:the team

Susi loves all things liver regeneration, and adapting this knowledge to translational approaches. She studied biology at TU Dresden for her bachelor degree. During and after her master studies at Universität Leipzig, Susanna trained and worked at the Max Delbrück Center for molecular medicine (MDC) in Berlin.

Julian is from Berlin. He is very captivated by how our body cells do their job and how we could support or regenerate them when they lose their native function. He studied biology at the Humboldt University Berlin in his bachelor degree and molecular medicine at the Charité in his master program. When he is not pipetting liquids from one tube into another, he enjoys long walks and watching plays at the theater.

Leonie is a Clinician Scientist who is a resident of pediatrics at Charité while focusing on biliary atresia in the lab. As child-loving physician, she is very motivated to contribute to improved treatment options and quality of life for children with rare diseases through her research work. If there is still time after the clinical and the lab work, Leonie enjoys to be out in nature and whenever she is on holidays she loves to travel the world.

“Arte” is a full-time MD-thesis student at Charite University Medicine Berlin and a funded member of the Tight Junction (TJ)-TRAIN Graduate School in Berlin. In her project, she is looking for answers about the interplay of immune and epithelial cells in biliary atresia and leverages co-cultures involving intrahepatic cholangiocyte organoids for this purpose. She has always been interested in pediatric and rare diseases. Her personal dream for the future is to contribute to the identification of novel pharmacological treatments for biliary atresia. After her work in the lab, she enjoys playing the violin in an orchestra as well as turning her painting ideas into creative art.

Matylda is a Charité medical student (and an MD/PhD student at the Berlin School for Regenerative Therapies.) She is especially passionate about surgery and hepatology, with a special focus on developmental liver diseases. In her project, she focuses on identifying prognostic signatures and therapeutic targets in biliary atresia, driven by her ultimate dream of finding a cure for liver fibrosis.  Whenever she’s not analyzing images, she enjoys reading, running and cycling. 

Mijuna completed her master’s theses in the Molecular Medicine Master’s program at the Charitè Berlin and continued her research in the rezvani lab. Her interests span various domains within molecular biology, with a particular fascination for stem cell research. In her PhD project, she focuses on modeling human allograft immune hepatitis “in the dish” using organoid technology. Outside the lab, she enjoys her time with friends, watching movies and dancing.

With experience spanning pharmaceutical industries, health institutes, and top-tier research organizations, Reini brings much expertise to our lab. Her passion lies in contributing to her part to humanity and the understanding of biology.

In our team, she thrives on bridging clinical questions with experimental approaches in the lab and picked up intrahepatic cholangiocyte organoids.

Outside the lab, she enjoys exploring creative hobbies, music, reading, and immersing herself in the beauty of nature.

Sandra’s journey into science began with training as a biology laboratory technician at the Max Delbrück Centre for Molecular Medicine (MDC), followed by a BTA certification and a Bachelor’s degree in Biotechnology from the Berlin University of Applied Sciences. Her diverse experience includes roles at Charité’s pathology and neuroanatomy departments, the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), and the Free University of Berlin. Now at Charité, Sandra supports groundbreaking research on diseases like biliary atresia and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH). Beyond the lab, she is a passionate animal enthusiast, a long-time member of the German Society for Herpetology and Herpetoculture (DGHT), and enjoys baking, traveling, and learning new languages.

Milo is a proud father, Pediatrician, Pediatric Gastroenterologist-Hepatologist and Regenerative Liver Biologist who takes care of children and young adults with gastrointestinal and liver diseases. Since Medical School, when he cared for his first patients with devastating liver diseases, he is passionate about establishing regenerative therapies for end-stage liver diseases.

He trained as a Pediatrician at Boston Children’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School where he also pursued liver biology research at the Massachusetts General Hospital. He further completed a fellowship in Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center – an epicentre of Pediatric Liver Research.

As a scientist, he trained with Holger Willenbring (University of California San Francisco), Takanori Takebe (Cincinnati Children’s Hospital/Tokyo Medical and Dental University/Yokohama City University) and Wolfram Goessling (Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School).

:Milo’s education

University of Freiburg, Germany

Medical School (2011), MD license (2012) and Doctoral Thesis in the Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine (2013); Mentor: Andrea Heinzmann MD PhD

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University of California San Francisco, CA, USA

Graduate Student (2012-2013) and Postdoctoral Scholar (2013-2017) in the Department of Surgery and The Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research; Mentor: Holger Willenbring, MD, PhD

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Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, MA, USA

Pediatrics Residency (2017-2020) in the Department of Medicine; Clinical Mentors: Catherine Michelson, MD and Ted Sectish, MD; Research Mentor: Wolfram Goessling, MD PhD

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Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, OH, USA

Pediatric Fellowship in Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (since 2020); Mentors: Takanori Takebe, MD PhD; Jorge Bezerra, MD; Alexander Miethke, MD; Jose Cancelas, MD

:key memberships

American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD)

European Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (EASL)

American Association of Pediatrics (AAP)                    

North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (NASPGHAN)

Gesellschaft für Pädiatrische Gastroenterologie und Ernährung (GPGE)

German Stem Cell Network (GCSN)

:awards & honors

(selected)

2024 Junior Faculty Scholar Award – Summer Liver Academy Meeting (SLAM) at Cape Coral, Florida, organized by the American Society for Investigative Pathology (ASIP) – 06-24

2023 AASLD Foundation Early Career Basic Science Award at The Liver Meeting® – 08-23

Platform Presentation at the Thomas F. Boat Lectures, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center– 03/2022   

1st prize for oral presentation, Symposium of the NIH/NIDDK-funded Digestive Health Center (DHC) at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital – 02/2022

Emmy Noether Programme – German Research Foundation (DFG) — 11/2021 

Berlin Institute of Health – Clinician-Scientist-Program, Excellence Track starting 01/2021  

American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases – Foundation Award for abstract — 10/2020 

American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases – Early Career Investigator Award in Basic Science — 10/2020 

Fred Lovejoy Research Award – Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School — 04/2020  

Presidential Plenary Session Presentation – The Liver Meeting (American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, AASLD) — 11/2015

American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases – Emergeing Liver Scholar – AASLD — 06/2019    

Research Fellowship – German Research Foundation (DFG) — 01/2015-12/2016

Research Scholarship – German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) — 10/2012

Heinrich-Kircher Award, University of Freiburg — 01/2011  

:publications

(Google Scholar “Milad Rezvani”)

Search Results – Google Scholar

:alumni

Natalia was the first TA/lab manager of the rezvani lab who established intrahepatic cholangiocyte organoids (ICOs) in the lab and helped us with countless organizational and administrative matters.

Calvin was a molecular medicine master student at the Charite and rocked all things CRISPRa, green tea and dancing Salsa.

Pia rotated with us during her master’s degree in Quantitative Molecular Biology at Humboldt Universität.