Arafath (Rafa) K. Najumudeen
EMBL Group Leader, Principle Investigator
Arafath (Rafa) Najumudeen obtained his Ph.D. in 2016 under the supervision of Prof. Daniel Abankwa at Turku Bioscience working on mechanisms to target Ras protein clustering. In 2016, Rafa moved to CRUK Scotland Institute in the UK to pursue his postdoctoral studies, working on preclinical models of intestinal cancers in the lab led by Prof. Owen J. Sansom. His studies focused on defining the role of metabolic rewiring in colorectal cancer initiation and progression using state-of-the-art preclinical cancer models. He returned to Finland in 2022, having been awarded the Academy of Finland Research Fellowship. He was recently appointed as a FIMM-EMBL Group Leader at the Institute of Molecular Medicine, Helsinki. He runs the Metabolism and Stem Cell Biology Lab at FIMM and Institute of Biotechnology, HiLIFE, University of Helsinki.
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Rafa is a Cancer Grand Challenges Future Leader and an affiliate scientist at the CRUK Scotland Institute, UK.
Teemu Kivioja
Coordinator/Computational Scientist, Docent
Dr. Teemu Kivioja is a Docent and has a PhD from the University of Helsinki, on bioinformatics and genomics. His work has significantly contributed to the fields of gene expression analysis and the quantification of nucleic acids, including the development of methods for counting absolute numbers of molecules using unique molecular identifiers (UMIs). Dr. Kivioja's research centers on developing computational methods for analyzing and integration of multi-omic spatial data.
Tolga Sever
Postdoctoral Fellow​
Dr. Tolga Sever completed his PhD in Translational Oncology at Dokuz Eylul University and trained in Ömer Yilmaz's lab at MIT, USA, where his research focused on the energy metabolism of colorectal cancer and colorectal cancer stem cells, with the aim of enhancing chemotherapy effectiveness. He is currently investigating new factors and pathways involved in colonic stem cell differentiation to identify new therapeutic targets for colorectal cancer.
Shima Naddafi
Graduate Student
Shima received her bachelor’s degree in nursing and worked as a healthcare professional. She pursued her Master’s in Translational Medicine at the University of Helsinki and graduated in 2023. Shima did her thesis at Prof. Tom McWilliams lab on “Investigating the role of lipid dysfunction in mitophagy”. Passionate about cell biology and disease mechanisms, she joined the lab to pursue her Ph.D., where she will work on the metabolic rewiring of KRAS mutant colorectal cancer. Her doctoral project aims to identify novel metabolic vulnerabilities of colorectal cancer.
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Shima is funded by the iCANDOC Doctoral Pilot Programme.
Anna Masip Aptsiauri
Graduate Student
Anna obtained her Integrated Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Pharmacy (PharmD equivalent) from the University of Granada, Spain. Throughout her studies, she participated in different research groups and gained international research experience both in the United Kingdom and Germany. During her final year, she obtained a funded internship position where she carried out her thesis, "Investigating Cancer-Neuronal Interaction in Pancreatic Cancer Microenvironment" at the University of Heidelberg in Prof. Dr. Rohini Kuner's lab where she focused on identifying novel biomarkers involved in KRAS signaling. Passionate about translational oncology and molecular mechanisms of tumor progression, Anna is now pursuing her PhD, investigating metabolic pathways that drive colorectal cancer progression to uncover new therapeutic targets
Rafaela Owusu
FIMM-EMBL Graduate Student
I am new!
Charlène Sueur
Postdoctoral Fellow (NORPOD programme)
My research focuses on the epigenetic history of colon cancer progression using functional genomics and cutting-edge DNA recording methods. I completed my PhD at the University of Strasbourg (France) in July 2025, where I studied the epigenetic regulation of a tumour suppressor gene involved in therapy resistance and developed CRISPR/dCas9-based systems for targeted epigenetic editing. In my postdoc, I combine organoid and in vivo models with multiplexed reporter assays (MPRAs) with DNA recording systems to identify CRC-specific regulatory elements. I aim to map chromatin dynamics and trace regulatory networks driving tumour initiation and progression. I’m a postdoctoral researcher at the Najumudeen Lab (FIMM, Helsinki) and the Sahu Lab (NCMM, Oslo).
Outside the lab, I enjoy walking through Nordic landscapes, exploring new food, and spending time baking.
Anna Vainio
FIMM-EMBL Graduate Student
Anna is a FIMM-EMBL PhD student at the Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland (FIMM), currently on rotation in the Najumudeen lab. She holds a Master’s degree in Genetics and Molecular Biosciences from University of Helsinki. In her Master's thesis, she studied domain-specific protein-protein interactions of the muscle protein titin. Her research interests include studying gene regulation and cellular plasticity in regeneration and disease using organoid and multi-omics approaches.
Myriam Sevigny
Graduate Student (shared with Ollila Lab)
Myriam completed her Master’s in cellular and molecular biology at the Laval University Oncology Research Center in Canada, dedicating two and a half years to studying drosophila genetics, epithelial polarity and cancer. She continued her scientific journey in the field of neuroscience, in which she worked for 4 years as a lab manager and research technician at the CERVO Brain Research Center, studying amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Upon relocating to Finland, she worked for the Genome Biology Unit (GBU) platform at the University of Helsinki for 3 years. At GBU, she was introduced to the fascinating world of gastrointestinal fibroblasts while collaborating with Saara Ollila’s research team. Myriam’s insatiable curiosity led her to pursue a PhD in Najumudeen lab, in co-direction with Dr Ollila. She aims to better understand the importance of stromal cells in the fight against colorectal cancer.
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Myriam is funded by the iCANDOC Doctoral Pilot Programme.
Akshatha Gowri
Graduate Student (shared with Levonen-Harju Lab)
Akshatha completed her Bachelor’s in Science and Bachelor’s in Education at NCERT, New Delhi, India. Akshatha obtained her Master’s in Medical Sciences degree from the Faculty of Medicine, Technion- Israel Institute of Technology. Here, for a period of 2 years, she worked on elucidating the interplay between the chemokine- ligand pathway CXCL9, CXCL10-CXCR3 and the PD1- PD-L1 axis in the context of anti-tumour immunity in melanoma. Her project lies between the interests of Najumudeen and Anna-Liisa Levonen-Harju’s group at the A.I Virtanen Institute of Molecular Sciences, University of Eastern Finland. She studies the role of the transcription factor NRF2 in anti-cancer immunity in lung cancer.
Hao Li
Graduate Student
Hao possesses a comprehensive educational foundation in the field of molecular biomedicine. Inspired by her studies, she decided to pursue a Ph.D., with a strong focus on this discipline. Experienced in conducting animal experiments and dedicated to advancing research in the realm of colorectal cancer.
Previous Members
Pol Busom Castell, University of Barcelona, Erasmus+ Bachelors Thesis
Nicholas Wijaya, University of Helsinki, Internship
Dinus Matas, University of Helsinki, Internship
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