Catherin Niemann, PI
Catherin obtained her PhD at the Max-Delbrück-Center (MDC) Berlin, where she worked in the lab of Walter Birchmeier to investigate the role of Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) and neuregulin signalling in mammary epithelial cells. She than joined the lab of Fiona M. Watt at the Imperial Cancer Research Fund / Cancer Research UK in London to study molecular mechanisms regulating stem cell function in mammalian skin. During this time as a postdoctoral fellow Catherin developed her fascination for the many-sided functions and complex regulation of epithelial stem cells.
E-Mail: cnieman1[at]uni-koeln.de
Ann-Helen Rosendahl, Postdoc
Ann-Helen obtained her M.D., Ph.D. at the University of Oulu in Finland, where she worked in the lab of Prof. Johanna Myllyharju, investigating the hypoxia signalling pathway, focusing on the role of HIF-prolyl 4-hydroxylases and lysyl oxidase in mouse tissues. After a few years of clinical work, she moved to Cologne for her postdoc and started working in the lab of Prof. Dr. Thomas Krieg at Köln Uniklinik. At the moment, Ann-Helen is working as a shared postdoc in the lab of PD Dr. Catherin Niemann and Prof. Dr. Thomas Krieg. She is particularly interested in elucidating the complex communication between different cells in the skin through big data analysis, such as single cell RNA-sequencing.
E-Mail: ann-helen.rosendahl[at]uk-koeln.de
Nourhan Hassan, Postdoc
Nourhan began her career in Egypt with a bachelor’s degree in biotechnology and a teaching role at Cairo University. Her master’s research at the National Cancer Institute focused on miRNA-124 and FOXA2 in liver cancer. In 2018, she received a DAAD scholarship to pursue a Ph.D. in Prof. Götte’s lab at University Hospital Münster, Germany, investigating syndecan-1’s role in breast cancer radioresistance, resulting in multiple publications and awards. After her Ph.D., she worked on the BIOMET4D project in Prof. Krieg’s Lab at University Hospital Cologne, researching 4D biodegradable implants for dynamic tissue restoration. She is now a postdoc in Dr. Niemann’s lab, developing a 3D organoid model to study sebaceous gland biology and pathology.
E-Mail: nourhan.hassan[at]uk-koeln.de
Lakshit Sharma, Ph.D. student
Lakshit earned his first master’s degree in Biotechnology from India, where he completed his thesis under Dr. R. Suresh Kumar at the National Institute of Cancer Prevention and Research, studying the cytotoxic and de-methylating effects of a plant-derived compound on cancer cells. He then pursued a second master’s degree in Molecular Life Sciences at the University of Jena, Germany, where he conducted his thesis in Prof. Dr. Aria Baniahmad’s lab, investigating the effects of AKT/Protein Kinase B inhibitors on senescence and apoptosis in prostate cancer cells . Currently, his PhD project aims to understand the role of the Hedgehog pathway in epidermal cell specification and skin appendage formation.
Email: lakshit.sharma[at]uk-koeln.de
Elssy Adusei-Poku, M.Sc. student
Elssy obtained her bachelor´s degree in Molecular Life Sciences from the University of Lübeck, Germany. Under the supervision of PD Dr. Christina Zechel, she conducted her thesis investigating the role of PPARα in human glioma stem cells of glioblastoma. As part of the Biological Science Master’s program at the University of Cologne, she is currently working on her thesis in the Niemann lab. Her project focuses on the physiological relevance of catagen-associated apoptosis in hair follicle regeneration and skin tissue remodelling.
Email: eaduseip[at]smail.uni-koeln.de
Paula Henke, M.Sc. student
Paula obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Biology from the Technical University of Darmstadt. In the lab of Prof. Dr. Felix Hausch, she worked on rational protein design of FKBP51 to improve ligand development in structure-based drug discovery. As part of her Master’s degree in Molecular Biomedicine and Genome Biology at Technical University of Darmstadt, Paula is currently conducting her research in the Niemann lab focussed on understanding Hedgehog-Gli2 signalling in tissue homeostasis and cancer.
Email: phenke2[at]uni-koeln.de
Melanie Nelles, Technical assistant
Melanie has great experiences in tissue histological techniques as well as molecular biological methods. Melanie is taking care of the TEHU (tissue embedding and histology unit) service provided by the Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne (CMMC) at the University of Cologne.
Email: melanie.nelles[at]uk-koeln.de
Peter Schettina, Technical assistant
Peter is an expert in various molecular techniques including expression analysis and his work is beneficial for many different projects in the lab. He also has a strong background in cell culture techniques.
Email: pschetti[at]uni-koeln.de
Fred the Frog, PhD Office assistant
Whenever PhD students need support, Fred is happy to help.
ALUMNI
- Anna Geueke, Ph.D. student
- Daniela Frances, Postdoc
- Deborah Delbue, Postdoc
- Giada Mantellato, Postdoc
- Gilles Séquaris, Ph.D. student
- Heike Brylka, Postdoc
- Karen Reuter, Ph.D. student
- Monika Petersson, Ph.D. student
- Parisa Kakanj, Ph.D. student
- Susan John, Postdoc
- Uwe Galli, Postdoc
- Viktoria Reckert, Ph.D. student