Post-docs:
- Omer Markovitch (Israel)
Ph.D. students:
- Armin Kiani (Iran)
- Juntian Wu (China)
- Marc Geerts (Netherlands)
- Kirill Mikhailov (Russia)
- Lukas Herold (Germany)
- Zhenlong Chen (China)
Master students:
- Hugo Brummer (Netherlands)
- Josien Boonman (Netherlands)
Bachelor students:
POST-DOCS
Omer Markovitch was born at a very young age in Israel. He recieved his B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in chemistry from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Israel. In his masters he studied water structure and dynamics and particularly focused on the Grotthuss mechanism of proton transport in liquid water. He then moved to the Weizmann Institute for Science in Rehovot, Israel, to study dynamics and evolution of chemical system in relation to the origins of life, under the supervision of Prof. Doron Lancet. After obtaining his Ph.D. in 2014, he moved to the UK to study systems and synthetic biology, followed by a short stay in Japan. Omer joined Otto’s group in the middle of 2017 as a postdoctoral researcher to study the dynamics of multi-component macro-cycle replication via bottom-up and top-down modelling approaches. Homepage of Omer Markovitch
Ph.D. STUDENTS
Armin Kiani was born in Iran, where he obtained his graduate degree in analytical chemistry. In 2016, he moved to Stockholm, Sweden and joined the research group of Prof. Minna Hakkarainen at Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) as a researcher. He joined to Topmaster program in nanoscience at the University of Groningen in 2017 and started his research project in Sijbren Otto’s research group in the field of Systems Chemistry. He is now working on his PhD project on studying the compartmentalization of self-replicating molecules.
Juntian Wu was born in China in 1994, he studied chemistry in the University of Lanzhou to get his B.Sc. degree. His graduation thesis majors in the fabrication of multicomponent metal/metal-free catalysis with high performance on OER and ORR aimed at releasing the pressure of energy crisis. He obtained his M.Sc. degree from South China University of Technology, Guangdong Province, China under the supervision of Prof. Wenli Deng. During his Master, his research major focus on the STM study of 2D self-assembly behaviors of small organic molecules on HOPG surface both experimentally and theoretically to reveal the binding mechanisms of weak interactions like hydrogen bond and halogen bond which would provide evidences on fabricating organic photoelectric devices. In the meantime, he also worked on the aggregation-induced-emission pheromone of organic molecules containing halogens and exploit the structure-function relationship. He moved to the University of Groningen and joined the Otto group in October 2019 to peruse his PhD in self-replicating molecules under out-of-equilibrium regime.
Marc Geerts was born in Doetinchem, The Netherlands in 1996. He studied Chemistry at the Radboud University in Nijmegen, where he worked in the group of Prof. Roeland Nolte and dr. Hans Elemans studying host-guest interactions in chiral supramolecular complexes. He then joined the group of Sijbren Otto in June 2019 as a research intern studying self-replicating molecules in a continuous replication-destruction regime. In March 2020, he joined the group as a PhD student studying nucleobase-driven synthetic self-replication.
Kirill Mikhailov was born in 1994 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. In 2017 he graduated from St. Petersburg State University. His thesis project in organic Chemistry related to the chemistry of strained nitrogen- and oxygen-containing cycles (azirines, isoxazoles) was carried out under the guidance of Prof. Dr. Alexander Khlebnikov. Having acquired the Master’s degree, Kirill spent several years working in the industry of household water treatment, membrane processes, analytical and physical chemistry. In October 2020 he joined the Otto group to pursue his PhD in the area of self-synthesizing materials for tissue culture applications.
Lukas Herold was born in 1999 in Wurzen, Germany. In 2020 he finished his B.Sc. degree in chemistry at the University of Heidelberg, where he worked on gold catalyzed photoreactions for 3D printing under the guidance of Prof. S. K. Hashmi. During his master studies he joined the Dietzel group at the University of Bergen for a five-month internship, where he examined the gas absorption properties of interpenetrated pillar‑layered metal organic frameworks. He also conducted research internships at the University of Heidelberg in physical and organic chemistry at the Zaumseil group and the Blasco group, respectively. For his master thesis he joined the Bunz group in Heidelberg and worked on the characterization and psychoactive activity of novel synthetic cathinones. In December 2023 he joined the Otto group as PhD student studying Darwinian evolution of compartmentalized self-replicators.
Zhenlong Chen was born in China in 1992. He obtained his graduate degree in Food science and engineering in State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology of Nanchang University, with a focus on protein-based delivery nanoparticle for relieving diseases in 2019. During this time, he studied as joint training student in National Engineering Research Center of Seafood of Dalian Polytechnic University managed by academician of Chinese Academy of Engineering. He then studied interaction of food ingredients in whole food chemical system as joint training student in Key Laboratory of Industrial Biocatalysis, Ministry of Education, Department of Chemical Engineering in Tsinghua University. Currently, he is a PhD student in Materials and chemical engineering in South China University of Technology and majored in peptide & protein & enzyme self-assemble cascade intelligent response delivery systems for curing chronic diseases. In December 2023, he joined Prof. Sijbren Otto’s group as a visiting student to work on self-replicating molecules and compartmentalization via systems chemistry and dynamic combinatory chemistry.
Master Students
Hugo Brummer was born in Paterswolde in 2000. After doing his bachelor research project in the group of prof. Marleen Kamperman, working with catechol functionalized complex coacervates as well as complex coacervate core micelles, he received his B.Sc from the Hanze University of Applied Sciences. Afterwards he joined the group of prof. Christoph Weder at the Adolphe Merkle Institute in Fribourg, Switzerland, for a brief summer internship. He is in the Otto group since september 2023 and studies Lamarckian evolution in a system of self replicators.
Josien Boonman was born in Nieuwolda in 1999. She graduated in 2021 at the Hanze University of Applied Sciences with internships in a potato starch and protein company. The research projects involved product development of modified starches for the usage of food additives and factory process optimization. After graduation, she has worked at the same company for the development of analytical methods for the analysis of biomolecules. She joined the Otto group in november 2023 and studies catalysis of the self-replicators.
Bachelor students
ALUMNI
- Aaltje van der Molen
- Francesco Casnati
- Adi Schoones
- Karlijn Meerman
- Alex Blockhuis (now postdoc at IMDEA, Madrid, Spain)
- Meagan Beatty (now postdoc at TBI/INSA, Université de Toulouse, France)
- Kai Liu (now PI at Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences)
- Paul Adamski (now postdoc at the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, Germany)
- Sofia Iosifidi (now Master student at University of Groningen)
- Andreas Hussain (now R&D scientist at ICL Specialty Fertilizers)
- Marcel Eleveld (now Analytical Chemistry Expert at AkzoNobel, Utrecht, Netherlands)
- Ankush Sood (now Scientist at BioNtech, Halle, Germany)
- Jim Ottelé (now at the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, The Hague, the Netherlands)
- Ivica Cvrtila (now postdoc at the University of Zagreb, Croatia)
- Jan Vučković (now PhD student in the UK)
- Joydev Hatai (now senior research scientist at Jubilant Biosys Limited, India)
- Yulong Jin (now associate professor at the Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing)
- Emina Ibrahimovic
- Henning Klaasen (now scientific coordinator at the University of Munster, Germany)
- Didi Ubels
- Sietse Dijt (now PhD student at the University of Groningen)
- Julia Kraft
- Shana Hamed
- Owen Terpstra (now PhD student at the University of Groningen)
- Jasper Bos (now PhD student at the University of Leiden)
- Ivana Marić (now post-doc in the group of Marco Fraaije, University of Groningen)
- Victor Verduijn (now PhD student at the University of Groningen)
- Annemiek Slootbeek (now PhD student at the Radboud University Nijmegen, Netherlands)
- Peter Kroon (now teacher at the HanzeHogeschool Groningen)
- Charalampos (Babis) Pappas (now group leader at Freiburg Center for Interactive Materials and Bioinspired Technologies, Germany)
- Guillermo Monreal Santiago (now academic at the University of Strasbourg, France)
- Bin Liu (now assistant professor at China Three Gorges University, Yichang, China)
- Yigit Altay (now Senior Scientist at Mosa Meat B.V.)
- Meniz Tezcan Altay (now analytical chemist at EnzyPep B.V. )
- Xiaoming Miao (now chemist at WUXI apptec, China)
- Falk Wachowius (now senior scientist at Hybridize Therapeutics)
- Pim Frederix (now Project Manager at New Energy Coalition, The Netherlands)
- Piotr Nowak
- Shuo Yang (now assistant professor at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China)
- Dávid Komáromy (now postdoc at the University of Edinburgh, UK)
- Gaël Schaeffer (now scientific coordinator, Stratingh Institute, University of Groningen)
- Boris Bartolec (now team lead scientist at Selvita, Croatia)
- Elio Mattia (now business consultant at Ortec Finance, the Netherlands)
- Giulia Leonetti (now project manager at the European organization for research and treatment of cancer)
- Jan Sadownik (now senior analytical scientist at Symeres)
- Mathieu Colomb-Delsuc (now scientist at Vironova AB, Sweden )
- Asish Pal (now academic at the Institute of Nanoscience and Technology Mohali, India )
- Andrea Nekane Roig-Alba (now working at a consulting company in Spain )
- Hugo Fanlo Virgós (now working at EDP renewables in Spain )
- Saleh Hamieh
- Morteza Malakoutikhah (now academic at the University of Isfahan, Iran )
- Wietse Smith (now working at URENCO, Almelo, The Netherlands )
- Jianwei Li (now postdoc in University of Oxford, UK)
- Vittorio Saggiomo (now postdoc in Wageningen UR, the Netherlands)
- András Perl (now researcher at Hanze Hoogeschool, Groningen, the Netherlands)
- Seyedeh Fatemeh Salehian Amiri
- Yang Han (now postdoc in TU Eindhoven, the Netherlands)
- Jérôme Peyralans (now senior scientist at UCB Pharma, UK)
- Manuel Pernia Leal (now at the Bionand Research Centre in Spain)
- Karine Barral (now lecturer at the University of Marseille, France)
- Tomasz Zielinski (afterwards postdoc in Edinburgh, UK)
- Guoqiang Feng (now lecturer at Huazhong Normal University, China)
- Luis Branco (now an academic at the Technical University of Lisbon, Portugal)
- Enda Bergin (now editor at Nature Communications)
- Paolo Pengo (now academic in Trieste in Italy)
- Jacqui Carnall (now at ADAS UK Ltd)
- Frieda Mansfeld (postdoc at the University of Queensland in Australia)
- Zaida Rodriguez-Docampo
- Fred Ludlow (now at Astex Therapeutics, UK)
- Kevin West (now at BP)