Mentees 2025
Dr Teresa Gerhalter is a researcher with a biomedical engineering background in the Department of Neurology at the Medical University of Graz (Austria), where she is establishing a new research group dedicated to neuromuscular imaging.
Teresa’s mid-career mentors are Prof. C. Gagnon (Canada) and Prof. M. Pennuto (Italy).
Dr Clara Gontijo-Camelo is a pediatric neurologist at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of São Paulo, Brazil. She is currently pursuing her postdoctoral research at the same institution. She combines her clinical practice with active involvement in research, including participation in sponsor-initiated clinical trials.
Clara’s mid-career mentors are Prof. H. Jungbluth (UK) and Prof. U. Schara-Schmidt (Germany).
Dr Felix Kleefeld is a neurologist specialized in neuromuscular disorders who combines clinical work with experimental research to investigate inflammatory and hereditary myopathies. He now holds a dual affiliation with the BG University Hospital Bergmannsheil in Bochum (Germany) and the University of Cambridge (UK).
Felix’s mid-career mentors are Dr A. Mammen (USA) and Prof. B. Smeets (The Netherlands).
Dr Karlien Mul is a neurologist (MD, PhD) at the Radboud university medical center in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, specialized in neuromuscular disorders with a focus on myotonic dystrophy and facioscapulohumeral dystrophy.
Karlien’s mid-career mentors are Dr T. Meier (Switzerland) and Prof. V. Straub (UK).
Dr Mauro Monforte is a neurologist at the Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS and a researcher at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Rome, Italy. His research focuses on the clinical, pathological and molecular aspects of neuromuscular disorders, with particular emphasis on the application of imaging techniques in this field.
Mauro’s mid-career mentors are Prof. H. Lochmüller (Canada) and Prof. K. Wagner (USA).
Dr Rhonda Taylor is a researcher at the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research in Perth, Australia, specialising in pre-clinical development of treatments for congenital myopathies.
Rhonda’s mid-career mentors are Prof. A. De Luca (Italy) and Prof. E. Hoffman (USA).
Mentee 2024
Dr Lindsay Alfano is a researcher specializing in the care and evaluation of patients with neuromuscular disorders The Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, is a principal investigator in the Center for Biobehavioral Health and an assistant professor of Pediatrics at The Ohio State University (United States).
Lindsay’s mid-career mentors are Prof. A. Beggs (USA), Prof. U. Schara-Schmidt (Germany) and Prof. K. Wagner (USA).
Mentees 2023
Dr Margherita Giannini is a MD PhD, rheumatologist and physiologist, working in inflammatory myopathies (IM) clinical and translational research in Physiology department of the Strasbourg University Hospital (France). She is also Associate Professor in Physiology at the University of Strasbourg (France).
Margherita’s mid-career mentors are Prof. O. Benveniste (France) and Dr A. Mammen (USA).
Dr Saskia Houwen is a paediatric rehabilitation physician in the neuromuscular centre of the Radboud University Medical Centre in Nijmegen (The Netherlands).
Saskia’s mid-career mentors are Mrs S. Foye (United States) and Prof. C. Gagnon (Canada)
Dr Piera Smeriglio is a principal investigator and group leader at the Myology Institute in Paris (France).
Piera’s mid-career mentors are Prof. A. Aartsma-Rus (The Netherlands) and Dr A. Beggs (United States)
Mentees 2022 – finished the programme.
Dr Laure Gallay is a MD, PhD specialised in clinical immunology and rare diseases, she is currently performing a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Geneva (Switzerland), carrying out investigations on the involvement of muscle stem cells in the pathogenesis of inflammatory myopathies.
Laure’s mid-career mentors are Dr C. Wallgren-Pettersson (Finland) and Dr A. Mammen (United States).
Dr Mert Karakaya is a pediatrician, currently in the final year of his residency in Human Genetics at the Institute of Human Genetics, University of Cologne (Germany).
Mert’s mid-career mentors are Prof. C. Bönnemann (United States) and Prof. M. Vainzof (Brazil).
Dr Eric Voorn is working as a senior researcher at the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine of the Amsterdam University Medical Center in The Netherlands.
Eric’s mid-career mentors are Prof. V. Straub (United Kingdom) and Prof. A. Oldfors (Sweden).
Mentees 2021 – finished the programme.
Dr Aurea Martins-Bach is a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Oxford (United Kingdom), where she leads the preclinical imaging research in the Physics Group at the Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging (WIN).
Aurea’s mid-career mentors are Drs A. Atema (The Netherlands) and Prof. M. Rüegg (Switzerland).
Dr Paloma Gonzalez-Perez is an adult neuromuscular neurologist who directs the Myopathy Clinic at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, United States.
Paloma’s mid-career mentors are Prof. U. Schara-Schmidt (Germany) and Prof. B. Smeets (The Netherlands).
Dr Rosella Avagliano Trezza is a basic and translational researcher, currently a post-doc at the Maastricht University Medical Centre in The Netherlands.
Rossella’s mid-career mentors are Prof. A. Aartsma-Rus (The Netherlands) and Dr S. Tromp (The Netherlands).
Dr Nicole Voet is a rehabilitation physician and senior researcher at the Outpatient Clinic for NMD of the Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, and rehabilitation center Klimmendaal, Arnhem, The Netherlands.
Nicole’s mid-career mentors are Prof. H. Lochmüller (Canada) and Dr A. Urtizberea (France).
To read more about our mentees, download the mentee-leaflet here:
