Meet the people behind the science.
Dr Carsten Gram Hansen
I did my MSc in Aarhus, Denmark carrying out research on the serotonin transporter. I then moved to Cambridge to pursue a PhD with Dr Ben Nichols at the MRC- Laboratory of Molecular Biology in the Cell Biology division. Through a Lundbeck foundation Post Doctoral Fellowship I stayed on to maximise the output of my PhD findings. After a six-year stint in Cambridge I via a Post Doctoral Fellowship from the Danish Science Foundation moved to San Diego to work with Professor Kun-Liang Guan. While there I studied the cellular signalling pathway called the Hippo Pathway. In Nov 2015 I was recruited to the University of Edinburgh Centre for Inflammation Research on a Chancellor’s Fellowship to begin my independent career.
I am pleased that our team is diverse, international and that all are great team citizens. Through our shared interest in discovery based inter disciplinary Science, we seek to address fundamental biological questions. We strive to be challenged and to make important discoveries, but also seek to have fun along the way.
Omar M. Salem – PhD student (2017-)
Born and raised in Egypt, I moved to the UK to continue my undergraduate studies. I received a First Class BSc (Hons) in Cell Biology from the University of Stirling. I later joined the University of Edinburgh for a MSc by Research in Biomedical Sciences. My PhD project at the Gram Hansen lab is focused on studying the Hippo pathway regulation of Prostate Cancer development, progression and metastasis.
Jiwon Park – PhD student (2017 -)
My research focuses on the role of mechanotransduction signals in relation to the Hippo pathway. I completed my undergraduate degree in BSc (Hons) Biomedical sciences (Pharmacology) at the University of Edinburgh in 2017. After graduating, I started on the MRC-funded Precision Medicine Doctoral Training Programme in the Gram Hansen Lab.
Lisa Kölln – PhD student (2017-)
(Based at the University of Strathclyde, Prof. Gail McConnell lab)
“In my PhD project I am investigating the Hippo pathway in Malignant Mesothelioma. For that I use advanced imaging techniques in the lab of Prof Gail McConnell at the University of Strathclyde. Before I moved to Scotland, I finished my Master’s degree in Physics at the University of Potsdam.”
Susanna Riley – PhD student (2019 -)
Originally from rural West England, I completed a BA (Hons) in Cell and Systems Biology at the University of Oxford in 2017 before moving to the University of Edinburgh for an MSc by Research in Biomedical Sciences. After completing this, I began the Wellcome Trust PhD programme in Tissue Repair. My research in the Gram Hansen lab focusses on the role of the Hippo pathway in embryonic development and regeneration.
Dr Richard Cunningham – Post Doc (2019 -)
Krishna Purohit – PhD student (Sep 2020 – )
Alumni
Dr Valentina Rausch – PhD Student (2016 – 2019)
Alumni of the Gram Hansen Lab, revealed the interaction between the Hippo pathway and caveolae. Dr Rausch was the first PhD student in the lab, and handed her thesis in after 3 years and 18 days! Now academic Post Doc.
Siyang Jia – MSc Student (2018 -2019) And Intern 2019-2020 (Will be back for a PhD with us in 2021)
- DUNCAN MACLEAN (Honours student), moved on to continuing his Medicine Degree at the University of Edinburgh.
- TAMARA HUSSAIN (Honours student), moved onto to working at Charles River.
