Group Leader
Prof. Dr. Steven Verhelst
Verhelst received his PhD in Chemistry at Leiden University and performed post-doctoral research at the Stanford University, School of Medicine. He started his own laboratory at the Technical University Munich as an Emmy Noether group leader in 2008. In 2014, he moved to the Leibniz Institute for Analytical Sciences ISAS in Dortmund, Germany, as a group leader in chemical proteomics, a position that he kept until 2023. Since 2015, he is also appointed as associate professor in chemical biology at the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine of the University of Leuven, Belgium. He received tenure in 2017 and was promoted to full professor in 2024.
Research interests
chemical proteomics, activity-based probes, solid phase synthesis, proteases, intramembrane proteases, bioorthogonal chemistry.
Other interests
(molecular) cooking, reading & writing fiction, travelling, listening to heavy metal music, and watching movies from Paul Verhoeven, Quentin Tarantino or Joel & Ethan Coen.
A CV can be found here
Post-doctoral fellows
Dr. Joachim Demaerel (joint with Chemistry Department, Prof. Wim De Borggraeve)
obtained a Master degree in Chemistry at the KU Leuven, and obtained a FWO junior and FWO senior post-doctoral fellowship to investigate SuFEx chemistry and chemical probes.
Dr. Filip Gracias
obtained his PhD degree in the group of Michal Hocek at the IOCB of the Czech Academy of Sciences (Prague, Czech Republic). He joined our lab in September 2025 as post-doctoral fellow.
Dr. Denise-Liu’ Gracias Leone
obtained her undergraduate degree in Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Technology at D’Annunzio University of Chieti–Pescara in Italy. She continued her studies with a PhD of Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic, with research performed at the IOCB of the Czech Academy of Sciences. After a brief post-doc at the IOCB in the group of Prof. Kvido Strisovsky, she joined the Verhelst Lab in 2025 and obtained a FWO junior post-doctoral fellowship.
Dr. Shalini Gupta
received her B.Sc. Degree in Chemistry from the University of Calcutta and then joined the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, Kolkata as an Integrated PhD student. She joined the lab of Prof. Surajit Sinha at IACS for her master’s thesis and continued her PhD in the same laboratory. She obtained her PhD degree in 2023 and continued as a postdoc at IACS. She joined the Verhelst lab in May, 2025.
Dr. Roeland Vanhoutte
obtained a Master degree in Drug Development at the KU Leuven. His MSc thesis was performed in the group of Prof. Eveline Lescrinier of the Laboratory for Medicinal Chemistry. He started working in the Verhelst lab in March 2017 and graduated in December 2020. He continued his work in the Verhelst lab as a post-doc from January 2021 with a KU Leuven post-doctoral mandate, and later a FWO junior post-doctoral fellowship.
PhD Students
Jonathan Coene
obtained a MSc degree in Chemistry from the Free University Brussels (VUB). He started as a technician in the Verhelst lab in October 2020, and continued as a PhD student in October 2022.
Femke Speelman-Rooms (joint with Prof. Geert Bultynck)
studied pharmacy at KU Leuven and performed a joint MSc thesis in the lab of Prof. Geert Bultynck and the Verhelst lab. She continued as a PhD student in these laboratories. In 2024, she obtained a FWO PhD fellowship.
Technicians
Samaneh Faghih
received her BSc in Applied Chemistry from the University of Tehran, Iran (2019), and her MSc in Organic Chemistry from the Iran University of Science and Technology (2022, Tehran, Iran). In November 2023, she joined the Verhelst lab as a chemistry technician.
Undergraduate Students
Hayder Al-Gburi
studies Biomedical Sciences at KU Leuven and joined our laboratory for a MSc thesis project in September 2025
Mingyuan Xie
studies Chemistry at KU Leuven and joined our laboratory for a MSc thesis project in October 2025
Federico Zambri
joined our laboratory for 9 months starting spring 2025
Alumni
Post-docs
Dr. Marcin Skorenski
Performed his MSc (2011) and PhD (2016) degree at the Wroclaw University of Technology under guidance of Prof. Jozef Oleksyszyn and Prof. Marcin Scienczyk. After performing post-doctoral work at the Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy (Wroclaw) and the Polish Center for Technology Development, he obtained a MSCA post-doctoral fellowship and joined the Verhelst lab in september 2023.
Dr. Tobias Grabe (at KU Leuven)
received his undergraduate and PhD degree from the Technical University of Dortmund, Germany. His research in the laboratory of Prof. Daniel Rauh was focused on structure-based design of kinase inhibitors. In November 2022 he joined the Verhelst Lab. He then took on a Research Scientist position at Ascendis Pharma in Heidelberg, Germany.
Dr. Marta Barniol i Xicota (at KU Leuven)
obtained a PhD in Medicinal Chemistry from the University of Barcelona, Spain. She joined the Verhelst laboratory in February 2017 with a Marie Curie post-doctoral fellowship and later a FWO junior post-doctoral fellowship. From September 2020, she performed research in the Bogyolab at Stanford in context of her FWO fellowship. In November 2022, she became tenure track professor in chemical biology and medicinal chemistry at the University Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain. See: https://barniolxicotalab.com/
Dr. Daniel Krahn (at ISAS)
obtained his PhD at the University of Duisburg-Essen (Germany) with Prof. Markus Kaiser. He performed a post-doc at Oxford in the group of Prof. Renier van der Hoorn and in the group of Prof. Christopher Schofield. In July 2020, he joined the Verhelst laboratory.
Dr. Michaela Prothiwa (at KU Leuven)
obtained her PhD summa cum laude at the University of Konstanz (Germany) under guidance of Dr. Thomas Boettcher. She obtained a Walter Benjamin post-doctoral fellowship from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft and joined the Verhelst laboratory in September 2020. In 2023, she became tenure track assistant professor in chemical biology at the University of Antwerp, Belgium. See: https://michaelaprothiwa.com/
Dr. Dimitris Korovesis (at KU Leuven)
obtained his PhD in Cancer Studies from King’s College London (UK). His PhD research work was performed at the Central Laser Facility at STFC (RAL), where he worked on the development and application of novel small-molecule imaging probes for the EGFR family in fluorescence microscopy. He joined the Verhelst laboratory from May 2018 – August 2021. He continued as a post-doc at the University of Crete, Greece, and will be an assistant professor at the University of Thessaloniki, Greece from winter 2025 onwards.
Dr. Hester Beard (at KU Leuven)
obtained her PhD in Chemical Biology from the University of Leeds, UK. In her PhD she worked on developing photoactivatable chemical probes to study protein-protein interactions, under the supervision of Dr. Robin Bon and Prof. Andrew Wilson. She joined the Verhelst laboratory from June 2018-April 2021. She is now a scientist at Illumina in Cambridge, UK.
Dr. Snezhana Akpunarlieva (at KU Leuven)
graduated from the University of Glasgow with a PhD degree in Proteomic and Metabolomic technologies and Parasitology. After working on a postdoctoral project at the Glasgow Polyomics Facility, she joined the Verhelst laboratory from 2018-2019.
Dr. Minh Nguyen (at ISAS)
received her PhD at Heidelberg University, Germany in 2014. In her PhD she worked in the lab of Prof. Matthias Mayer, Center of Molecular Biology Heidelberg (ZMBH) on post-translational modifications of heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90). She’s interested in applications of MS for studying protein dynamics, quantitation and activity. From 2015-2018, she joined the Verhelst Laboratory.
Graduate students
Shanping Ji (at KU Leuven)
obtained a MSc in Chemistry from the Chengdu Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, during which he worked on asymmetric synthesis. He worked as a research assistant at the Southern University of Science and Technology between 2016 and 2020, where he synthesized photoactivatable probes to study phosphorylation-related protein-protein interactions. He received a CSC fellowship and joined the Verhelst lab in September 2020. He graduated in September 2024 and moved back to China for a post-doctoral position.
Suyuan Chen (at ISAS)
obtained a MSc from the Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. He received a CSC fellowship and joined the lab in Dortmund in September 2017. He graduated his PhD in November 2023. He continued as a post-doc at the MPI Dortmund in the group of Prof. Herbert Waldmann, and later at Roche, Penzberg, Germany.
Jan Pascal Kahler (at KU Leuven)
received his MSc in Chemistry from Technische Universitaet Darmstadt, Germany. For his Master thesis he worked in the laboratory of Prof. Dr. Boris Schmidt in the field of medicinal chemistry, aiming to develop new kinase inhibitors. He started his PhD in the Verhelst lab in march 2017 and obtained a FWO PhD fellowship. He graduated his PhD in January 2022 and continued as a post-doc at Leiden University, The Netherlands, in the laboratory of Prof. Sebastian Pomplun.
Roeland Vanhoutte (at KU Leuven)
obtained a Master degree in Drug Development at the KU Leuven. His MSc thesis was performed in the group of Prof. Eveline Lescrinier of the Laboratory for Medicinal Chemistry. He started working in the Verhelst lab in March 2017 and graduated in December 2020. He continues as a post-doc in the Verhelst lab.
Merel van de Plassche (at KU Leuven)
received her Msc in Drug Innovation from Utrecht University in the Netherlands. During her masters she worked in the Chemical Biology and Drug Discovery under supervision of Prof. Dr. R.J. Pieters, and at the Suga Laboratory at Tokyo University. She started her PhD in the Verhelst Laboratory in November 2016. She graduated from KU Leuven in December 2020. She continues her career as a post-doc at Leiden University in the group of Prof. Sander van Kasteren.
Suravi Chakrabarty (at KU Leuven)
obtained a MSc in Medicinal Chemistry from the Duquesne university, Pittsburgh, PA, USA. She started her PhD in Verhelst laboratory in October 2016. She graduated from KU Leuven in November 2020. She continues her career as a post-doc at KU Leuven in the group of Prof. Peter Vangheluwe.
Jian Yang (at KU Leuven)
obtained a MSc in Chemistry from Chengdu Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences. He obtained a CSC fellowship and joined the Verhelst laboratory in September 2016. He graduated from KU Leuven in October 2020.
Tim Van Kersavond (at ISAS)
received his MSc in Chemistry from Ghent University, Belgium. For his Master thesis he worked in the laboratories of Prof. Dr. José Martins and Prof. Dr. Annemieke Madder. His doctoral work focused on photoprobes for proteases. He graduated in April 2019 at the University of Duisburg-Essen.
Eliane Wolf (at TU Munich)
obtained her Bachelors degree in Molecular Biotechnology from the Technische Universität Dresden and her Masters degree in Molecular Biotechnology at the Technische Universität München with a major in protein biochemistry and protein engineering as well as food biotechnology. In our laboratory, Eliane worked on new assays for rhomboid proteases and the discovery of novel inhibitors. She graduated summa cum laude at the Technical University of Munich in October 2015.
Yinliang Yang (at TU Munich)
studied Biochemistry at Lanzhou University, China, and joined our laboratory with a fellowship from the Chinese Scholarship Council. His doctoral work was focused on the development of novel cleavable linkers for proteomics applications. He obtained his PhD degree at the Technical University of Munich in April 2014.
Sevnur Serim (at TU Munich)
studied Chemistry at the Technical University of Istanbul, Turkey. She received a Master’s degree at the Technical University of Braunschweig, Germany. For her Master thesis she worked in the Laboratory of Dr. Jürgen Seibel. She obtained her PhD at the Technical University Munich in March 2014 on the topic of the development of novel serine protease ABPs.
Ute Haedke (at TU Munich)
studied Biochemistry at University of Potsdam, Germany. For her diploma thesis she went to the Laboratory of Dr. Monique Lavialle (INRA Jouy-en-Josas, France). She worked on the development of novel serine protease ABPs and obtained her PhD in December 2013 at the Technical University of Munich.
Oliver Vosyka (at TU Munich)
studied Biology at Ludwigs-Maximilians-Universität München. In the Verhelst Lab, he worked on novel assays to monitor rhomboid protease activity. He obtained his PhD at the Technical University of Munich summa cum laude in September 2013.
Undergraduate students
Natalia Kukurowska
joined our laboratory for 2 months in the summer of 2025 as Erasmus exchange student from Wroclaw, Poland.
Anna Scholz
studied Biochemistry at the University of Regensburg, Germany, and joined our lab in January 2024 for a MSc thesis.
Tibo Ickx
studied for a professional BSc at UCLL and joined our lab from February to June 2024 for a thesis project.
Nikolaos Tripolitsiotis (at KU Leuven)
performed this MSc in Chemistry at KU Leuven and joined our lab in Leuven from September 2022 to May 2023 for his MSc thesis work.
Marieke Verellen (at KU Leuven)
studied Chemistry at KU Leuven and joined our lab in Leuven in September 2022 for her MSc thesis work.
Celil Mert Gül (at KU Leuven)
studied Molecular Biology and Genetics at Istanbul Technical University and joined our lab in Leuven in July 2021 for an Erasmus summer internship.
Christel Merillat (at KU Leuven)
studied Molecular and Biological Chemistry at EPFL and joined our lab in Leuven in August 2020 for a MSc thesis project.
Arne Fluyt (at KU Leuven)
studied Chemistry at University College Leuven-Limburg and joined our lab in Leuven in March 2021 for an internship.
Benjamin Smith (at KU Leuven)
studied Pharmaceutical and Biological Laboratory Technology at the AP Hogeschool Antwerpen. He joined our lab in Leuven in March 2021 for an internship.
Lara Deters (at KU Leuven)
studied Chemistry at KU Leuven and joined our lab in Leuven in September 2020 for her MSc thesis.
Cederic Bosmans (at KU Leuven)
studied Chemistry at University College Leuven-Limburg and joined our lab in Leuven in March 2020 for an internship.
Ainoa Sanchez (at KU Leuven)
studied Pharmacy at the University of Barcelona, Spain, and joined our lab in Leuven in September 2019 for an Erasmus internship.
Stijn Lenders (at KU Leuven)
studied Chemistry at KU Leuven and joined our lab in Leuven in September 2018 for his MSc thesis.
Eline Swinnen (at KU Leuven)
studied Chemistry at KU Leuven and joined our lab in Leuven in September 2018 for her MSc thesis.
William Walkowski (at KU Leuven)
studied Pharmaceutical and Biological Laboratory Technology at the AP Hogeschool Antwerpen. He joined our lab in Leuven in February 2019 for an internship.
Julia Miedes Aliaga (at KU Leuven)
studied Pharmacy at the University of Barcelona, Spain, and joined our lab in Leuven in September 2018 for an Erasmus internship.
Rafal Mendowicz (at KU Leuven)
performed his MSc in organic chemistry at the Technical University of Lodz, Poland, and joined our lab in Leuven in September 2018 for an intership sponsored by the Erasmus program.
Raphael Konopatzki (at ISAS)
studied Molecular Biology at the Westfälische Hochschule in Recklinghausen and joined our lab in Dortmund in September 2017 for an internship and a MSc thesis. He continued his scientific efforts as a PhD student at the University of Düsseldorf.
Claudia Perpina (at KU Leuven)
studied at the faculty of pharmacy of the University of Barcelona, Spain. She joined our lab as an ERASMUS student in September 2017.
Cole Pollina (at KU Leuven)
studied at the University of Denver in the pre-medical track with a double major in Physics and Chemistry and a double minor in Mathematics and Biology. He joined our lab in September 2017 in the framework of the EuroScholars Program.
Olga Lagutina (at ISAS)
studied Chemical Biology at the Technical University Dortmund and joined the Verhelst Lab for a Master’s thesis in 2015.
Annett Zeissler (at TUM)
studied molecular biotechnology at the Technical University Munich and joined our group for a Master’s thesis.
Susanne Mayer (at TUM)
Biochemistry student of the Technical University Munich. She joined our group for a Master’s thesis. She continued her career as a PhD student in Prof. Kathrin Lang’s lab at the chemistry department of the TUM.
Peter Graf (at TUM)
Biology student at the Technical University Munich. He joined our group for a Master’s thesis and continued his career with his PhD studies.
Philipp Baer (at TUM)
Biochemistry student at the Technical University Munich. He joined our group for a Master’s thesis and moved on to perform his PhD in Michael Groll’s lab.
Andreas Lehr (at TUM)
Biology student at the TU Munich. He did his Bachelors work in our lab.
Fabian Hansen (at TUM)
Biology student at the TU Munich. He worked in the lab for his Master’s thesis.
Veronika Sachsenhauser (at TUM)
student Biology at the TU Munich. She performed her Bachelors work in our lab.
Kerstin Pflieger (at TUM)
Biochemistry student at the TU Munich. She performed her Bachelors work in our lab.
Jonas Lohse (at TUM)
joined the lab for a Bachelor’s thesis during his studies in molecular biotechnology at the TU Munich. He later moved on to pursue his PhD at the University of Groningen, The Netherlands.
Eliane Wolf (at TUM)
performed her Master’s degree in Molecular Biotechnology at the TU Munich and joined the lab for a Master’s thesis.
Emel Diraz (at TUM)
worked in our lab as an Erasmus-exchange student during her Biology Masters in Turkey.
Sandra Frommel (at TUM)
joined our lab for a Bachelor’s thesis during her biology studies at the TU Munich. She later pursued her PhD at the University of Zürich.