Team
Prof. Dr. Petya Apostolova
Petya is an Assistant Professor of Experimental Hematology at the University Hospital Basel. She studied Medicine in Freiburg, Germany, where she also completed her clinical training. In her postdoctoral fellowship at the Max-Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics and the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine (USA), she studied how metabolism governs the function and survival of immune and leukemia cells. Clinically, Petya consults patients with hematological malignancies, in particular hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients. In her research work, she is fascinated by cellular metabolic plasticity and its consequences for cell fate.
Massimo Andreis
Massimo studied Cellular and Molecular Biotechnology at the University of Trento, Italy, where he discovered his passion for immunology and metabolic pathways. After spending four years near his beloved mountains, he moved overseas for his master’s thesis, where he investigated the role of cysteine and glutamine in cytotoxic T lymphocytes - and became a big Baltimore Ravens fan (even if he’s still figuring out NFL’s rules). To further broaden his knowledge in a more translational context, he joined our lab in Basel as a PhD student. His research focuses on understanding how AML cell metabolism contributes to AML immune escape following allogeneic transplantation by multiomics technologies. When he’s not in the lab, Massimo enjoys spending time outdoors: running, hiking, playing football and recovering with a good pizza afterwards!
Noa Chemsi Bentires-Alj
Noa Chemsi is a Master’s student in Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Geneva, where he also completed his Bachelor’s degree. As part of the final year of his Master’s program, he is undertaking a six-month research internship at the Apostolova Lab. Under the supervision of PhD student Tatjana Gremelspracher, his research focuses on understanding the molecular signaling pathways linking FLT3-ITD mutations to increased phosphatidic acid levels in acute myeloid leukemia (AML).
Nikola Graf
Biography coming soon.
Tatjana Gremelspacher
Tatjana began her scientific journey studying Biology at the University of Freiburg, where she completed her bachelor's thesis in virology. She continued working in the same lab as a student assistant while pursuing her master’s degree in immunobiology at the University of Freiburg. In January 2024, she joined the BCIM lab in Basel for her master’s thesis, just as the lab was launching. Her project focused on lipid metabolism and FLT3-ITD signaling in acute myeloid leukemia (AML), during which she identified a lipid of interest that is deregulated in the context of FLT3-ITD signaling. After completing her thesis, she spent some months at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore in the lab of Erika Pearce, where she focused on T cell metabolism and amino acid dynamics. Despite thoroughly enjoying her time in the U.S. (and developing a minor obsession with Reese’s), Tatjana returned to Basel to begin her PhD, where she is continuing her work on lipid signaling in AML. When she’s not in the lab, you’ll likely find her at the gym, or spending time with her family and friends.
Hui Hao-Shen
I studied medicine in China and have been working for many years as a technician in the Experimental Hematology group within the Department of Biomedicine. I joined the lab in 2024. I am very pleased to have the opportunity to work in the field of translational medicine research. In my spare time, I truly enjoy the magnificent Alps, the charming lakes, and the tranquil natural beauty of Switzerland.
Jerneja Koren
Jerneja studied Immunology and Pharmacology at the University of Aberdeen in the far northeast of Scotland. For her master’s research project, she moved to the Biozentrum in Basel, where she investigated the role of coronin 2 and 3 in mammalian cells. Captivated by both the science and the city, she decided to return to Switzerland (and Basel) and pursue her PhD in the Apostolova lab. Motivated by her passion for immunology, Jerneja now studies how metabolic rewiring in AML cells shapes the bone marrow environment and influences surrounding non-leukemic cells, often with the help of metabolomics. When she is not busy trying to untangle LC-MS data, you will likely find her running, swimming in the Rhine, or baking the perfect sourdough loaf.
Diana Nyaburi
Diana Nyaburi is a PhD student at the University Medical Center Freiburg, working within Collaborative Research Centre CRC 1479 OncoEscape. Her research focuses on the metabolic reprogramming of macrophages in FLT3-ITD acute myeloid leukemia (AML), investigating how leukemia-associated metabolic cues influence macrophage function and contribute to immune escape. By integrating transcriptomic and metabolomic approaches, she aims to uncover the mechanisms underlying macrophage reprogramming and identify potential therapeutic targets. Diana studied Applied Bioengineering at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology in Kenya before pursuing a master’s degree in Biophysics and Quantitative Biotechnology at the University of Zaragoza, Spain, through a scholarship from the Mujeres por África Foundation. Outside the lab, she enjoys getting lost in a good book, discovering new places, exploring new interests and experiences, and catching live music whenever she can.
Dr. Anthony Sonrel
Anthony joined the BCIM Lab in 2025 as a Bioinformatician. He studied Biology and Bioinformatics at the University of Lausanne and completed a PhD in Statistical Genetics at the University of Zurich in the Robinson Lab. He has worked on diverse analysis projects in both academia and the pharmaceutical industry, ranging from studying obesity through population genetics to developing algorithms for single-cell analysis. At the BCIM Lab, Anthony oversees the generation, analysis, and interpretation of omics data to better understand AML mechanisms. Among his projects, he focuses on integrating multi-omics data and translating statistical signals into meaningful biological findings. He brings his interest for AI, intuitive UI design, and reproducibility into the analysis and code that he develops for the lab.
Felix Theiss
Felix earned his Bachelor's degree in Biology and Master's degree in Stem Cell Biology at Ruhr University Bochum, Germany, between 2018 and 2024. During his ten-month Master's thesis in the Lymphoma Laboratory of Prof. Christian Reinhardt at the West German Cancer Center in Essen, he focused on the functional characterization of novel tumor suppressors and oncogenes in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and participated in the West German Lymphoma Symposium 2024. In November 2025, he joined the Apostolova Lab, where his PhD research focuses on the role of bioactive lipids in immune evasion of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) following allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Alongside his scientific career, he is an accomplished professional guitarist. From 2016 to 2025, he held the Guitar 1 chair in Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Starlight Express in Bochum, Germany. As a live and studio guitarist, he has performed at prestigious venues and events, including the Montreux Jazz Festival, OpenAir St. Gallen, Sony Music Studios in Berlin, and recording studios in Brooklyn, New York City.
Dr. Johannes Tossounidis
Jannis studied Medicine at the LMU in Munich. From 2015 to 2016 he performed his MD thesis in the lab of Simon Rothenfußer in the Division of Clinical Pharmacology at the LMU University Hospital on the role of a TRIM-protein in innate antiviral immunity. Since 2020, he is doing his residency in Internal Medicine and Hematology at the University Hospital of Basel. He joined the Apostolova Lab to explore metabolic alternations in the context of AML and allogeneic stem cell transplantation. When not in the lab, Jannis enjoys swimming, skiing, reading or visiting his family in Greece, where he can also swim, ski (yes, indeed) and read.
Annic Zimmermann
Annic studied Molecular Biology at the University of Basel and completed her Bachelor's thesis at the Biozentrum in the Dehio group, where she investigated how human macrophages respond to uropathogenic Escherichia coli. Having always been interested in cancer research, she developed a growing interest in immunology during her studies. This led her to join the Apostolova group for her Master's thesis, where she is investigating how acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) changes the behaviour of macrophages in the bone marrow and how these changes help cancer cells escape the immune system. After completing her studies, she plans to return to her home canton of Valais, where she hopes to apply the knowledge and experience she gained during her time in Basel. Until then, she enjoys escaping Basel on weekends to recharge in the mountains and enjoy the peace and quiet of Valais.
Alumni
- Giuliana Dri Burkert - Bachelor Student
- Dr. Eileen Haring - Postdoc
- Darja Hessel - Master Student
- Michal Remen - Dr. Med. Graduate
- Cécile Demarez - Administrative Assistant
- Tim-Llywelyn Isaac Leonhardt - Trainee
- Eirinaios Pappas - B.Sc. Student
- Louis Schulz - M.Sc. Internship
- Jule Huber - B.Sc. Student
- Simon Herrenschmidt - Master Student Medicine