About Us

PHD STUDENT

Ava joined the Urbán lab for her Master’s thesis, where she worked together with Pedro on a collaborative project between the Tessmar-Raible group and the Urbán Lab, focusing on the circadian regulation of adult neurogenesis in the Subventricular zone. Building on this foundation, she is continuing in the lab as a shared PhD student, expanding her research to investigate how environmental light shapes brain development and behavior. Outside the lab, she enjoys taking long walks in the nature, cycling, dancing and practicing kickboxing.

PHD STUDENT

Alejandro is a biologist with a Master’s degree in Biochemistry by the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, in México. He started his PhD in the Urbán lab in 2024 through the VBC PhD program. The main aim of his project resides in understanding the heterogeneity of stem cell populations in the brain and how to properly model and deal with the high dimensionality of sequence-based omics data. In his free time, he enjoys coding, reading Sci-Fi and fantasy, and practicing Brazilian Jiujitsu.

RESEARCH ASSISTANT

Juliane holds two master’s degrees, one from the University of Applied Sciences Vienna and one from the University of Vienna and has been at the institute since 2018. She currently helps all lab members with executing and planning different experiments and assists with the lab management. In her free time, she enjoys reading and spending time outside.

PHD STUDENT

Xabi is a biologist and holds two Master’s degrees, one in Biomedicine and one in Neuroscience. In 2025, after a bit of country-hopping, he joined the group as PhD student. He is a member of the VBC and Excellent Brains PhD programs. His research focuses on the characterization of neurogenic niches. Having just moved to Vienna, he enjoys spending his free time getting to know the city and exploring what it has to offer.

TRAINEE

Bernardo is finishing his bachelor in the B.Sc. Genomic Sciences program from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM). Following his interest in neuroscience and bioinformatics, in 2025 he joined the Urbán lab to finish his thesis abroad. His project focuses on the development of bioinformatics software to analyze single-cell proteomics datasets from mouse neural stem cells. In his free time, he enjoys playing volleyball, cycling and drawing.

RESEARCH ASSISTANT & LAB MANAGER

Tatjana joined the Urbán group in 2017 as its first member and has been organizing lab life ever since. In addition to her main role as lab manager, she is lab safety officer, mouse colony manager and helps all team members whenever needed. Inspired by her love of nature and yoga, she promotes sustainable and mindful research practices in the lab.

PHD STUDENT

Justus completed his Master’s in Biochemistry at the University of Freiburg, Germany. Following a research stay at the IMP in Vienna, he joined the Urbán Lab in 2022 as a PhD student. Justus is fascinated by how stem cells interact with their environment, and his research aims to understand how Insulin/IGF signaling regulates adult neural stem cell fate. Outside the lab, he is an avid cyclist and spends a lot of time on two wheels.

PHD STUDENT

Lidija started her Master thesis in the Urbán Lab and followed this up by becoming a PhD Student focusing on signalling mechanisms in quiescent adult neural stem cells. With expertise in protein detection methods, functional interference and stem cell biology, she investigates how BMP signalling influences the FGF-driven ERK1/2 pathway in order to maintain quiescence and stemness. Outside the lab she enjoys spending time with her cat, reading and dancing with friends.

PHD STUDENT

Ninetta studied Molecular Biology for her bachelor’s degree at the University of Vienna and completed her master’s degree in Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine at the University of Applied Sciences Technikum Wien. She joined the Urban lab for her master’s thesis and enjoyed the work and environment so much that she decided to stay on for her PhD. Her research focuses on the regulation of the giant E3 ubiquitin ligase HUWE1 in adult neural stem cells. Outside the lab, she enjoys reading and staying active through outdoor activities such as hiking and cycling.

PHD STUDENT

Pedro is a Biologist and holds a Master’s degree in Biochemistry at UFRGS, in Brazil. He’s now a shared PhD student between the Tessmar-Raible group (University of Vienna) and the Urbán Lab through the VDS-CoBeNe. His work focuses on the impact of circadian timing on adult Neural Stem Cell regulation. On his free time, Pedro practices Muay Thai, enjoys analog photography and spending the afternoon with his cat.

PHD STUDENT

Greeshma completed her integrated bachelor's and master's degree in the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Mohali, India, where she developed an interest in stem cell and developmental biology. She joined the Urbán Lab through the Vienna BioCenter PhD Program, where her PhD research focuses on uncovering how proteostasis governs neural stem cell quiescence. In her free time, she enjoys reading and doing small creative projects at home and working out at the gym.

PHD STUDENT

Giulia has a Master’s degree in Cellular and Molecular Biotechnology from University of Trento, Italy. After conducting research at LMU Munich and Lund University, she joined the Urbán lab in 2025 as research assistant and stayed for her PhD. As part of the VBC and Excellent Brains PhD programs, her research focuses on adult neural stem cell quiescence and the mechanisms that enable specific brain regions to sustain neurogenesis. In her free time she enjoys drawing, playing the piano and practicing karate.

GROUP LEADER

Noelia’s research career started in Barcelona in the field of developmental neurobiology. She then moved to London for her postdoctoral training, where she pioneered work on hippocampal neural stem cell quiescence. Currently, her lab investigates how signal integration and molecular heterogeneity influence neural stem cell activation and the maintenance of neurogenesis over time. She also has two kids, so no free time!

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MASTER STUDENT

Marjolein is a master’s student in Molecular Biology at the University of Vienna, focusing on stem cells and developmental neurobiology. She joined the Urbán lab in March 2026 for her master’s thesis, where she is working together with Lidija to investigate the role of FGF/ERK signalling in adult neural stem cell quiescence. In her free time, she loves spending time outdoors to go climbing and hiking, and also enjoys painting.

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POSTDOC

Ana holds a Master’s and Phd degree in Cell and Tissue Biology from the Institute of Biomedical Science at the University of Sao Paulo. She joined the lab in 2024 as postdoctoral researcher; focusing on the role of the proteasome in protein turnover in different cellular states. Ana designs and performs experiments to advance different projects in the lab. Outside, she enjoys reading and photography.