FameLab Finalists 2019

Paris Asif was born and raised in Amsterdam. She did her masters in Biomedical Sciences and then started her PhD at the University of Amsterdam at AMC on colorectal cancer. Her interest in biomedical sciences is broad, she likes virology and oncology, but is also into medical research in space. Paris wonders sometimes if she should move to another country as she really loves mountains and hiking, but Amsterdam feels like home to her. When not working or outside, she loves poetry or painting. 

Lindsey is a PhD candidate in computational drug discovery. Her research lays in the field of drug discovery - she uses computers to speed up drug development. She predicts what molecules will be good drug candidates by calculating their efficiency and limit potential side effects. Lindsey tries to sparkle enthusiasm about science in others as well. This can be interest in various things, such as magic shows using 'dry ice' to create smoky clouds or the invention of seedless grapes. 

Ever since she was a kid, Kateryna attended astronomical extracurricular activities which led her to pursue a career in astronomy. She received her bachelor and master degrees in Ukraine and moved to the Netherlands to do her PhD. And now Kateryna is an astrophysicist working at the University of Groningen. She studies small bodies, such as asteroids and comets focusing on the role that these small bodies play in the processes of water and organics delivery to planets.

Hans has been fascinated by space since a young age, which set him on a path to study aerospace engineering in Delft. Rather than becoming an engineer, he gradually shifted to scientific research. As a student, Hans got involved in the scientific preparations for the new European space mission destined for Jupiter. This also became the topic of his PhD. He is currently working as a Research Fellow at the European Space Agency, at the beating heart of the mission.

Emma Koemans, is 24 years old and currently working as a PhD candidate at the Department of Neurology of the LUMC. Her field of research is Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy, a disease which causes brain hemorrhages. This research field interests her immensely, as CAA is a relatively unknown disease, but it is a major cause of brain hemorrhages and vascular dementia, causing over 40% of all spontaneous brain hemorrhages worldwide. Her other interests are singing, performing with her band and running.

Athira is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Amsterdam. Her field of research is stellar astrophysics, where she studies the lives of massive stars and their dramatic deaths as supernovae or black holes. Athira did her PhD in Australia, Masters in Canada and BSc honours in New Zealand. She thus clearly loves to travel. She is also a proficient classical Indian dancer (in Bharatanatyam) and continues to train herself and perform, alongside her academic career.

Michael was born and raised in the heart of Africa, Zimbabwe. He has always had a sixth sense and interest in computers. It may sound presumptuous but the logic that systems are built on down to the core abstractions of languages used to program them is his underlining passion. After having completed his Bachelors in Computer Science, he decided to specialize in a Master of Artificial Intelligence at Utrecht University.

Prasanna is a very ambitious computational bioengineer, scientist, PhD candidate at the University of Twente who engaged in solving the critical challenge of making clinically relevant engineered (artificial) tissues. He has worked in two Max Planck Institutes in Germany and received a few awards like Intel’s technology sustainable development award for the prototype to detect Malaria. His friends call him Party animal, traveller, traditional guy and good cook, these are also his hobbies.

Lauriane Spreij completed her master degree in Clinical Neuropsychology in 2015. She is currently working as a full-time PhD candidate at the Centre of Excellence for Rehabilitation Medicine Utrecht, which is a collaboration between the UMC Utrecht and De Hoogstraat Rehabilitation. Her PhD research focuses on the use of novel technology in cognitive rehabilitation in patients with brain damage.

Suellen is a PhD researcher at the Chemical Engineering department of TU Delft. She obtained her MSc degree in Water Technology at WETSUS, with cum lauda. She completed her BSc in Environmental Engineering at Federal University of Uberlandia (Brazil). She has also worked as a junior consultant on wastewater treatment. Her interests lie in resource recovery, sustainability, water treatment, and environmental technology. Her hobbies are travelling, drumming and coffee tasting.