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 Professor of Pathology and Urology at Erasmus MC, Rotterdam. In her free time, she likes to travel, paint and read.

Soon.

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 (Erasmus MC) 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.

Maryam Akbarzadeh is a Senior Scientist and Organoid Lab Manager at Erasmus MC, with a PhD in Clinical Biochemistry and extensive experience in translational cancer research. Her research focuses on tumor biology, the tumor microenvironment, and mechanisms of treatment response and resistance. She specializes in developing advanced patient-derived cancer models to study tumor-microenvironment interactions and investigate new therapeutic strategies. Her experience spans different cancer types, including bladder, gastric, and esophageal cancers.

Currently, her research focuses on bladder cancer, particularly tumor-immune interactions, BCG immunotherapy resistance, and developing clinically relevant models to better understand disease mechanisms and identify new therapeutic opportunities.

Soon.

TJ (Tongjie) is a postdoctoral researcher at Erasmus MC, with a PhD in Biomedical AI from the University of Edinburgh. His research focuses on developing explainable, multimodal AI approaches to better understand cancer biology and predict patient outcomes. Currently, he is working on integrating histopathology, transcriptomics, and genomic data to improve risk stratification and treatment response prediction in non-muscle invasive bladder cancer. Outside the lab, TJ enjoys dancing, gaming, and pretty much anything nerdy, from exploring new technologies and gadgets to getting lost in video games. He is always curious about how things work, whether in science or everyday life.

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.

Mitchell left his hometown of Tilburg to start his PhD in 2022. He has a background in molecular biology, and his main interests involve identifying molecular dysregulations and translating those findings to preclinical models. His research focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying treatment resistance in non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer by combining laboratory work with big-data analysis.

Liset is a PhD candidate born in Bolivia, raised in the Netherlands and Spain. She obtained her BSc. Biomedicine and MSc. Infection and Immunity at Utrecht University. She performed a public health internship in the Southern African HIV Clinicians Society (Johannesburg) and an internship about adaptive immunity against SARS-CoV-2 in the Karolinska Institute (Sweden). Her continued interest in HIV biology combined with an interest in fundamental research led to her starting a PhD in the Mahmoudi lab in 2022, studying mechanisms of HIV-1 latency and latency reversal. When she is not in the lab, Liset enjoys dancing salsa or playing the guitar.

Xingyu was born and raised in Anhui, China. She obtained her BSc in Medical Laboratory Science in 2019 and her MSc in Clinical Diagnostics in 2022, both from Anhui Medical University, China. In 2022, she joined the lab as a PhD candidate. Her research focuses on investigating the molecular mechanisms underlying hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) arising from different aetiologies, particularly hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), using adult human liver organoid models. Outside the lab, she enjoys traveling and photography.

Zora started a PhD at the Mahmoudi lab in 2024. She obtained a BSc Biomedical Sciences and a MSc Infection and Immunity at Utrecht University. During her masters, she did a nine-month internship at the lab of Linde Meyaard studying inhibitory immune receptor expression on pDCs and mDCs in SLE and APS. In addition, Zora did an eight-month internship at the lab of Lori Frappier studying the effects of EBV proteins on p-bodies. In her current projects, she is focusing on HIV-1 latency in non-subtype B HIV-1 subtypes.

Anneke Power earned her BS in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Oregon State University in 2022. Motivated by a strong interest in infection and disease, she pursued an MSc in Infection and Immunity at Erasmus University, graduating in 2024. From there, she joined the lab in 2024 to begin her PhD, focusing on immuno-oncology and exploring therapeutic strategies for muscle-invasive bladder cancer using organoid models. Anneke is passionate about advancing personalized medical platforms through translational and patient-oriented research.

Loveness Mukuka is a SANTHE-supported PhD candidate at Erasmus MC in the Netherlands and research scientist based at the Centre for Family Health Research in Zambia (CFHRZ). She has a BSc in Clinical Bio-analysis and a Masters of Public health. She has over 10 years experience working in a fundamental science lab with infectious diseases like HIV, TB, COVID-19 and other STIs. Her doctoral research focuses on advancing Zambia’s readiness for HIV cure and remission research through an integrated biomedical and social-behavioural approach. Her work includes developing affordable methods for HIV reservoir quantification, investigating inducible HIV reservoirs, and exploring perspectives of people living with HIV on cure-related research, including analytical treatment interruption. Through her research, she aims to bridge HIV laboratory science and community perspectives to support the development of scientifically robust, ethically responsible, and contextually appropriate HIV cure-related strategies in resource-limited settings.

Annefien is a PhD candidate born and raised in the Netherlands. She obtained both her BSc Molecular Life Sciences and Msc Infection and Immunity at Utrecht University. Her interests in virology and HIV-1 infection led her to Melbourne, Australia for a 6-month internship where she joined the Doherty Institute for Infection Immunity to investigate the potential of CRISPR-Cas13b as an immunomodulatory cure intervention for HIV-1. After returning from down under, she joined the Mahmoudi lab to do her PhD as a part on SPIRAL consortium. In her PhD, Annefien studies sex-specific differences in HIV-1 reservoir dynamics. She is passionate about contributing to a project that will counter the underrepresentation of women in HIV-1 cure research. Outside of the lab Annefien loves volleyball, art, science communication and everything in the color green.

Payam is a medical doctor from Iran, currently pursuing his PhD in the field of bladder cancer research, with a focus on the tumor microenvironment. His research investigates how the characteristics of cancerous and non-cancerous components of the tumor microenvironment, as well as the interactions between them, influence tumor biology, disease progression, and treatment response. His work combines computational analyses of genomic and transcriptomic data with experimental validation using organoid models and co-culture systems.

Sepideh is a PhD candidate with a background in molecular genetics and artificial intelligence. Her research focuses on applying AI to biomedical data to better understand diseases and improve patient care.

Currently, she is working on the AI-PRECISE project, where she uses deep learning to identify molecular subtypes of bladder cancer from histopathology images, with the goal of supporting more personalized treatment strategies.

Outside of research, she enjoys reading books, exploring different ideas and perspectives through literature, and staying active through regular exercise.

Isabelle is a medical doctor who worked in the clinical urology department for 1.5 years before starting her PhD in oncological urology. One of her research projects is CHASIT, a national, multicenter study involving patients with locally advanced unresectable or clinically node-positive urothelial carcinoma of the bladder, upper urinary tract, or urethra.

Patients enrolled in the CHASIT study must have achieved at least stable disease following three or four cycles of platinum-based chemotherapy. Following inclusion, all participants receive three courses of avelumab, an anti-PD-L1 immunotherapy, followed by radical surgery involving removal of the primary tumor and lymph nodes. Postoperative follow-up consists of clinical assessments every three months, including radiological imaging and blood sampling, for up to two years after surgery.

The CHASIT trial aims to increase the proportion of patients achieving a pathological complete response (pCR) through a treatment strategy combining induction chemotherapy followed by avelumab immunotherapy.

Bram first joined our lab to work on his BSc thesis Nanobiology, during which he was involved in image analysis focused on bladder cancer organoids. After having obtained his BSc, he joined the lab as a technician. He is currently continuing his MSc Nanobiology program while working in the lab part-time. He is interested in studying non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in patient-derived liver organoids.

Sander is a PhD candidate born and raised in the Netherlands. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in Biology (2021–2024) and his master’s degree in Infection & Immunity (2024–2026). During his master’s studies, he completed a nine-month research internship in the Mahmoudi lab, focusing on bladder cancer organoid biology and the establishment of patient-derived organoids as a model for bladder cancer research.

Currently, Sander’s research focuses on bladder cancer-derived organoid models, investigating the interactions between cancer cells and immune cells and their roles in therapeutic response. In addition, he is involved in the CHASIT Translational study, which uses clinical samples and longitudinal patient data collected throughout the CHASIT trial to identify molecular and cellular determinants of response to sequential chemo-immunotherapy in urothelial carcinoma.

Tsung 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.

Miranda van Dijk, originally from Dordrecht, the Netherlands, completed her degree in biological and medical technology in 2020. Since the culmination of her internship in the same year, she has been actively engaged in bladder cancer organoid culture as part of her role as a part-time lab technician. Concurrently, Miranda is pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Biological and Medical Life Sciences at Hogeschool Utrecht.