UM is the lead partner of the CircBioCare consortium. UM is an innovative, research-oriented and the most international university in the Netherlands. Thanks to its high-quality research and education, as well as a strong focus on social engagement, UM has quickly built a solid reputation.
MERLN Institute
MERLN’s activities operate at the interface of biology, engineering, and medicine to maximise impact at the level of public involvement and the commercialisation of research.
Huang Luojiao is a postdoctoral researcher at the MERLN Institute, specializing in mass spectrometry-based metabolomics, proteomics, and pharmaceutical analysis. Her research focuses on developing advanced analytical methods for omics, including high-throughput sample preparation, quality control optimization, stable isotope tracing for metabolic flux analysis, and spatially resolved molecular analysis.
Martijn van Griensven (1974) studied in Leiden (NL) and was trained in Hannover (D). He was appointed as full professor for experimental trauma surgery in 2002 and at that time he was the youngest professor in Germany. In 2005, he became co-director of the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Experimental and Clinical Traumatology in Vienna (A). In 2011, he was appointed as director of Experimental Trauma Surgery at the Technical University of Munich (D). Since September 2019, he is full professor of regenerative medicine and head of the department of Cell Biology-Inspired Tissue Engineering of the MERLN Institute at Maastricht University (NL). Since February 2023, he is vice director of MERLN. He is also affiliated to the Musculoskeletal Gene Therapy Research Group (Prof. Chris Evans), Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA. He is a visiting professor at Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia in Lima (Peru). He is professor at the UNESCO chair for biomaterials, Universidad de la Habana (Cuba). His main research areas are related to diagnostic and therapy methodsfor the musculoskeletal system with a strong pathway from pathogenetic causes to translational medicine. Here, a main focus is on miRNAs for diagnosis, pathogenesis, and therapy. Furthermore, he is interested in the crosstalk between organs after traumatic injuries. He has published 354 peer reviewed papers, 3 patents, 30 book chapters and he has edited 4 books. His h-factor is 74. He currently is the president of the section basic research of the german society for orthopaedics and trauma surgery.
Rimsha Saif: I am a first-year PhD student at Maastricht University. I’m working at MERLN on the exciting project that focuses on the integration of multiomicsand artificial intelligence for the early diagnosis of osteoarthritis. Outside of work, I enjoy exploring new technologies, reading scientific literature, watchingmovies.
Dr. B. Cillero-Pastor is a leading expert in spatially resolved mass spectrometry-based techniques. Her research focuses on unraveling molecular mechanisms of disease and developing spatial omics approaches to support precision diagnostics, targeted therapies, and regenerative medicine. From 2015 to February 2022, she led the state-of-the-art Mass Spectrometry Imaging (MSI) CORE facility at the M4i institute (Maastricht University). Since March 2022, Dr. Cillero-Pastor has been Principal Investigator at the MERLN Institute for Technology-Inspired Regenerative Medicine, where she develops advanced molecular tools to study drug mechanisms, tissue remodeling, and molecular classifiers for patient phenotyping, with a particular focus on on osteoarthritis and other age-related diseases. She is the coordinator of several multidisciplinary projects all of which aim to bridge fundamental science with clinical and industrial innovation in the fields of regenerative medicine, biomarker discovery and molecular imaging. Dr. Cillero-Pastor also actively contributes to the scientific community as a board member of the Dutch Society of Mass Spectrometry (NVMS) and Female Empowerment Maastricht (FEM). She is a committed advocate diversity and is deeply involved in mentoring early-career researchers and promoting interdisciplinary science through international networks and consortia.”
Dr. Virginie Jories did her PhD in biomedical sciences at the UCLouvain in Brussels, Belgium. Since 2021, she is a postdoctoral researcher at MERLN. From 2021 to 2024, her research focused on two different projects:
- Reducing off-target populations in iPSC-derived kidney organoids, with the ultimate goal of providing patient-specific solutions for chronic kidney disease, a condition that currently increases all types of mortality. For this project, Virgine was awarded the Marie Curie European Fellowships for her project GECKO.
- Understand the role of specific microRNAs in bone remodeling with the aim of proposing tissue-specific therapeutic approaches to tackle bone defects such as osteoporosis or non-union fractures.
Virginie has a collaborative mind and participated in several side projects related to kidney organoids, bone remodeling or cancers. Since 2025, she is part of the Ecole de Médecine Dentaire et Stomatologie (EMDS) at UCLouvain where she collaborates with clinicians to unravel the role of microRNAs in bone degenerative dental diseases. In parallel, she started working on the CircBioCare project at the MERLN institute, providing her expertise for microRNA sequencing and panel design.
MUMC+ is the first academic medical centre combining the functions of academic and regional hospital.
Dr. Pieter J. Emans finished his PhD in 2007. This work received the Goran Bauer grant of the Nordic Orthopaedic Federation (NOF) and a long lasting grant (LLP 14) of the Dutch Arthritis Society (Reumafonds). The aim his PhD was exploring the possibility to generate cartilage at an ectopical site and repair cartilage defects with this approach. Pieter is a 2010 ICRS Lars Peterson travelling fellow, co-chair of the ICRS registry committee, co-founder of Chondropeptix B.V. and Avalanche Medical B.V. Currently he is working as an Orthopaedicsurgeon at MaastrichtUMC+ with a focus on the academic treatments in the field joint preserving surgery and chair of “The Orthopaedic Clinical Trial Center”.
Dr. Imke Rudnik-Jansen is post-doctoral researcher at the department of Anesthesiology and Pain Management at Maastricht University Medical Center (MUMC+) and the department of Translational Neuroscience, School of Mental Health and Neuroscience (MHeNs) at the University of Maastricht. In her research line, Imke aims to take the treatment of chronic pain to the next level by using the combination of newly designed drugs with advanced controlled drug delivery. From 2020 to 2022, Imke was a post-doctoral researcher at the Bioengineered Drug Designs laboratory in Aarhus, Denmark, where she designed and investigated novel targeted drugs using innovative bioengineering strategies. She investigated drug delivery systems for prolonged local drug release in osteoarthritic knee joints and degenerated intervertebral discsduring her PhD trajectory at the Department of Orthopedics at the University Medical Center Utrecht. Her substantial experience in working with in vitro OA models will be applied within the CircBioCare project.
Prof. Annelies Boonen is a professor of rheumatology at Maastricht University Medical Centre and affiliated to the Care and Public Health Research Institute (Caphri) of the Maastricht University. Her research interests concern (i) assessment and prediction of clinical outcomes, (ii) health-economic evaluation of healthcare and healthcare innovations and (iii) health inequities Within the CircBioCare project, Annelies Boonen leads the development of a cost-effectiveness models to evaluate the early health economic value of biomarker-based screening tools for osteoarthritis. Her work ensures that novel diagnostic strategies are assessed not only for clinical potential but also for their feasibility and impact on healthcare systems and society. Clinical diagnostics laboratory
Dr. ir. A. Mingels is Clinical Chemist and specialised in clinical diagnostics automation in laboratory and clinical aspects. She has been awarded with a VENI grant to investigate new protein biomarker strategies to diagnose heart infarct. She is member of the Dutch Society of Clinical Chemistry (NVKC).
UMCU is one of the largest academic centers in the Netherlands. Patient care and biomedical research are closely linked, which creates an environment where scientific advancements quickly move from bench to bedside. The department of Orthopedics has a strong clinical focus on spinal and knee surgery, where it has so-called supra-regional/ top-referent position.
Dr. Laura Creemers studied Biology and Biomedical Sciences. After a PhD on extracellular matrix degradation in soft connective tissue, she did a postdoc in stem cell research and then landed at the dept of Orthopedics at the UMC Utrecht. Here she developed a deepinterest in biomaterial-based local drug delivery for regeneration and treatment of inflammation in osteoarthritis and disc degeneration as major cause for chronic low back pain. APIs encompass small molecules, proteins, peptides and nucleic acids, while carriers vary from hydrogels and microparticles to nanoparticles. Research is done both in vitro and in in vivo models, the latter ranging from rat to large animals. Large animal studies, including canine patient trials are done in close collaboration with the Veterinary Medicine Faculties. January 2025, she moved to Maastricht University where she was appointed professor in Experimental Pain Medicine at the dept of Anesthesiology, to continue her work on local drug delivery, in addition to neuromodulation, for chronic pain treatment and on chronification of pain. UA is the third largest University in Flanders. It has over 10 faculties, including Social Sciences and Medicine and Health Sciences. It finances various Spearhead units, including Public Health & Primary Care.
Dr. Gert-Jan de Bruijn is a Professor of Strategic Communication and AI at the University of Antwerp. His research deals with the application of AI-techniques for strategiccommunication purposes, including how AI-based decisions and advice can be adequatelyexplained to a non-expert audience. He is a current supervisor of 10 PhD students and twopost-docs in the domain of health and AI and member of the Antwerp Center for ResponsibleAI. In CircBioCare, he leads WP4, dealing with acceptance and participation in voluntary AI-informed osteoarthritis screening. 
Dr. S.A.J. Zaat is Principal Investigator and Associate Professor at the Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Department of Medical Microbiology, of the research line “Biomaterial-associated infection and novel antimicrobial strategies. His current research is focused on pathogenesis, prevention and treatment of biomaterial-associated infections, both in soft tissue (catheters, surgical meshes) and bone (implants, fixation devices). Based on a thorough understanding of the events leading to infection, novel strategies are being developed including rapid microbial diagnosis, anti-infective coatings not subject to bacterial resistance development, prevention of biofilm formation, and enhancement of killing of bacteria hiding in tissue surrounding inserted or implanted medical devices. These approaches are aimed at maximally reducing the risk of infection for patients which depend on such medical devices as well of the risk of resistance development against conventional antibiotics. In addition, dr. Zaat suffered from hip arthrosis at two sides, and has undergone 2 successful total hip arthroplasties. The INIBIC is made up of research groups from the Hospital, the University and the Primary Care Area of A Coruña (Spain), with the aim of creating a stable collaboration framework, which integrates basic and clinical research, enabling a more effective transfer to society of the scientific advances obtained in the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of diseases.
Prof. Blanco is Chief of the Clinical and Translational Rheumatology at the University Hospital A Coruña (Spain) and full Professor of Rheumatology at the University of A Coruña (UDC). He studied Medicine at the USC and completed the Rheumatology speciality at the Hospital 12 de Octubre in Madrid. He was Research Fellow at UCSD-La Jolla-California. Currently he leads the Rheumatology Research Group (GIR) at INIBIC. One of his lines of research is the Search for Biomarkers for Diagnosis, Prognosis and Evaluation of the Therapeutic Response of OA.
I have published more than 525 JCR articles with an accumulated impact factor of more than 2310, and that accrue more than 26,900 total citations. My current h-index in WoS is 80. I have contributed as editor in 6 books and as author in more than 50 book chapters. I have directed 36 doctoral theses (plus another 13 currently in progress) and I have 8 patents.
Throughout my scientific career I have been PI in more than 40 national competitive research projectsand have participated as a collaborator in another 36. I have participated in 13 international projects (including 5 European and 6 with the National Institutes of Health, USA. I have also received several awards, notably the Ist European Award in Medicine 2019, category Rheumatology, from El Suplemento and the 2017 Basic Science Award awarded by the Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI) to my scientific career. My group received the Clinical Research Award 2018, granted by Syneos Health, North Caroline, USA.
Dr. Susan Picavet (HSJ) is project leader of the longitudinal Doetinchem Cohort Study and senior researcher on public health themes like healthy ageing, musculoskeletal health problems (e.g. pain and osteoarthritis), multimorbidity, disability, physical activity, and sex- SES- & generation-differences in health and life style. Since 1996 she works at the National Institute of Public Health and the Environment, in Dutch: RIVM. She coauthored 138 peer reviewed papers (H factor=45). The Dutch Arthritis Society (ReumaNederland) is an hybrid organisation. Organized as a patient organization, we are raising funds for research and impactbenefit. ReumaNederlandrepresents more than 2 million people in the Netherlands who suffer from rheumatic diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, juvenile rheumatism, osteoarthritis by lobbying, agenda settingand policy making.
Dr. Josep Vergés is the Osteoarthritis Foundation International (OAFI) founder and president. He is a Clinical Pharmacologist laureated at the University of Montreal with more than 25 years of experience in osteoarthritis (OA). He has been working internationally on projects related to OA using his expertise in clinical research, trials, pharmacovigilance, biomarkers, drug development, and regulatory. Co-author in more than 50 publications in international scientificjournals focusing on OA. Speaker at more than 30 international congresses and co-author of several scientific books. 
Dr. Akshay Dhingra (Business Development Manager – Proteomics): with over five years of experience in the life sciences and biotechnology sectors, AkshayDhingra is a dedicated business development professional specializing in proteomics. He currently serves as the Business Development Manager for Proteomics at Covaris, where he leads growth initiatives and develops strategic partnerships. Previously, Akshay worked as a Field Application Scientist for EMEA at Covaris, and as an Application Specialist at BioEchoLife Sciences GmbH, contributing to the advancement of cutting-edge technologies in genomics and proteomics. Akshay holds a Ph.D. in Virology from Medizinische Hochschule Hannover, where he graduated magna cum laude, and a master’s in biotechnology from Pondicherry University. His deep expertise, analytical mindset, and commitment to advancing scientific innovationmake him a valuable asset in his field. Outside of work, Akshay is passionate about exploringnew ideas and making meaningful contributions to the scientific community. Every day, QIAGEN serves 500,000 customers globally, all seeking insights from the building blocks of life – DNA and RNA. Delivering Sample to Insight solutions for molecular testing, we enable scientists and clinicians to achieve breakthroughs in life sciences research, molecular diagnostics and drug development. Within this particular project, the company will bring its expertise in New Generation Sequencing and Digital PCR technology together, to aim for high sensitivity and accuracy in a future clinical approach.
Robert van Gog (Sales Application Specialist) will provide general support for DNA/RNA extraction, NGS sequencing and dPCR Technology. Dr. Matthias Rauen will provide his expertise in digital PCR assay design for unparallel accuracy.
Agilent supports cutting-edge life science research and patient diagnostics and will provide in kind contribution for the development of a robust high-throughput proteomics pipeline in a standardized manner. Dr. Nicolas Mounton is an expert in protein and peptide purification.
Bruker is world-leader of scientific instruments for molecular analysis. Bruker has recently developed 4-D- PASEF proteomics technology, a game changer in the field of clinical proteomics high unprecedent sensitivity. Dr. Bram Snijders (proteomics business developer) is expert in high-throughput proteomics.
Paula de Galan is a business development manager at Olink since 2021. She holds a master of science degree from the university of Leiden and TUDelft. She started her career in the human genetics lab at the LUMC, where she gained scientific experience in fundamental research. Next she made the step into sales and business development, where she obtained deep knowledge on protein analytics in various research fields. She is currently combining this with strategic insights to foster innovative collaborations to a future where the right medicine reaches the right patient at the right time. 
Dr. Wahid Awad is a seasoned leader in life sciences, with 20 years of experience spanning research, teaching, entrepreneurship, and executive management. He has studied in 13 countries and lived and worked in Egypt, the Netherlands, the USA, and France. Before founding Rosetta Omics, Dr. Awad served as Chief Business Officer and Executive Board Member of CILcare, a French-American-Danish biotech company, and is the CEO and Founder of Awad & Co., a management consulting firm specializing in life sciences. He is actively involved in shaping the biotech ecosystem, serving on the Executive Boards of the Paris Saclay Cancer Cluster, Medicen Paris Region, the ESCP Business School Alumni Association, and the American University Club in France. Dr. Awad is also passionate about education and mentorship, serving as a visiting professor at several leading business schools and universities in France. Prior to focusing on Rosetta Omics, he held a tenure-track professorship at Cairo University, where he contributed to academic research and student development for many years. Recognized for his contributions to science and innovation, Dr. Awad has received over 20 awards, fellowships, and honors across four countries and was nominated as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. Having lost his father to cancer, Dr. Awad has made it his life mission to revolutionize cancer care through precision medicine. In his free time, he runs to support cancer patients and actively fundraises for Gustave Roussy, Europe’s leading cancer center.
Stephanie Fanucchi is the Chief Scientific Officer at Lemba Therapeutics, with over 15 yearsof expertise in lncRNA biology. Her pioneering research has uncovered the role of nucleararchitecture, lncRNAs, and epigenetic regulation in trained immunity and inflammation. Under Stephanie’s leadership, Lemba has developed the MOSAIC platform, designed totranslate lncRNA biology into breakthrough therapeutics. MOSAIC combines functionalgenomics, AI-driven target discovery, and high-throughput phenotypic screening to identifyantisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) that can effectively modulate lncRNA function. MOSAIC has been instrumental in identifying lncRNA targets and advancing ASO lead candidatesacross diverse therapeutic areas, including osteoarthritis, drug-resistant solid tumors, and as epigenetic modulators of vaccine responses. Patients will provide feedback on awareness, communication and scientific guidance on willingness for profiling.