UK Bonn Biomathematics - Thurley group

Team

Prof. Dr. Kevin Thurley, principle investigator

Dr. Thurley studied biophysics and applied mathematics at Humboldt University Berlin, followed by doctoral research in Berlin and Cambridge. In postdoctoral work at Charite Berlin and UC San Francisco, he combined mathematical modeling and quantitative data analysis in the context of circadian rhythms, cell motility and cell-cell-communication. In 2017, he returned to Berlin to start his own research group at German Rheumatism Research Center, and in 2021, the Thurley group joined the Mathematics in the Life Sciences initiative in Bonn. In his spare time, Kevin enjoys hiking, cooking, dining, and classical music.

Email: kevin.thurley at uni-bonn.de

Dr Lisa Steinheuer, Postdoc

Lisa received her M.Sc. in Biological Sciences from the University of Cologne. Switching from the wet to the dry lab, she conducted her Ph.D. project at the Helmholtz Center in Leipzig in the field of bioinformatics. There she focused on the evaluation and interpretation of algorithms and methods for single-cell transcriptomic data analyses. In the Thurley group, she is particularly interested in identifying cell-cell communication networks between immune cells. Outside work, she enjoys cooking, gathering with friends and family, and strolling through nature. 

Suman Gare PhD, Postdoc

 Suman obtained his Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering from Rajiv Gandhi University of Knowledge Technologies in Basar, India. Subsequently, he pursued his M.Tech in Chemical Reaction Engineering at Osmania University, Hyderabad, India, followed by his Ph. D. on integration of machine learning and biophysical modeling for analysis of population-level calcium signaling.  Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad. Currently, he is interested in spatio-temporal reaction-diffusion models of immune-cell interactions. Beyond academia, he enjoys cooking and spending quality time with friends. 

Nissrin Alachkar PhD, Postdoc

After studying Mathematics at the University of Manchester for her undergraduate and masters, Nissrin chose to do a PhD in quantitative and biophysical biology also at UoM, focusing on understanding heterogeneity of gene expression in the innate immune system through mathematical modelling and statistical analysis of single-cell experimental data. Currently, she is interested in modelling the complex dynamical interplay between cancer and immune cells in the tumour microenvironment. In her free time, she  enjoys powerlifting, going on walks in nature, exploring new places and reading. 

Nicholas Opoku, Postdoc (jointly with Monk group at AIMS Ghana) 

Nicholas earned his Bachelor of Education in Mathematics from the University of Cape Coast, followed by a Master of Science in Mathematical Sciences from the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) in Ghana, affiliated with the University of Ghana. He further completed an MPhil in Mathematics at the University of Cape Coast and undertook a certificate course in Complex Analysis at TU Chemnitz in Germany, followed by a PhD in BioData Analytics and Computational Genomics at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. As part of the Thurley group, his research interests focus on understanding and modeling immune responses, using quantitative approaches to explore the complexity of immune system dynamics. Outside of research, Nicholas enjoys exploring nature, mentoring students and deepening his understanding through reading and interdisciplinary engagement. 

Lisa Li, PhD student

Lisa has a MSc in Mathematics at the University of Bonn, with a focus on stochastics, biological modelling and applications in cancer immunotherapy. Before that, she was studying and researching in pure maths at different locations, including Cambridge, Bonn and Beijing. In the Thurley lab, she mainly studies cell-cell communication of immune cells using spatio-temporal models. When not working, she likes to play table tennis and recharges her batteries while travelling and hiking. 

Amin Ghasemi, PhD student (jointly with Balling group at UKB)

As an electrical engineer-control with a master's degree from Tarbiat Modares University and a bachelor's degree from the Noshirvani University of Technology in Iran, Amin has changed his research path from computational neuroscience to systems biology. His current research aims to predict chronic diseases based on energy metabolism. Aside from research, Amin enjoys video games, photography, designing, and walking. 

Rosa Kreider, PhD student

Rosa received her M.Sc. in Mathematics from the University of Bonn with a specialization in stochastics, numerics and analysis. Her academic interests include applying mathematical principles to biological and medical applications and exploring different modeling approaches including stochastic and deterministic methods. Currently, in the Thurley lab, Rosa focuses on modeling cell communication networks, particularly delving into modeling approaches centered around waiting time distributions and related non-Markovian processes. Beyond her academic interests she finds joy in activities such as soccer, rock climbing and surfing and enjoys the sunny and pleasant weather.

 Madheshvaran Suresh, PhD student 

 Madhesh holds a BS-MS dual degree from the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune (IISER Pune), majoring in Biology. He had earned the DAAD-WISE fellowship, enabling him to undertake his master's research project on computational immunology at the University of Duisburg-Essen. At the Thurley lab, he utilises data-driven mathematical models to understand innate immune responses associated with hyperinflammation from mechanistic and quantitative perspectives. Outside of his academic pursuits, he finds tranquillity in cooking, exploring new destinations and creative sketching. 

Lukas Kiwitz, PhD student

Lukas studied Biology and Biophysics at Humboldt-University Berlin with a particular focus on computational modelling and data analysis. He is interested in spatio-temporal modelling of immune cell populations and the analysis of spatial single cell data in the context of cancer immunology. In the Thurley Lab, he works on building image analysis pipelines for multiplexed immunofluorescence data  of clinical samples. Additionally, he analyzes spatial single-cell data to research the complex interactions of the tumor micro-environment. 

Nakshatra Ghosh, PhD student

Nakshatra is pursuing his PhD in collaboration with the Department of Dermatology, UKB. He completed his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Mathematics in India. To further explore how mathematics can be integrated into biological systems, he undertook a Master’s degree at the University of St Andrews, UK.
His research interests lie in the mathematical modelling of infectious diseases and cancer. At the Thurley Lab, he focuses on modelling allergic immune responses and hypersensitivity reactions. Apart from research, Nakshatra enjoys travelling, spending time with friends, and participating in sports.

Kushal Haldar, PhD student

Kushal completed his integrated BS-MS from IISER Kolkata with a major in biology and minors in physics and mathematics. At the Thurley lab, he is mainly interested in mathematical models of Waddington's landscape and their integraton with inference techniques for single cell data. In his free time he enjoys reading, videogames, travelling and occasionally simply doing nothing.

Joanna Schnorr, Student Assistant

Joanna studies mathematics at the University of Bonn, mainly focusing on stochastics, with a special interest in biological applications. In the Thurley group, she works on non-Markovian model formulations for cell communications. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, muscular endurance training and ice skating in the winter. 

Robin Müller, Student Assistant

Robin is studying Mathematics in the Master‘s Program at the University of Bonn, with a focus on stochastics and discrete problems. In the Thurley group, he is interested in analysing the process of affinity maturation with an individual based approach, as well as aiding in the implementation of T cell dynamics in spatial modelling. In his free time, he enjoys cooking, dancing and debating, as well as reading and walks.

Arya Mohanan, Student Assistant

 Arya holds a Bachelor’s degree in Biotechnology and is currently pursuing a Master’s in Life Science Informatics, where she explores the intersection of biology and computational science. Her research focuses on leveraging data-driven approaches and advanced computational models to uncover complex biological insights. She is particularly interested in transcriptomics and the application of graph neural networks to study immune cell–cell communication. Outside of academia, she enjoys cooking and traveling with friends. 

Alumni and graduations in the lab

  • Riham Ahmed (2024), Postdoc Fellow from AIMS South Africa
  • Kilian Volmer (2023-2024), Msc Mathematics.
  • Fabian Hauser (2023-2024), Msc Mathematics.
  • Janhavi Prabhu (2023-2024), Msc Mathematics.
  • Joshua Schiffer (2022-2023), Msc Mathematics, now at Deutsche Bank.
  • Anusha Joshi (2022-2023), Msc Mol Cell Biol.
  • Bastian Ulmer MD (2022), now at Uniklinikum Köln.  
  • Rosa Kreider (2021-2023), Msc Mathematics, now PhD student with us. 
  • Helene Glöckner (2021-2023), Msc Mathematics, now at MPI Meteorologie Hamburg 
  • Gemma van der Voort (2021-2023), PhD Student Comp Biol, now AG Hölzel, UKB-IEO. 
  • Dr. Patrick Brunner (2020-2023), PhD Biophysics (HU Berlin). 
  • Pau Pascual Mas (2020), Bsc Biotechnology (University of Barcelona). 
  • Dr. Gino Kwon (2019-2023), PhD Biophysics (HU Berlin), now AG Hegazy, Charite Berlin. 
  • Gustav Geißler (2019-2020), Msc Physics (Humboldt University Berlin).
  • Paraskevi Voula Tassopoulou (2019), Msc Molecular Medicine  (Charite Berlin). 
  • Dr. Philipp Burt (2018-2022), PhD Biophysics (HU Berlin), now at Biontech Mainz. 
  • Sebastian Serve (2017-2018), Bsc Mathematics, student research project.