Nele Van Giel was born in Flanders, Belgium. In 2023, she graduated with a bachelor’s and master’s degree in Biochemistry and Biotechnology from the University of Antwerp, Belgium. During her studies, she was selected as one of 12 students from her department to enroll in an honor’s college, where she worked on epigenetic signaling in Fragile X syndrome during the summer of 2020. In 2021, Nele did her bachelor thesis on mitochondrial and lipid metabolism in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. As part of her master thesis in 2023, she studied the characteristics of novel [¹⁸F] tracers for tracking cancer immunotherapy.

In her spare time, Nele enjoys reading, listening to music and singing. She also loves to challenge herself physically through dancing, gymnastics or diving and started ice skating since she moved to Finland.

Nele’s role in CARTHAGO

Nele joined CARTHAGO in September 2023 as an early-stage researcher. She works at the Medical Ultrasonics Laboratory (MEDUSA) at Aalto University under the supervision of Professor Heikki J. Nieminen and Dr. Goncalo Barreto. Her project will focus on the design and development of ultrasound protocols to enhance delivery of nucleic acids to cartilaginous cells and tissues to improve treatment strategies for osteoarthritis and intervertebral disc degeneration.