Mika Rohlfing
Korte beschrijving
I obtained my bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Sciences from Maastricht University in 2023. I then pursued a double master’s degree, graduating in Biomedical Sciences with a specialisation in Regenerative Medicine from Maastricht University, and in Medical Science from Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine. During my year in Japan, I used protein engineering techniques to enhance the activity of Cas12f, an inherently compact Cas enzyme that enables more efficient CRISPR packaging. My internship was supervised by Dr. Atsushi Hoshino and Dr. Joost Luiken. Since September 2025, I am working as a PhD student in the Experimental Vascular Pathology Group under the supervision of Prof. Judith Sluimer, Dr. Marjo Donners and Dr. Dimitri Kasakovski
Aandachtsgebieden
My research focuses on fibroblast metabolism in vascular ageing. Fibroblasts reside in the outer layer of blood vessels, where the first signs of vascular ageing occur. Using cross-species sequencing and perturbation approaches, I investigate how fibroblast metabolism changes with age and how targeting these changes may restore vascular function. The goal is to identify new therapeutic mechanisms that could delay or reverse vascular ageing.