Researchers & Contacts

RESEARCHERS

É. Fernandes da Cunha MSc MRes (Éverton)

PhD Candidate

I've been a Ph.D. researcher at the University of Twente since October 2023, where I focus on using hypergraphs to model chemical reactions. I’m originally from Brazil and I bring a background in complex science (chaos and complex networks), machine learning, and control theory to my research. My interests extend beyond my academic pursuits, and I enjoy learning new things and incorporating them into my life and work. I believe that this background provides me with a unique perspective to explore real complex systems, such as chemical reactions, neuroscience, social science, metascience, and many other systems with amazing emergent behaviors.

+31 6 81465675

e.fernandesdacunha@utwente.nl

Follow me on Twitter/X Connect with me on LinkedIn Building:

Yanna KRaakman

Hi! My name is Yanna, and I am an applied mathematician. Since September 2022, I am employed as a PhD candidate at the University of Twente, on the topic of Chemical Reaction Networks. My expertise lies in network science; I am intrigued by the beauty of networks and their effectiveness in uncovering structures. Within this project, I will therefore focus on establishing a connection between chemical reactions and mathematical networks and on discovering interesting properties of these networks. I am excited to contribute to this pioneering research.

Connect with me on LinkedIn

L. Tannous MSc MRes (Layal) MSc

PhD Candidate

Originally from Lebanon, I am a joint PhD researcher at the University of Amsterdam and the University of Twente within the PRELIFE consortium. A physicist by training, my work evolved toward complexity science, where I apply data-driven modeling grounded in first principles to understand collective behavior in complex systems. My research focuses on detecting phase transitions and identifying meaningful order parameters. I am interested in applying these notions to chemical reaction networks to learn conditions that enable life-like dynamics to emerge. I value fundamental understanding and knowledge exchange, which is why I am eager to contribute to work interdisciplinary between theory and experiment.

+31534898696

l.tannous@utwente.nl

Connect with me on LinkedIn Building:

Ivanna Vasilkyv MSc

PhD Candidate

Originating from a family of scientists, I was always fascinated by how the world around me works. More specifically, intricate world inside of living organisms.

I have moved from Ukraine to the Netherlands to study chemistry in 2020 at the University of Twente. During my studies, I met Albert and he introduced me to systems chemistry. Following that, I have completed my BSc thesis in the CRN group on “Redox-driven negative feedback”, which sparked my interest toward synthetic systems that mimic functions of nature. To expand my knowledge of biochemical systems, I studied my MSc Chemistry of Life at the University of Amsterdam. After completing masters, I decided to come back to my alma mater to proceed on integrating responsive chemical systems for biochemically relevant environments. My PhD project focuses on leveraging redox responsive surfaces for antifouling application employing peptides and small organic molecules.

ivanna.vasylkiv@utwente.nl

Gülmavi Akbal MSc

PhD Candidate

Hi I’m Gülmavi! I am a PhD researcher at the University of Twente and Wetsus European Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Water Technology. I have a chemical engineering background with a BSc from Boğaziçi University and an MSc from Politecnico di Milano. My expertise is in designing and synthesizing organic compounds, specifically those with antimicrobial properties. I am passionate about multidisciplinary research at the intersection of chemistry, engineering, and environmental sustainability, which led me to my PhD project! In this project, I focus on designing dual-action cleaning agents against inorganic scaling and biofilms on reverse osmosis membranes, and evaluating their performance in reverse osmosis operations

Students

Diba Asadi BSc

MSc student

Amazed by my high school chemistry teacher’s knowledge of everything around her, I started exploring this scientific world with everlasting enthusiasm. This curiosity led me to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering at Middle East Technical University (METU), after which I decided to dive deeper into Molecules and Organic Materials (MOM), with a particular interest in sustainable molecules and materials for health and beyond, here at the University of Twente.

As a Master’s student at the CSE department and a researcher at CRN, I am currently conducting studies on "surface-driven tetrazine–thiol exchange for programmable chemical reactions", with the hope of building my own chemical kitchen in the future.

d.asadi@student.utwente.nl

Scientific partners

M. Cristina Gagliano PhD

Senior Scientist

I am M. Cristina and I am a Senior Scientist working at Wetsus in Leeuwarden (NL). I came from Italy to the Netherlands 11 years ago after my PhD in Environmental Biotechnology with the Water Research Institute (IRSA-CNR). My PhD work was on anaerobic digestion of wastewater and the microbiology behind it, topic on which I continued to work as a postdoc at the department of Microbial Physiology of Wageningen University. Trough my research experience I became passionate about extracellular polymeric substance (EPS), the slimy organic polymers secreted by microorganisms to form aggregates and biofilms, living all together into well-functioning metabolic consortia.

Nowadays at Wetsus I coordinate the Biofilms Theme, working together with several universities and drinking water companies through PhD projects to better understand these complex biological systems. The objective is to create innovative solutions to solve real-life issues in the context of (waste)water treatment and drinking water production trains. With Albert, we will explore strategies to limit or avoid biofilm formation and biofouling, investigating coatings and green molecules targeting growth and adhesion of water microorganisms. For more info: https://www.wetsus.nl/research-themes/biofilms/

Cristina.gagliano@wetsus.nl

Supporting staff

I. Can - Katalanc (Izabel)

Secretary

+31534894190

i.can-katalanc@utwente.nl

Building: Carré C4223

M.A.J. de Bruine (Marcel)

Technical support

+31534892905

m.a.j.debruine@utwente.nl

Building: Carré C4243

ALUMNI

Year	Education	Name	Current position
2025	PhD	Hazal Koyuncu	indovinya, LUX
2025	PhD	Dmitrii Kriukov	Postdoctoral Researcher, at Radboud University Nijmegen
2024	MSc	Pepijn de Vries	T.B.D.
2024	MSc	Lieke Pieters	Chemistry Teacher at Bonhoeffer College (Enschede)
2024	MSc	Thomas van Poppel	Software Engineer, at Valcon (Utrecht)
2024	PD	Taghi Moazzendi	post doctoral fellow, at Eindhoven University of Technology
2024	BSc	Ivanna Vasylkiv	MSc student, at University of Amsterdam
2023	MSc	Salma Ramon Carrasco	PhD candidate, at University of Amsterdam
2022	BSc/HBO	Justin Morsink	unknown
2021	PD	Dr. Jacopo Movili	post doctoral fellow, at Harvard University

July 4, 2025

Hazal Koyuncu defended her PhD thesis "Design of Local Chemical Feedback Systems". Prof. G. Berkhoffzaal, University of Twente, Enschede.

April 1, 2025

Dmitrii Kriukov defended his PhD thesis "Design of intelligent Autocatalytic Reaction Networks". Prof. G. Berkhoffzaal, University of Twente, Enschede

November 4, 2024

Pepijn de Vries defended his Msc thesis entitled "Controlling the Bistability of a Trypsin-Based Enzymatic Reaction Network". Pepijn successfully completed a project in which he determined how exactly La3+ can dictate the autocatalytic prodcution of trypsin from trypsinogen, impacting the chemical feedback directly. This work is a continuation of our recent published with Dmitrii Kriukov, who supported this project as daily supervisor. Pepijn graduated as a Master in Chemical Science & Engineering.

August 30, 2024

Lieke Pieters defended her Msc thesis entitled "Conceptueel modelleren: De brug naar het systematisch benaderen van scheikundige vraagstukken in het voortgezet onderwijs". Lieke successfully completed an innovative project in which she developed a teaching module that integrates systems thinking into secondary school chemistry education. With this research, Lieke has taken an important step towards preparing the “researchers of the future” to design innovations for an increasingly complex world.

This project has shown that Lieke has all the competencies required for an excellent researcher and teacher. Many congratulations to Lieke for this exceptional work--which was awarded with a 10/10 by the committee--and thanks to Talitha Visser for co-supervision. Lieke graduated cum laude as a Master in Educatie & Communicatie in de Bėtawetenschappen, and will pursue her career as a chemistry teacher.

Image preview

July 26, 2024

Thomas van Poppel defended his Msc thesis entitled "Graph-based projections reveal common structures underlying chemical reaction networks". Thomas successfully completed an innovative project in which he developed a computational technique for chemical reaction networks, enabling insights into their structure.

Thomas graduated as a Master in Chemical Science & Engineering. Thomas demonstrated a unique ability in developing new research at the forefront of chemistry and mathematics. Many congratulations to him for this exceptional work, and thanks to Éverton F. da Cunha and Clara Stegehuis for their supervision. We wish him all the best at Valcon, where he will pursue his career as software engineer.

July 18, 2024

Ivanna Vasylkiv defended his Bsc thesis entitled "Controlling thiol-tetrazene interactions in flow". Ivanna successfully completed a project in which she developed a microfluidic approach to determine how thiol-tetrazine exchange reactions could influence larger biochemical processes. She demonstrated to be an excellent team member and obtained skills in peptide synthesis and flow chemistry.

Many congratulations to Ivanna for this exceptional work, and thanks to Hazal Koyuncu and Nataliya Debera for their help in supervision. Ivanna graduated as a Bachelor in Chemical Science & Engineering. We wish Ivanna all the best at UvA, where she will aim to obtain her MSc degree in biochemistry.

September 22, 2023

Congrats to Salma Ramon Carrasco graduated for obtaining her Msc degree (the MSc of the CRN lab!). A big thank you to Salma for her thesis "Rational design of a programmable hydrogel: from molecular to mechanical properties" which will spark a new research direction for our lab. We enjoyed working with Dr. J. Paez, co-supervisor, on this work.

COLLABORATORS
	In the Molecular NanoFabrication research group (MNF), we collaborate with prof. J. Huskens and Dr. S. Lindhoud, and as part of the department of Molecules and Materials (MOLMAT), we aim to foster an environment to create enthusiasm for synthesis of molecular systems and applications of molecular materials in real-world technology.
	In the center for Brain-Inspired Nano Systems (BRAINS), we collaborate with prof. W. v. d. Wiel and prof. H. Hilgekamp and many others from various disciplines (ranging from computer science, artificial intelligence to neuroscience) to develop novel physical hardware for information processing and artificial intelligience. BRAINS is part of the MESA+ institute, which hosts one of Europe’s largest nano facilities.
	Karlsruhe Nano Micro Facility (KNMFi) offers expertises that go beyond our own MESA+ Nanolab. Togehter collaborators Dr. M. Hirtz, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, and Dr. S. Sekula-Neuner, senior scientist, n.able, we aim establish a strong connection between UT and KIT through demonstrating the applicability of CRNs in biological and material sciences.

Researchers & Contacts

RESEARCHERS

Students

Scientific partners

Supporting staff

ALUMNI

COLLABORATORS