Minke (A.E.) Rab
From patient-derived cell lines to clinical biomarkers: unravelling red blood cell pathophysiology to improve treatment of sickle cell disease
Minke Rab obtained her medical degree in 2010 (SUMMA, Utrecht University) and her PhD in 2021 at the University Medical Center Utrecht (UMCU). She led the development of oxygen gradient ektacytometry (the oxygenscan) from an early prototype into a validated technique to quantify red blood cell sickling, which is now incorporated in clinical trials in the US, Europe and Africa. Her work also identified pyruvate kinase as a novel therapeutic target in sickle cell disease, providing the rationale for clinical trials with mitapivat.
After completing her residency in internal medicine and fellowship in hematology at the UMCU in 2023, she joined Erasmus MC as a consultant hematologist. Here she leads the Center of Expertise for Sickle Cell Disease & Thalassemia together with dr. Anita Rijneveld, and is building her own research group as principal investigator. Her research is funded by, among others, RVO (Eurostars), an Erasmus MC Innovation Grant (2024) and the EHA Physician-Scientist Research Grant (2025).
Our research
The Rab lab studies why red blood cells in sickle cell disease become dehydrated, rigid and prone to sickling, with a particular focus on hemoglobin SC (HbSC) disease: a common but understudied form of sickle cell disease for which evidence-based treatment options are limited.
Patient-derived erythroid cell lines to identify novel therapies for HbSC disease
We generated immortalized erythroid progenitor cell lines from patients with sickle cell disease. These allow us to study differences between genotypes and the effect of genetic modifiers, such as co-inheritance of α-thalassemia, on red blood cell formation. Using these models and patient-derived red blood cells, we investigate red blood cell dehydration, ion transport and iron metabolism in HbSC disease, and test novel therapies ex vivo.
Biomarker discovery in sickle cell disease
We aim to identify biomarkers that 1) predict disease severity, 2) assess treatment efficacy, and 3) serve as surrogate endpoints in clinical trials. Next to the oxygenscan, we develop new functional assays such as the oxidantscan, and work on standardization to enable harmonized measurements between laboratories. In parallel, we study how pyruvate kinase function relates to hemolysis, inflammation and clinical complications.
If this sounds interesting to you, the Rab lab encourages people from all backgrounds and career stages to get in touch about employment or internship opportunities.
Our team
Minke Rab, principal investigator
Rezin Majied, postdoc
Maryse Boesveld, PhD student
Gijsje van Keulen, intern
Wesley Larner, intern
Cesare Mehdri, visiting researcher
Key publications
Traets MJM, Idrizovic A, Eijkelenboom-Bos J, …, van Zwieten R, Minke A.E. Rab. Cryopreservation of red blood cells from sickle cell disease patients for comparison of oxygen gradient ektacytometry parameters between laboratories to enable data harmonization. Int J Lab Hematol. 2026 Aug;48(4):900-905.
Hernández CA, Traets MJM, van Solinge WW, Rijneveld AW, Kaestner L, John T, Nur E, Biemond BJ, Kuypers FA, van Beers EJ, Minke A.E. Rab*, van Wijk R*. Oxidantscan: a novel biomarker to assess red blood cell susceptibility to oxidative stress in sickle cell disease. Blood Cells Mol Dis. 2025;117:102967.
*shared last author
Traets MJM, Kidane Gebremeskel AS, Eijkelenboom-Bos J, van Oirschot BA, van der Veen S, Russcher H, van Solinge WW, Lauw MN, Nur E, Biemond BJ, Cnossen MH, Rijneveld AW, van Wijk R, van Beers EJ, Minke A.E. Rab. Iron deficiency in HbSC disease treated with repetitive phlebotomy is associated with fewer sickle cell disease-related complications. Am J Hematol. 2025 Nov;100(11):2123-2127.
Traets MJM, Bos JF, van der Veen S, van Pelt L, van Dijk MJ, van Oirschot BA, de Wilde JRA, Jans JJ, van Solinge WW, Schols SEM, Lauw MN, Cnossen MH, Nur E, Biemond BJ, Rijneveld AW, van Beers EJ, van Wijk R, Minke A.E. Rab. Pyruvate kinase function correlates with red blood cell properties and clinical manifestations in sickle cell disease. Am J Hematol. 2025 May;100(5):785-796.
De Wilde JRA, Ruiter TJJ, van Dooijeweert B, Eijkelenboom-Bos J, van Oirschot BA, Doeven T, van Straaten S, Wind-Rotolo M, van Solinge WW, Glenthøj A, Jans JJM, Bartels M, van Beers EJ, Minke A.E. Rab*, van Wijk R*. Red blood cell properties in hereditary xerocytosis and their response to ex vivo pyruvate kinase activation: a preliminary study. Blood Red Cells & Iron. 2025;1(3):100024.
*shared last author
Minke A.E. Rab, Kanne CK, Boisson C, Bos JF, van Oirschot BA, Houwing ME, Renoux CE, Bartels M, Rijneveld AW, Nur E, Cnossen MH, Joly P, Nader E, Fort R, Connes P, van Wijk R, Sheehan VA, van Beers EJ. Oxygen gradient ektacytometry-derived biomarkers are associated with acute complications in sickle cell disease. Blood Adv. 2024 Jan 23;8(2):276-286.
Minke A.E. Rab, Bos J, van Oirschot BA, van Straaten S, Kosinski PA, Chubukov V, Kim H, Magnus H, Schutgens REG, Pasterkamp G, Dang L, Kung C, van Beers EJ, van Wijk R. Decreased activity and stability of pyruvate kinase in sickle cell disease: a novel target for therapy by mitapivat. Blood. 2021 May 27;137(21):2997-3001.
Minke A.E. Rab*, van Oirschot BA*, Kosinski PA, Hixon J, Johnson K, Chubukov V, Dang L, Pasterkamp G, van Straaten S, van Solinge WW, van Beers EJ, Kung C, van Wijk R. AG-348 (mitapivat), an allosteric activator of red blood cell pyruvate kinase, increases enzymatic activity, protein stability, and ATP levels over a broad range of PKLR genotypes. Haematologica. 2021 Jan 1;106(1):238-249.
*shared first author
Minke A.E. Rab, van Oirschot BA, Bos J, Merkx TH, van Wesel ACW, Abdulmalik O, Safo MK, Versluijs AB, Houwing ME, Cnossen MH, Riedl J, Schutgens REG, Pasterkamp G, Bartels M, van Beers EJ, van Wijk R. Rapid and reproducible characterization of sickling during automated deoxygenation in sickle cell disease patients. Am J Hematol. 2019 May;94(5):575-584.