People
Ameneh Ghaffarinia - Postdoctoral Fellow
Dr. Ameneh Ghaffarinia joined the lab in 2023 after doing her PhD in Medical Immunology at the Department of Dermatology and Allergology, University of Szeged, Hungary. She enjoys being with her family on weekends and reading and watching movies.
Dhanuush Balakannan - Master's Student
Dhanuush (he/him) is a final year integrated master's student from IISER Mohali, India. He joined the Leigh Lab as a visiting student to do his Master's thesis. His academic interests are to understand unique characteristics of regenerating species from an evolutionary point of view. Recently he developed interests in cancer models. In the lab, he is trying to understand the mechanisms of tumor resistance in salamanders with high regenerative abilities. He is also interested in science communication, trying to take Science to doorsteps of general public. Dhanuush is enthusiastic about different cultures and traditions. He likes traveling and documenting his memories through photographs!
Lennart Rikk - Intern
Lennart was working as a designer before kick-starting his academic journey at the University of Tartu in Estonia, where he earned his Bachelor's degree in Genetic Engineering. He now studies Molecular Biology for his Master's at Lund University, working on his thesis project in our lab.His research interests are in regeneration and mechanisms of aging. On sunny days, he enjoys wakeboarding and hiking.
Marlene Oesterle - PhD Student
Marlene earned her Bachelor's in Biochemistry and Master's in Molecular Medicine before igniting her interest in salamanders and regeneration during an IMP internship in Vienna. She's now pursuing a PhD in the field. Beyond science, Marlene enjoys tennis, snowboarding, reading, and exploring new places through travel.
Chimezie Harrison Umeano - PhD Student
Mezie, as he is fondly referred by, is a PhD student in the research group and has accumulated years of experience working with salamanders at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm. He has a background in biochemistry and biomedicine. In his free time, he loves to sightsee a new place, bake something or do some fitness workouts.
Milica Dimitrijevic - Master's Student
Milica moved to Sweden to pursue a Master’s program in Molecular Biology at Lund University after completing her undergraduate studies at the University of Belgrade, Serbia. She joined our lab for her thesis project, collaborating with the Douse lab to study transposable elements in salamanders. Through this project, she deepened her interest for genomics and transposon biology, particularly in large genomes like those found in salamanders. Outside of science, Milica enjoys trying out different sports, reading and traveling!
Nick Leigh - Group Leader
Nick joined Lund University after his studies at Roswell Park Cancer Institute (now Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center) and Harvard University. He is interested in building a lab that is collaborative, open, and filled with people from all walks of life. In his free time he enjoys playing soccer, hiking and fishing.
Nikhilesh Vasanthakumar - Intern
Nikhilesh is doing his Master's in Bioinformatics in the lab. He did my Bachelor's in Biotechnology where he worked with proteomics and structure prediction. After starting his master's he took an interest in Systems Immunology and analysing large datasets. He like to learn new languages, currently he know English, Hindi, Telugu, and Tamil. He is currently learning Swedish and German. In his free time he likes to read books and play chess competitively.
Selin Yalman - Master's Student
Selin earned her Bachelor’s degree in Molecular Biology and Genetics at Bilkent University before starting her Master’s in Molecular Medicine at Radboud University. She joined the Leigh Lab as a visiting student for her second Master’s research internship. Her research interests include stem cells, immunology, and genetics. In her free time she enjoys baking, reading, going on walks, and traveling.
Ugonna Chidiebere Okeke - Technician
Ugonna has a background in Microbiology from Nigeria and a Masters degree in Bioscience from University of Skövde, Sweden. He enjoy working with people, playing football, and listening to news.