroscience, between the CBCLab (at the Cognitive Neuroscience department of the faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience) and Neurim (Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, division Translational Neuroscience, at the School for Mental Health and Neuroscience). He has a Bachelor’s in Biomedical Engineering at the Politecnico in Milan and Life Sciences Master with a minor in Computational Neuroscience from EPFL, Switzerland. The goal of his project is to harness the latest microscopy advancements to investigate Alzheimer’s pathology and microglial morphology at both the cellular and mesoscale, in rodents and humans. His main tasks are tissue clearing, immunostaining and big image analysis for lightsheet microscopy.
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/milo-imbeni/ |
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Siyang Peng, is a PhD student at the Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, Division of Translational Neuroscience at the School for Mental Health and Neuroscience (Maastricht University). Siyang received his Bachelor’s degree in Traditional Chinese Medicine at Capital Medical University (China) in 2020 and finished his 3-year master program in Acupuncture and Moxibustion at China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences in 2023. During his master period, he mainly studied the efficacy and safety of complementary therapies in neurological diseases, including myasthenia gravis and motor neuron disease, and gained huge interest in myasthenia gravis. In November 2023, Siyang got a 4-year fellowship from China Scholarship Council to support his PhD research in Maastricht. During his PhD, he will investigate the diagnosis, treatment strategies and mechanism of autoimmune disorders, mainly focusing on myasthenia gravis and autoimmune encephalitis.
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siyang-peng-80497b358/?originalSubdomain=nl |
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Fuhua Zhang, is a PhD student at the Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, Division of Translational Neuroscience at the School for Mental Health and Neuroscience (Maastricht University). Fuhua received her Bachelor’s degree in Biotechnology at Northwest A&F University(China) in 2021 and then followed with the Master in Microbiology at Northwest A&F University (China), where she graduated in 2023. In November 2023, Fuhua got a 4-year fellowship from China Scholarship Council for her PhD research in Maastricht. She started working in the group of Prof. Pilar Martinez and Dr. Mario Losen. During her PhD she investigates the role of ceramide transfer protein(CERTs) and their functions in neurodegenerative disease.
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fuhua-zhang005960369/?originalSubdomain=nl |
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Diego Asensio-Wandosell, MD, is a PhD student at the Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, Division of Translational Neuroscience at the School for Mental Health and Neuroscience (Maastricht University). Diego received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Medicine and Surgery from the Autonomous University of Barcelona and Germans Trias I Pujol Hospital (Spain) in 2024. During his training, Diego also had the opportunity to work as a junior researcher in the Neuroendocrinology Department at the Germans Trias I Pujol Research Institute, an experience that ignited his interest in research. He decided to pursue this path further before starting his medical speciality, aiming to expand his knowledge and bridge the gap between pre-clinical and clinical work. In September 2024, Diego began his PhD in the Neuroimmunology group from Prof. Pilar Martinez and Mario Losen thanks to the MSCA-Doctoral Networks grant within the IgG4-TREAT consortium, a program involving multiple countries and partners. Diego has a primary career goal: to use research and clinical practice to advance scientific knowledge and improve quality of life for patients and societies.
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/diego-asensio-wandosell-caba%C3%B1as-809494301/ |
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Dongrui Li, is a PhD-student at the Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, in the Division Neuroscience at the School for Mental Health and Neurosciences at Maastricht University. He studied clinical medicine from 2006 to 2013 (7 years, including 4 years of medical courses and 3 years of hospital internships), equals to Master of Science (MSc.) in the Netherlands. And passed the Chinese Medical Practitioner Examination. In September 2019, worked in the team of Professor Pilar Martinez and Dr. Mario Losen. During ger PhD he researched Autoantibodies in disorders of the brain, expanding the clinical spectrum and revealing their pathogenic mechanisms.
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Zijian Cao (visiting student), is a PhD student from Tsinghua University, China. He received educatio on both bussiness administration and health care management in his bachelor and masters, respectivetly and now is persuing a PhD in biomedical engeenring. He collaborates with the group here at Maasrticht University, Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, Division of Translational Neuroscience at the School for Mental Health and Neuroscience.
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