Minke Rab

Dr. Minke Rab is a Clinical Scientist, who graduated from medical school in 2010 after completing the Selective University Medical Masters (SUMMA) program at the UMCU, The Netherlands. In 2015 she started her PhD project on hereditary hemolytic anemias (UMCU, 2015-2019). After her internal medicine residency, she completed a two-year fellowship in Hematology (UMCU) while combining her clinical work with laboratory research. Thereafter, she has been appointed as hematologist at the Erasmus University Medical Center Rotterdam, where she is involved in the expertise center for hemoglobinopathies. Next to her clinical work, she works as assistant professor at the Central Diagnostic Laboratory-Research, UMCU on biomarker development in hereditary hemolytic anemias. A key achievement is the development of oxygenscan-related biomarkers reflecting RBC sickling on which she co-authored nine papers. She led the development of the oxygenscan from an early prototype stage into a technique that is now incorporated in various clinical trials in the US, Europe, and Africa.

Her research focusses on biomarker development in sickle cell disease and its applicability to assess novel therapies both in vitro and in vivo. For these kind of projects funding was obtained from Eurostars, RVO, Agios pharmaceuticals, Axcella Health and RR Mechatronics. It is the ambition of dr. Rab to further elucidate the crucial pathophysiological features of sickle cell disease, in order to find the best treatment, that is globally available, for this understudied disorder. Being a clinician-scientist, she is in an excellent position to bridge the gap between bench and bedside.