People

Linas Mažutis, PhD
Principal Investigator
Research ID: A-5408-2012

Linas Mažutis is an internationally educated researcher who obtained a PhD degree at Strasbourg University under the supervision of Prof. Andrew Griffiths, a leading expert in microfluidic techniques for biological applications. He continued his post-doctoral training at Harvard University in the group of Prof. David Weitz, where he co-developed microfluidics technology for screening of single-cells secreting therapeutic antibodies (1) and co-invented a single-cell transcriptomics technique inDrops, which was successfully adopted by 10X Genomics, and which arguably remains the most popular scRNA-Seq platform to date. Since the beginning of his academic career, Mažutis has been closely involved in collaborations with industrial partners, and many of the microfluidic systems he has developed have been successfully implemented by various companies (Novozymes, BioRad, RainDance Technologies, HiFiBio Inc., etc.). Mažutis is a co-founder and founding CTO of the biomedical company Platelet Bio, located in Boston, MA., which specializes in the synthesis of artificial blood products. Mažutis is also a co-founder and founding CEO of Droplet Genomics, based in Vilnius, Lithuania, which specializes in commercializing single-cell technologies. Therefore, developing innovative tools and systems for biomedical and biotechnological applications constitutes a powerful component in his career.  

His current research interests are focused on multi-omics and on understanding the molecular mechanisms that drive cell responses, adaptation, and memory.

Simonas Juzėnas, PhD
Molecular & Computational Biology

Simonas Juzėnas is a molecular and computational biologist. Simonas' focus areas are bioinformatics data analysis and the development of analytical pipelines for transcriptome sequencing (RNA-seq), with a special interest in small RNA research. Currently, Simonas' main research aim is to develop a high-throughput, droplet-based method for simultaneous capture and sequencing of both small and long RNAs in single cells. He is interested in understanding the role miRNAs play in the cell development process, and whereas miRNAs regulate the robustness of the cellular state by calibrating the expression levels of driving genes, or they drive cell fate choices by suppressing transcription factors, leading to lineage commitment. Read more. In his spare time, Simonas enjoys fishing 🎣 and mushroom picking.

 
Rapolas Žilionis, PhD
Single-cell RNA-seq

Rapolas Žilionis is an expert in single-cell RNA-seq. His work surrounds the application of single-cell RNA-seq, from method refinement to data analysis (1). He completed his PhD at Harvard Medical School (Prof. Allon Klein's lab). He co-authored multiple studies in the fields of tumor immunology (2, 3) and tissue regeneration (4), including discoveries of new cell types in humans (5). Apart from research work, Rapolas teaches a course on single-cell data analysis at Vilnius University (Master's studies). Currently, he is interested in developing novel droplet-based methods.💧 

 
Justina Žvirblytė, PhD student
Single Cell Biology

Justina Žvirblytė is currently pursuing a PhD in Biochemistry. She joined our group in 2019 after graduating in Biophysics. She first became interested in single-cell biology during her research internship at NASA's Ames Research Center in the USA, where she studied microgravity-induced changes in embryonic stem cells in the group of Dr. Cassandra Juran and Dr. Eduardo Almeida. After completing an internship at NASA, Justina continued her research career in our group and completed a two-year Master's programme in Molecular Biology. Her current research is focused on the kidney cancer microenvironment and single-cell characterization. She is interested in single-cell analysis of human tissue, computational methods, and never-ending discussions of some of the most fundamental questions in biology and life sciences. In her spare time, Justina enjoys art in various forms and is also an aspiring young poet. She has published a poetry book called Mikrosfera 📖 and discovered a tumour-associated endothelial tip cell phenotype.

Karolis Goda, PhD student
scRNA-Seq, epigenomics

Karolis Goda received his MSc in Biochemistry at Vilnius University and is currently pursuing a PhD in biochemical sciences. His research efforts are diverse, ranging from improving current droplet-based single-cell RNA-seq methods to investigating DNA epigenetic marks at individual chromosomes. He's also working on

droplet-based approaches in other -omics fields, such as developing a high-throughput droplet-based method to study open chromatin, the methylome, and the transcriptome in single cells. He is also involved in a project aimed at developing a droplet-based approach for simultaneous capture and sequencing of small and long RNAs in single cells. He hopes that developing these methods will improve our ability to identify and characterize cell states and cell types. In his spare time, Karolis chooses to remain active with occasional biking, hiking, and camping. Lately, Tour du Mont Blanc, one of the most popular hikes in Europe, has captured his attention, and he hopes to complete it in the near future 🏔.

Greta Leonavičienė, PhD 
Single-bacteria biology

Greta Leonavičienė has earned a PhD in Biochemistry from Vilnius University. Before joining a PhD programme, she completed a 1-year internship in Prof. George Church's group at Harvard Medical School (USA), where she became fascinated by microbiology and genomics. She also completed a short-term internship at the Bigelow Laboratory Single Cell Genomics Center in the USA. Her primary research focus is on single bacteria genomics and transcriptomics using droplet-based microfluidics. She is interested in the role that bacteria play in ecology and human health. Greta has developed a semi-permeable microcapsule concept, paving the way for various single-cell techniques that are not possible with water-in-oil droplets (1). The results of her work have opened many exciting projects in our lab and have broadened our research horizons. In her free time, she enjoys long walks with her dog 🦮.

Simonas Norvaišis, PhD student
Bio- and Organic Chemistry

Simonas Norvaišis graduated in Biochemistry from Vilnius University in 2029 and is currently studying for a Master’s degree. During his undergraduate studies, he worked on microbial degradation and the metabolism of modified nucleotides found in microorganisms' tRNAs, as well as on industry-applicable methods to enhance the bioavailability of hard-to-dissolve active pharmaceutical ingredients. Simonas has experience in molecular biology techniques, analytical methods (HPLC-MS, NMR spectroscopy, spectrophotometry), and organic chemistry. He is currently working on developing hydrogel microcapsules applicable to single-cell biology research. Apart from science, Simonas plays tennis 🎾 and enjoys running and reading books.

 
Vicenta Mikulėnaitė, PhD student
Single Cell Biology

Vincenta Mikulėnaitė is a PhD student in biochemistry. During her Bachelor's in Chemistry, she had the opportunity to have an internship in Germany, where she learned about modified DNA and RNA nucleosides. This motivated her to continue her research by pursuing a Master's in Biochemistry, during which she worked with a novel murine N6-methyladenine methyltransferase Mettl4. Continuing her interest in epigenetics, she then decided to pursue a PhD in Biochemistry to develop a high-throughput technology for single-cell DNA methylation and chromatin accessibility assay. This technology is based on incorporating novel semi-permeable microcapsules, which serve as convenient vessels for a diverse range of biochemical reactions involving the split-and-pool technique to barcode single cells. Her research involves microfluidics, microcapsules, various molecular biology techniques, sequencing, and subsequent data analytics. Vincenta's main hobby is trail running, and she was selected to join the National Lithuanian team to represent Lithuania in the European Athletics Off-Road Running Championship in 2024🏅. Her near-term goals include running ultramarathons in the mountains. Besides trail running, Vincenta enjoys sailing and holds an International Yacht Training (IYT) Worldwide Crew Certificate. Her future sailing goal is to become a yacht skipper. 

Denis Baronas, PhD student
scRNA-Seq & scATAC-Seq

Denis Baronas is a PhD student in Biochemistry at Vilnius University, where his primary research focuses on developing simultaneous single-cell epigenomics and transcriptomics using droplet microfluidics technology and applying it to cancer research. Denis has a Bachelor's degree in Biophysics and a Master’s degree in Biochemistry from Vilnius University. Denis also has interests and experience in other scientific fields: molecular biophysics, drug design, synthetic biology, and systems biology. Outside the lab, he is passionate about creating new things that allow his soul to unwind, such as writing poetry, making music, and taking film photography 🎥  

 
Valdemaras Milkus, MSc.
Theoretical Physics

Valdemaras Milkus is a PhD student at the Institute of Biotechnology. He received a BSc and an MSc in theoretical physics from Vilnius University and completed a 1.5-year internship at EPFL (Switzerland). His research focuses on microfluidic droplet generation, droplet stability, and droplet sorting methods. He enjoys using mathematical concepts to describe the biological (biochemical) systems. His latest efforts aim to characterize the cell sedimentation during the encapsulation process. Outside the laboratory, Valdemaras is an active marathon runner 🏃 having achieved his personal record of 2h 51min. He also enjoys running long distances in the mountains and is training daily for the next competition.

Suji Kim holds a BSc in Biology and Biotechnology from Catholic University of Korea and an MSc in Molecular Biotechnology from Vilnius University. During her master’s studies, she worked on spheroids and 3D cell culture for a long period in hydrogel microcapsules. She is currently pursuing a PhD degree in Biochemistry at Vilnius University. Her PhD research focuses on single-cell full-length whole-transcriptome analysis using long-read sequencing technologies and on profiling gene expression in single cells and spheroids. Her work aims to investigate the dynamics of RNA maturation and the regulatory roles of non-coding RNAs during cell differentiation. Besides working in the lab, Suji enjoys inline skating 🛼 and playing the ukulele.

Dominykas Murza, PhD student
small RNA-Seq

Dominykas Murza holds a BSc in Biochemistry from Vilnius University and a master’s degree in Biological Science from the University of Cambridge. He has ample experience in microbial expression systems, Toxoplasma-macrophage transcriptomics, synthetic biology, and industrial R&D. Dominykas' efforts are focused on the development of high-throughput miRNA methods and their applications. His work aims to uncover the functional roles of small RNAs and how these biomolecules contribute to cellular functions. Besides doing science, Dominykas enjoys paddling,  exploring nature 🌳, and (uncomplicated) board games. 

 
Emilė Pranauskaitė, MSc
Master in Biochemistry

Emilė Pranauskaitė is a 2nd-year Master's student in Biochemistry. Emilė is interested in cell encapsulation and how different cell types behave within microfluidic devices and droplets. She is investigating how to reduce cell sedimentation, clumping, and other mechanisms of cell loss during the encapsulation process. In her spare time, Emile enjoys running, playing the piano, and painting 🖼. People who work hard to achieve their goals inspire and motivate me.

Mindaugas Sinis, MSc
Master's in Molecular Biology
 

Mindaugas Sinis holds a BSc in Genetics and an MSc in Molecular Biology from Vilnius University. His previous research ranged from yeast glycosylation pathway engineering to the investigation of factors influencing the barcoding efficiency of nucleic acids within picoliter-volume droplets. He is well-versed in all the primary molecular biology techniques involving DNA and RNA, as well as fluorescent microscopy and biochemical assays. Currently, Mindaugas is investigating the behavior of nucleic acids within semi-permeable capsules to understand the main factors affecting oligonucleotide retention. Outside science, Mindaugas indulges in video games, horror movies, and internet memes 🕹️

Laura Kuliešytė
Bachelor's in Microbiology

Laura Kuliešytė is pursuing a Bachelor's degree in Microbiology at Vilnius University. She is currently focused on microbial sample fixation, aiming to encapsulate cells in semi-permeable microcapsules for efficient, high-throughput single-cell RNA analysis. In her spare time, Laura is interested in art, especially olfactory and visual art forms.