Our team

Dr. Sylvain Peuget’s research focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms of tumor suppression and on how to use them for anticancer therapy. He defended his PhD in Prof. Juan Iovanna’s lab at the Cancer Research Center of Marseille (France) in 2012, working on the molecular characterization of TP53INP1 in pancreatic cancer. He then moved to Sweden for a postdoc in Prof. Galina Selivanova’s lab at the Karolinska Institute, where he focused his research on p53 biology and on the molecular mechanism of action of p53 reactivating small molecules. He became Assistant Professor and Team Leader at the Karolinska Institute in 2019.

Dr. Marie-Stéphanie Aschtgen’s research focuses on the bacterial molecular mechanisms underlying host-bacteria interactions. She defended her PhD in Microbiology on bacterial Type VI secretion systems in the Prof Eric Cascales lab (Marseille, France). She went for a post-doc with Prof. Edward Ruby and Prof. Margaret McFall-Ngai (Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison, USA) studying host-symbiont interactions in the elegant model of the Euprymna scolopes-Vibrio fischeri symbiosis. She then joined Prof. Birgitta Henriques-Normark’s lab at the Karolinska Institutet for a second post-doc focusing on host-pathogens mechanisms of Streptococcus pneumoniae and Klebsiella pneumoniae and became Assistant Professor in 2019.

Dr. Barbara Łasut-Szyszka’s research focuses on the molecular functions of p53, particularly in the regulation of inflammation. She defended her PhD on the identification of novel p53 targets in 2022 at the Center for Translational Research and Molecular Biology of Cancer at the Maria Skłodowska-Curie National Research Institute of Oncology, Gliwice Branch (Poland), where she is currently co-affiliated as Assistant Professor. She also completed several international research internships, including at the University of Pittsburgh (USA), the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) in Heidelberg (Germany), and the Czech Academy of Sciences in Prague (Czech Republic).

Dr. Anna Kirk completed her undergraduate degree in Natural Sciences at the University of Cambridge. She defended her PhD in 2024 at the University of Glasgow on a potential new therapy for HPV associated lesions. This involved examining host-pathogen interactions, including the disruption of cell cycle checkpoints and the immune response by the virus, and how these aspects could be impacted by treatment. She is now continuing her work on p53 as a postdoctoral researcher at the Karolinska Institute, where she focuses on the role p53 plays in immune signalling and on how mutant p53 participates in tumour immune evasion.

Dr. Ivanna Prylutska completed her undergraduate studies in Biotechnology and Bioengineering at Yurii Fedkovich Chernivtsi National University (Ukraine). Driven by a sincere interest in cancer research, she transitioned to the field of molecular biology and defended her PhD in 2025 at the Institute of Molecular Biology and Genetics of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. Her doctoral work focused on the interplay between cancer and inflammation, investigating naturally derived oligoribonucleotides with anti-inflammatory activity as potential antitumor agents. Ivanna participated at various international conferences and completed a research internship at the Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences in Brno. She is currently continuing her scientific work as a postdoctoral researcher in Dr. Peuget’s laboratory at Karolinska Institute.

Konstantinos Fragkoulis completed his undergraduate studies in Molecular Biology at the Democritus University of Thrace (Greece), before pursuing a master’s degree in applied biotechnology at Uppsala University (Sweden). Driven by a strong interest in host–microbe interactions and in understanding how bacteria contribute to diseases, he started his PhD under Dr. Peuget’s supervision in 2021 at the Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, Karolinska Institutet. In addition to his research, Konstantinos is actively engaged in science communication and collaboration, and helped to organize events such as SRBW and participating as a member of the Uppsala team in the SensUs competition.

Yongbao Zhuang is a Ph.D. student studying with Dr. Marie-Stephanie Aschtgen on enterobacterial genotoxins and their impact on host inflammatory response in the gut. He is interested in mucosal immunity and its interactions with the gut microbiota, especially tolerance in homeostasis.

Margaux Gaborieau obtained her engineering degree from Polytech Marseille, France, on biological engineering and biotechnologies, as well as a MSc in Health biology, Infectious diseases and Microbiota at Aix-Marseille University (France). She then moved to Karolinska Institutet as a Research Assistant working on Neisseria meningitidis pathogenesis, and started her PhD under the supervision of Dr Peuget in 2026. Her works focuses on colibactin genotoxicity and its consequences to the host immune response. Her enthusiasm for cancer biology and microbiology makes her open to all opportunities for collaboration and scientific discussion.

Dr. Pauline Tricquet completed her PhD in Biomedical Sciences at the University of Namur, Belgium, under the supervision of Dr. Damien Hermand, were she used high-throughput screening techniques to identify potential therapeutic compounds against melanoma. Outside the lab, Pauline is an amateur pianist who enjoys traveling. In Belgium, she was also actively involved in community activities rooted in the traditions of her hometown.

Mridini Mehta is a Master’s student in Molecular Techniques in Life Science, a joint program by Karolinska Institute, KTH and Sockholm University, holding a BSc in Biotechnology from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Her background includes investigating cell cycle regulation, protein degradation, and metabolic pathway engineering.

Rugilė Gineikaitė is a Master’s student in Biomedicine at Karolinska Institutet with a BSc in Genetics from Vilnius University. She is particularly interested in the diverse mechanisms cancer cells use to adapt and survive. Her research background includes investigating methylation profiles of tumor suppressor and oncogenic genes in prostate and ovarian cancers, as well as studying cellular quiescence in lung cancer.

Hanna Hjärpsgård completed both her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Bioengineering at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Stockholm. During her Master’s thesis at Erasmus MC in the Netherlands, she focused on prostate cancer, which sparked a strong interest in cancer research. She began her PhD in 2024 at the Saei Lab at the Karolinska Institutet. Her research focuses on how specific metabolites contribute to cancer progression by interacting with oncogenic proteins. By applying advanced chemical proteomics, she aims to identify their targets and uncover the mechanisms driving metabolite accumulation in tumors.