Lab members
Abraham (Bram) Teunissen, PhD
Role: Principal Investigator
Dr. Teunissen received his M.Sc. degree in Molecular Engineering from the Eindhoven University of Technology, the Netherlands. He completed his Ph.D. at the same University, in the group of Dr. E.W. Meijer. His graduate research involved developing biomimetic supramolecular systems and synthetic chemical reaction networks. From 2017 to 2019, Dr. Teunissen was a postdoctoral fellow in the Mulder lab at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Here, he developed nanotherapeutics for modulating the innate immune system and employed these to treat cardiovascular disease, organ transplant rejection, and cancer. He now co-directs the BMEII’s Nanomedicine program, which focuses on modulating the innate immune system under imaging guidance. Dr. Teunissen also founded and now directs the radiochemistry facility at the BMEII.
Judit Morlà-Folch, PhD
Role: Postdoctoral Fellow
I’m from Barcelona, where I obtained my PhD in 2017. During this period, my research focused on developing an SERS spectroscopy-based technique for studying nucleic acids. I also worked with Prof. Xing Yi Ling at the Nanyang Technological University of Singapore and later joined the Beauty Cluster Barcelona as Innovation Manager. I then worked as a postdoc at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) in collaboration with the Institute of Materials Science of Barcelona (ICMAB-CSIC), where I investigated the photophysical properties of fluorescent organic nanoparticles as optimal bioimaging probes. Now, I am a postdoctoral fellow in the Teunissen Lab, where my research focuses on developing and characterizing novel nanoimmunotherapeutics. Specifically, my research strives to fight cancer using photodynamic and targeted radiotherapies.
Anna Ranzenigo, PhD
Role: Postdoctoral Fellow
Hello hello! I’m Anna, I obtained my PhD in 2022 from the University of Florence in Italy. During my PhD my research focused on the study of tartaric acid enantiomers as starting materials for the synthesis of biologically active natural products and analogs, such as iminosugars and bis--amino acids. During my period abroad in Denmark at the university of Copenhagen with professor Dr Brønsted Nielsen I was working on the synthesis, characterization and kinetic studies of photochromic molecules. My research as postdoc at nanomedicine Lab is focused on the organic synthesis of different prodrugs and small molecules aimed on developing novel nanoimmunotherapeutics. I’m also performing radiosynthesis and radiolabeling for PET imaging.
Giulia Davighi, PhD
Role: Postdoctoral Fellow
Hello, I am Giulia. I obtained a Ph.D. in organic chemistry in 2023 from the University of Firenze. My Ph.D. research in the group of Prof. Andrea Gotiaimed at synthesizing mono- and multivalent stimuli-responsive nitrogenated glycomimetics as pharmacological chaperones for treating Gaucher disease. My Ph.D. was also focused on synthesizing carbonic anhydrase inhibitors containing sugar or iminosugar moieties. Now, I am a postdoctoral researcher in the Teunissen lab, where my project focuses on synthesizing small molecule PET probes. I also develop nanotherapeutics to study and prevent organ transplant rejection.
William Wang
Role: Associate Researcher
Greetings, I am William! The wide applications of innate immune system modulation in treating a variety of diseases drew my interest, and I first came to the Teunissen lab in 2021. I obtained my bachelors in biochemistry from King’s College London, and have experience with in vitro studies elucidating the role of ABI3BP and Meox2 in the senescence of mouse embryonic fibroblast. Here, I am involved through the process of developing novel nanotherapeutics to the testing of said nanotherapeutics in in vivo studies. I am excited to both participate in interesting research pushing forward the field of nanomedicine, as well as learning and consolidating various technical skills.
Jazz Munitz
Role: Associate Researcher
Hey! My name is Jazz, and I’m an associate researcher in the Teunissen lab. I first started in the Nanomedicine lab when I was 15 and it was lead by Dr. Mulder. Ever since, I have been mesmerized by the breadth of explorative and inventive inquisition that takes place here. After graduating college, having studied neuroscience, bioethics, health policy, and health systems management, I returned to Mt. Sinai to perform in vivo imaging with the aim of understanding the pharmacokinetics and biodistribution of our nano-platforms. I also help manage BMEII’s preclinical nuclear imaging facility, which offers various multimodality imaging platforms, such as high field MR and PET/CT. I truly feel proud to have called the Nanomedicine Lab home for so long and the creative spirit and teamwork that we share in abundance.
Martin Umali
Role: Lab Manager
My name is Martin and I am the lab manager for the nanomedicine lab. I graduated with a Bachelors in Biochemistry at Stony Brook University, where my previous lab studied potential therapies for multiple sclerosis. Apart from managing the lab, I am also involved with in vivo research, where I help test novel nanotherapeutics. Being a part of this lab has made me more appreciative of the wonders of Nanomedicine and I look forward to learning more!