Nathan Coutard graduated in 2015 from Université Pierre et Marie Curie in Paris. His end of masters internship was in Pr. Kylie Vincent’s lab at University of Oxford where he studied the regulatory hydrogenase from R. eutropha using in operando spectro-electrochemistry. He then joined the Artero group at Université Grenoble Alpes for a PhD project that aimed to optimize and integrate bio-inspired catalysts in a functional proton exchange membrane fuel cell. In the Gunnoe group, he now works on light alkane oxidation.

Yuan received her Ph.D. in Applied Chemistry from Nanjing Tech University, China. Her Ph.D. work focused on synthesis and application of rhodamine-based small molecular chemosensors for sensing heavy toxic metal ions. She joined Professor Cliff Stains group as a research associate in 2017, currently, she is working on developing novel near-infrared fluorophore scaffolds as bioimaging reagents for proteins, small molecules, and post-translational modifications.

Ryan Holland has joined the Department of Chemistry as a Research Associate in the Gunnoe Lab.  Ryan obtained his B.S. in Chemistry at the University of Idaho, then went on to earn his Master’s Degree and Ph.D. in Chemistry at the University of California, San Diego.  His graduate work consisted of studying the small molecule reactivity of Werner-type uranium complexes and the synthesis and characterization of stable metallacyclobutenes and vinylcarbenes.  In the Gunnoe lab, Ryan will be engaged in the development of catalysts relevant to selective chemical oxidations, including the design, preparation and study of new catalysts.

I am from West Bengal, India. In 2012, I obtained my bachelor’s degree in chemistry at Ramakrishna Mission Vidyamandira (under Calcutta University), Belur Math, West Bengal, India. In 2014, I earned my master”s degree in chemistry at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur, Uttarpradesh, India. Then, in 2015, I moved to Groningen, Netherlands and joined as a graduate researcher in the Prof. Dr. Edwin Otten’s group at the University of Groningen, Netherlands where I studied extensive synthesis and characterization of redox-active ligand frameworks and molecular metal complexes with detailed analysis of electrochemical properties aiming towards development of catalysts with abundant and cheap main group elements based complexes. In 2019, I obtained my doctorate degree in chemistry at the University of Groningen under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Edwin Otten. Then, from January, 2020, I have been appointed as a postdoctoral research associate in the group of Dr. Robert J. Gilliard at the University of Virginia, USA. At Prof. Gilliard’s lab my research focuses on chemical synthesis and the development of methods to incorporate p-block elements into conjugated small molecules and polymers for optoelectronic applications (e.g., polyaromatic hydrocarbons, heterocycles, metallacycles).

Tochukwu Ozulumba has joined the Department of Chemistry as a Research Associate in the Pompano Lab. Tochi obtained her BSc and MSc degrees in Biochemistry at the University of Nigeria and then completed a PhD in Biomaterials Science at the University of Brighton, United Kingdom. Her PhD project investigated the potential of two-dimensional graphene and titanium carbide MXene nanomaterials to target biological toxins and the incorporation of these materials into composite systems for use in medical devices. In the Pompano lab, Tochi will be working on controlling immune cell interactions with biomaterials in a spatially organized microphysiological model of a human lymph node. 

Mehrdad Shadmehr received his Ph.D. from the University of Arizona. His Ph.D. project was mainly about the design and synthesis of fluorogenic triazabutadiene probes for the labeling of electron-rich aromatic systems. M.S from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, where he worked on the synthesis of bioactive fluorinated heterocyclic small molecules. B.S from Tehran University. He started his career as a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in Professor Cliff Stains research group in 2018. He is currently a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Virginia working on design and synthesis of organic small molecule fluorogenic fluorophores, and design and synthesis of second window near-infrared fluorophores.