Former Visiting Scholars and Postdocs
Zach Reinert
Hometown: North East, MD
Education: B.S., Biochemistry, University of Maryland, Baltimore County; Ph.D., Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh
Scientific Hero: Albert Einstein
Awards: George Hewitt Medical Research Postdoctoral Fellow (2017) : ACS Young Chemists Committee Travel Award (2017)
Current Position: Science consultant, Benchling, Inc.
Aaron Leconte
Hometown: Somewhere out east.
Education: B.A., Chemistry, Carleton College; Ph.D., Chemical Biology, Scripps
Scientific Hero: Chuck Carlin
Current Position: Associate Professor, Chemistry, Keck Science
Hui-Wen Shih
Education: Ph.D. Princeton University
Awards: ACS BIOL Travel Awardee (2014)
Current Position: Research Scientist II, Gilead Sciences
Danielle Dube
Hometown: Aberdeen, NJ
Education: B.A., Biology, Cornell University; Ph.D., Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley; Postdoctoral Scholar, Chemistry, Stanford University
Scientific Hero: Carolyn Bertozzi, Barbara Imperiali, Laurie Comstock
Awards: Andrew W. Mellon Award for sabbatical support, Bowdoin College (2015) : Henry Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award, Camille & Henry Dreyfus Foundation (2013)
Current Position: Professor, Chemistry & Biochemistry, Bowdoin College : Visiting Associate Researcher, Chemistry University of California, Irvine
Drew Ferreira
Hometown: San Bruno, CA
Education: A.B., Chemistry, UC Davis; Ph.D., Chemistry, Oregon State University
Scientific Hero: Richard Feynman
Awards: George Hewitt Medical Research Postdoctoral Fellow (2018)
Current Position: Vilya
Amanda Murphy
Hometown: Lacey, WA
Education: B.A., Chemistry & B.S., Plastics Engineering Technology, Western Washington University; Ph.D., Organic Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley; Postdoctoral Scholar, Biomedical Engineering, Tufts University
Awards: NIH Ruth L. Kirschstein National Service Research Award Postdoctoral Fellowship (2007-2009) : Cottrell College Science Award (2014)
Current Position: Professor, Chemistry, Western Washington University : NSF-REU Director, Chemistry, Western Washington University : Visiting Associate Researcher, Chemistry, University of California, Irvine
Alicia Mangubat-Medina
Hometown: Seattle, WA
Education: B.S., Biochemistry, Western Washington University; Ph.D., Chemistry, Rice University
Scientific Hero: Carolyn Bertozzi
Awards: George Hewitt Medical Research Postdoctoral Fellow (2020)
Current Position: Research Scientist, AltPep
Nicola Seul
Hometown: Karlsruhe, Germany
Education: B.S., Chemistry, Saarland University; M.S., Chemistry, Karlsruhe Institute for Technology
Scientific Hero: Marie Curie
Former Graduate students
Miranda Paley
Education: Ph.D. 2014
Awards: UCI Dissertation Fellowship (2014)
Current Position: AAAS Science and Technology Fellow, Department of Defense; Senior Chemical and Biological Scientist, Noblis
Rachel Steinhardt
Education: Ph.D. 2015
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Syracuse University
Dave McCutcheon
Education: Ph.D. 2015
Awards: UCI Allergan Fellow, UCI Dissertation Fellowship (2015)
Current Position: Drug Synthesis and Chemistry Branch, NCI
Dave Kamber
Education: Ph.D. 2015
Awards: ACS BIOL Travel Awardee (2014) : Alfred R. Bader Award for Student Innovation (Sigma Aldrich, 2015) : UCI Dissertation Fellowship (2015)
Current Position: Senior Scientist, Quantum-Si
Dave Patterson
Education: Ph.D. 2015
Awards: UCI Allergan Fellow
Current Position: Scientist II, 10X Genomics
Lidia Nazarova
Education: Ph.D. 2015
Current Position: Microsoft
Amanda Dark
Education: M.S. 2015
Current Position: Head Chemist, The Shoulders of Giants (Non-profit)
Joanna Laird
Hometown: Los Gatos, CA
Education: B.S., Chemistry, Santa Clara University; Ph.D. 2016
Scientific Hero: Rosalind Franklin
Awards: NSF IGERT Fellow (2013-2015)
Current Position: Lecturer, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
William Porterfield
Hometown: Thousand Oaks, CA
Education: B.A., Biochemistry, University of San Diego; Ph.D. 2017
Scientific Hero: Leonardo Da Vinci
Awards: NSF IGERT Fellow (2014-2016) : NSF GRFP Honorable Mention (2014) : UCI Allergan Fellow (2015-2016) : IGERT Competetive Innovation Winner (2015-2016) : ACS BIOL Travel Awardee (2016)
Current Position: Scientist II, Fornia Biosolutions
Krysten Jones
Hometown: Langhorne, PA
Education: B.S., Biotechnology, Elizabethtown College; Ph.D. 2017
Scientific Hero: Ester Lederberg
Awards: NIH T32 Chemical and Structural Biology Training Grant Fellow (2014-2017) : Howard A. Schneiderman Award (2016)
Current Position: Scientist, UES, Inc.
Colin Rathbun
Hometown: Grand Rapids, MI
Education: B.S., Chemistry, Hope College; Ph.D. 2018
Scientific Hero: Nicola Tesla
Awards: NSF Graduate Research Fellow (2012-2017) : Allergan Graduate Research Fellow (2017-2018) : Edward K. C. Lee Awardee (2018)
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Claremont Colleges
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Tyler Albin (Joint Esser-Kahn and Guan Labs)
Hometown: Redmond, WA
Education: B.S., Biochemistry, Western Washington University; Ph.D. 2019
Scientific Hero: Jonas Salk
Awards: UCI Chancellor's Fellowship (2014-2016) : NIH T32 Chemical and Structural Biology Training Grant Fellow (2016-2017)
Current Position: Scientist, Avidity Biosciences
David Row
Hometown: Berwick, PA
Education: B.S., Biochemistry, Western Washington University; Ph.D. 2018
Scientific Hero: Ronald Breslow
Awards: NSF GRFP Honorable Mention (2015) : Michael E. Gebel Award (UCI, 2015) : NSF Graduate Research Fellow (2016) : Genentech Graduate Student Research Awardee (2018)
Current Position: Senior Scientist, Merck
Brendan Zhang
Hometown: Eugene, OR
Education: B.A., Chemistry, Willamette University; Ph.D. 2018
Scientific Hero: Frederick Sanger
Awards: GAANN Fellow (UCI, 2013-2015) : ACS BIOL Travel Awardee (2016)
Current Position: Scientist, Diazyme Laboratories
Sean Nguyen
Hometown: Saugus, MA
Education: B.S., Chemical Biology, UC Berkeley; Ph.D. 2020
Scientific Hero: Tu Youyou
Awards: NSF GRFP Honorable Mention (2016) : ACS BIOL Travel Awardee (2018) : Allergan Graduate Research Fellow (2019) : F. Sherwood Rowland Graduate Research Fellow (2019-2020) : Harold W. Moore Award (2020)
Current Position: Scientist, FDA
Zi Yao
Hometown: Hayward, CA
Education: B.S., Chemistry, UC Davis; Ph.D. 2021
Scientific Hero: Arnold O. Beckman
Awards: NSF GRFP Honorable Mention (2016) : NSF IGERT Fellow (2016-2018) : NSF Graduate Research Fellow (2017-2020) : ACS BIOL Travel Awardee (2018) : UCI Dissertation Fellowship (2021) : Edward K. C. Lee Awardee (2021)
Current Position: Postdoc, Wells Lab, UCSF
Sierra Williams
Hometown: Capitol Heights, MD
Education: B.S., Chemistry, Temple University; Ph.D. 2021
Scientific Hero: Marie M. Daly
Awards: NSF IGERT Fellow (2017-2019) : NSF Graduate Research Fellow (2018-2021) : Graduate Award for Departmental Fellowship (2021) : Jacqueline Smitrovich Prize (2021) : ACS Division of Biological Chemistry national executive board member
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Chemistry, Keck Science
Tyler Heiss
Hometown: Wilmington, DE
Education: B.S., Biochemistry, University of Delaware; Ph.D. 2021
Scientific Hero: Linus Pauling
Current Position: Postdoc, Kapoor Lab, The Rockefeller University
Anna Love
Hometown: Canton, OH
Education: B.S., Biochemistry, Messiah College; Ph.D. 2021
Scientific Hero: Galileo Galilei, Doc Emmett Brown
Awards: NSF GRFP Honorable Mention (2017) : NSF IGERT Fellow (2017-2019) : UCI Dean's Dissertation Fellowship (2021)
Current Position: Postdoc, Moore Lab, Scripps Oceanography
Anastasia Ionkina
Hometown: Kazan, Russia
Education: B.S., Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder; Ph.D. 2021
Scientific Hero: Rosalind Franklin, Neil deGrasse Tyson
Awards: NIH T32 Cancer Biology and Therapeutics Training Fellow (2019) : UCI Dean's Dissertation Fellowship (2021)
Current Position: Poseida Therapeutics
Carly Brennan
Hometown: Simi Valley, CA
Education: B.S., Chemistry, USC; Ph.D. 2022
Scientific Hero: Marie Curie
Awards: NSF GRFP Honorable Mention (2018) : PSML Nexus Data Science Fellow (2020-2021)
Current Position: Senior Scientist, Pfizer
Kevin Ng
Hometown: Walnut, CA
Education: B.S., Biochemistry and Cell Biology, UC San Diego; M.S., Biology, UC San Diego; Ph.D. 2022
Scientific Hero: Stephen Hawking
Awards: Beall Innovation Award Recipient (2022)
Current Position: Scientist, Novaglia
Robby Dorn
Hometown: Edina, MN
Education: B.A., Chemistry, Whitman College; Ph.D. 2023
Scientific Hero: Bill Nye
Current Position: Scientist, TAE Life Sciences
Mariana Navarro
Hometown: Canby, OR
Education: B.A., Biochemistry, Willamette University; Ph.D. 2023
Scientific Hero: Alice Ball
Awards: NSF Graduate Research Fellow (2020-2023)
Katherine Townsend
Hometown: Middlebury, VT
Education: B.S., Chemistry, Bucknell University; Ph.D. 2024
Scientific Hero: Friedlieb Ferdinand Runge
Awards: NSF GRFP Honorable Mention (2021)
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Yeonseong (Catherine) Seo
Hometown: Gwacheon, Republic of Korea
Education: B.S., Molecular Genetics; B.A., Chemistry, University of Rochester
Scientific Hero: Rosalind Franklin
Former Undergraduates
Srishti Prasad
Education: B.S., Chemistry, UC Irvine (2011)
Awards: UCI SURP Fellow (2010-2011)
Current Position: DCN Diagnostics
Greg Trieger
Education: St. Mary's College, MD (2012)
Awards: NSF-REU
Current Position: Ph.D. student, Godula lab, UC San Diego
Brittany Ripley
Education: Southern Oregon University, OR (2013)
Awards: NSF-REU
Current Position: Ph.D. student, Washington Lab, University of Iowa
Jeffrey Briggs
Education: B.S., Chemistry, UC Irvine (2014)
Awards: UCI SURP Fellow (2013-2014) : Allergan Summer Fellow (2014)
Current Position: Research Associate, PhageTech, Inc.
Brian Xie
Education: B.S., Biology, UC Irvine (2014)
Awards: CRC Outstanding Freshman Chemistry Achievement Award (2011) : Merck Award (2012) : Allergan Summer Fellow (2011-2012) : UCI SURP Fellow (2011-2013) : Brian Atwood Scholarship in Biological Science (2013) : Jayne Unzelman Scholarship (2014) : UCI Chancellor's Award of Distinction (2014)
Current Position: Cellular Therapy Facility at Stanford Hospital
Jessica O'Neill
Education: B.S., Chemistry, UC Irvine (2014)
Awards: UCI SURP Fellow (2012-2013)
Current Position: Medicrea (Biotech Startup)
Kevin Yang
Hometown: Chengdu, China
Education: B.S., Chemistry, UC Irvine (2016)
Scientific Hero: Jenn Prescher
Awards: UCI SURP Fellow (2015) : Allergan Summer Fellow (2015) : UROP Fellow (2015-2016) : Pfizer Undergrad Award in Organic Chemistry (2016)
Monique Reyes
Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
Education: B.S., Pharm Sci, UC Irvine (2016)
Scientific Hero: Jenn Prescher
Awards: UCI SURP Fellow (2015) : Allergan Summer Fellow (2015) : UROP Fellow (2015-2016)
Marian Sagoe
Hometown: Fontana, CA
Education: B.S., Chemistry, UC Irvine (2016)
Scientific Hero: Rosalind Franklin
Awards: UCI SURP Fellow (2015) : Allergan Summer Fellow (2015) : UROP Fellow (2015-2016)
Christine Hua
Hometown: Irvine, CA
Education: B.S., Biological Sciences, UC Irvine (2017)
Scientific Hero: Stephen Hawking
Awards: UROP Fellow (2016-2017) : UCI SURP Fellow (2016) : Allergan Fellow (2016) : UCI Chancellor's Award of Distinction (2017)
Zane Long
Hometown: Orange, CA
Education: B.S., Chemistry
Scientific Hero: James Crafts
Awards: UCI Regents' Scholar (2016-2018) : UROP Fellow (2017-2018) : Allergan Summer Fellow (2017) : UROP Fellow (2018-2019) : ACS Polymer Education Organic Chemistry Award (2018) : American Institute of Chemists Student Award (2018) : NSF GRFP Honorable Mention (2019)
Current Position: Ph.D. Student, Martin Lab, UC Irvine
Yusef Ibreighith
Hometown: Dana Point, CA
Education: B.S., Chemistry
Scientific Hero: Bill Nye
Awards: UROP Fellow (2017-2018) : Allergan Summer Fellow (2017)
Sydnei Head
Education: B.S., Chemistry, Albany State University
Awards: UC-HBCU Initiative Fellow (2017)
Jennifer Sun
Education: University High School
Nima Singh
Hometown: Sacramento, CA
Education: B.S., Neurobiology
Scientific Hero: My Dad
Awards: UROP Fellow (2018-2019) : UROP Summer Fellowship (2018) : Allergan Summer Fellow (2018) : UROP Fellow (2019-2020)
Current Position: Medical Student, University of Virginia
Paola Santibanez
Hometown: Huancayo, Peru
Education: B.S., Chemistry
Awards: UROP Fellow (2018-2019)
Danica Resurreccion
Hometown: Bulacan, Philippines
Education: B.S., Public Health Sciences, UC Irvine (2018)
Scientific Hero: Zach Reinert
Awards: UROP Summer Fellowship (2018) : Allergan Summer Fellow (2018) : UROP Fellow (2019-2020)
Buvan Sathishkumar
Hometown: Las Vegas, NV
Education: B.S., Chemistry, UC Irvine
Scientific Hero: Marie Curie
Awards: UROP Fellow (2019-2020) : UROP Fellow (2020-2021)
Sabrina Tran
Hometown: Aliso Viejo, CA
Education: B.S., Biological Sciences
Scientific Hero: Sven Seldinger
Awards: UROP Fellow (2019-2020) : UCI SURP Fellow (2019) : UROP Fellow (2020-2021)
Current Position: Medical Student, University of Miami
Kevin Jung
Hometown: Seoul, Korea
Education: B.S., Chemistry, UC Irvine (2018)
Scientific Hero: Alexander Flemming
Danika Ferguson
Hometown: San Mateo, CA
Education: B.S., Biological Sciences
Scientific Hero: Katharine McCormick
Elena Helm
Hometown: San Clemente, CA
Education: B.S., Chemistry (Chemical Biology Concentration)
Scientific Hero: Dorothy Hodgkin
Awards: UCI SURP Fellow (2019) : Allergan Summer Fellow (2019) : UROP Fellow (2020-2021)
Steve Phan
Hometown: Westminster, CA
Education: B.S., Biology
Scientific Hero: Louis Pasteur
Awards: UROP Fellow (2020-2021)
Current Position: Medical Student, UC Irvine
Clare Hwang
Hometown: Claremont, CA
Education: B.S., Public Health Services
Scientific Hero: Gregory Mendel
Awards: UROP Fellow (2020-2021)
Landon Taylor
Hometown: Bakersfield, CA
Education: B.S., Chemistry (Synthetic Chemistry Concentration)
Scientific Hero: Neil deGrasse Tyson
Awards: UROP Fellow (2020-2021)
Jenny Hoang
Hometown: Saigon, Vietnam
Education: B.S., Chemistry (Chemical Biology Specialization) and Mathematics
Scientific Hero: Thomas Edison
Awards: UROP Fellow (2020-2021)
Jonathan Tchan
Hometown: San Gabriel, CA
Education: B.S., Biological Sciences
Scientific Hero: Niels Bohr
Awards: UROP Fellow (2020-2021)
Current Position: Medical Student, University of Chicago
Meghan Dyck
Hometown: King City, CA
Education: B.S., Chemistry
Scientific Hero: Annie Cannon, Edward Jenner
Justin Kwon
Hometown: Irvine, CA
Education: B.S., Chemistry (Chemical Biology Concentration)
Scientific Hero: Antoine Lavoisier
Awards: UROP Fellow (2022); Beckman Scholar (2022-2023)
Current Position: Ph.D. Student, UC Berkeley
Suha Tanaz
Hometown: Moorpark, CA
Education: B.S., Chemistry
Scientific Hero: Leonardo Da Vinci
Awards: Allergan Summer Research Fellow (2022); UROP Fellow (2022)
Current Position: Optical Engineer, Northrop Grumman
Dylan Tran
Hometown: Aliso Viejo, CA
Education: B.S., Biological Sciences
Scientific Hero: Kary Mullis
Juliann Tyler
Hometown: Studio City, CA
Education: B.S., Pharmaceutical Sciences
Scientific Hero: Alice Hamilton
Awards: UROP Fellow (2022-2023)
Current Position: Research Technician, Janelia
Tanvi Sondhi
Hometown: Fremont, CA
Education: B.S., Chemistry
Scientific Hero: Katherine Johnson
Awards: UROP Fellow (2022-2023); UCI SURP Fellow (2023)