Postdoc
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Dr. Sergio O. Lovera
Ph.D., University of California, Riverside B.S., California Polytechnic University, Pomona Email: solovera[at]caltech.edu Methods Development and Novel Materials Sergio was born and raised in the beautiful and sunny Southern California where he developed a love for cooking while helping his mama in the kitchen. Being too afraid of the disappointment of living anywhere else, he pursued his undergraduate degree at Cal Poly Pomona. His enjoyment for cooking led him to synthetic chemistry where he was first trained by Dr. Jim Rego to synthesize liquid crystal materials. He then moved to Riverside joining Professor Vincent Lavallo in synthesizing and derivatizing carborane anions for a number of applications. While not at work, you will find him cooking at home, listening to music or playing games with his buddies. |
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Dr. Wentao Guo
Ph.D.(Physical Chemistry), M.S. (Statistics), University of California, Davis, 2024 B.S., Beijing Normal University Email: wentao[at]caltech.edu Research Project: Computational chemistry Thesis Title: Computational Studies of Reactivity, Selectivity, and Non-Classical Pathways in Organic and Organometallic Systems Wentao Guo was born and raised in Beijing, China. She earned her master’s degree in Statistics and her Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from the University of California, Davis, where she conducted her doctoral research under the mentorship of Professor Dean J. Tantillo. Wentao’s work bridges computational and data-driven approaches to advance the understanding of organic chemistry. Her research encompasses using first-principles methods to uncover and explain unusual reaction mechanisms and outliers, as well as employing machine learning techniques for reaction planning and molecular property prediction. Beyond her professional pursuits, Wentao is a devoted cat enthusiast and proud caretaker of three beloved feline companions. To learn more about her research and interests, please visit her personal website: https://wtguo1997.github.io/ |
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Dr. Jianhua Wei
Ph.D., Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 2022 B.S., Tianjin University, 2016 Email: jhwei[at]caltech.edu Research Project: Biocatalysis Thesis Title: Catalytic mechanism of dimeric carbamoyltransferases in the biosynthesis of ansamycins Jianhua was born and raised in Zhejiang, China. He obtained his Ph.D. degree in 2022 at Shanghai Jiao Tong University under the supervision of Professor Linqian Bai, where he studied catalytic mechanism of ansamycins carbamoyltransferase and metabolic engineering of natural products. Outside the lab, Jianhua enjoys running, exploring new restaurants, and visiting interesting places. |
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Dr. Rui Guo
Ph.D., Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, 2020 B.S., Sichuan University, 2014 Email: rayguo[at]caltech.edu Research Project: Biocatalysis Thesis Title: The synthetic studies towards C20-diterpenoid alkaloids and monoterpenoid indole alkaloids Rui was born and raised in Wuhan, China. He obtained his Ph.D. degree in 2020 at the Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry under the supervision of Professor Ang Li, where he received training in organic synthesis. Outside of the lab, Rui enjoys taking walks around the area where he lives. During holidays, he also likes to visit various famous parks and museums. |
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Dr. Kevin Martin
Ph.D., Montpellier University, 2022 Pharm.D., Montpellier University, 2018 M.Sc., Montpellier University, 2018 Email: kmartin[at]caltech.edu Research Project: Structural Chemistry Thesis Title: Structural characterization of the cap-binding complex (CBC) with innovative molecules of pharmaceutical interest by cryogenic-electron microscopy Kevin was born and raised in south of France. He obtained his Pharm.D. at Montpellier University, France, in 2018, where he specialized in pharmaceutical research through different internship, in both academic labs and private companies. In 2019, he started a Ph.D. between the center of structural biology (CBS) and Abivax pharmaceuticals in Montpellier, France. He conducted research under the supervision of Pr J. Tazi and Dr. P. Bron, where he aimed to understand the interaction between a original molecule developed by the company and its target by cryogenic-electron microscopy (cryoEM). On his free time, Kevin enjoys playing music, hiking, working out and discovering new wonderful places in Southern California. |
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Dr. Kunal Jha
Ph.D., Shiv Nadar University, 2017 M.S., Jamia Hamdard University, 2012 B.S., University of Delhi, 2009 Email: kunaljha[at]caltech.edu Research Project: Structural Chemistry Thesis Title: Systematic Investigation of Polymorphism, Photodimerization and Charge-Transfer Mechanism in Organic Optical Materials: Probing Structure-Property Relationships Kunal was born and raised in Bihar, India. He went to the University of Delhi to pursue his BSc in Industrial Chemistry. He received his master’s degree in Organic Chemistry from Jamia Hamdard University, Delhi. He went on to obtain his PhD degree from Shiv Nadar University, India, where he broadly worked on generation of non-centrosymmetric polymorphs of organic push-pull chromophores for their optical properties. He went on to do his first post-doc in electron density modelling group under Prof. Paulina M. Dominiak at the University of Warsaw, Poland. His research focuses on improving structural model of SC-XRD and micro-ED data by applying quantum crystallographic methods. He believes in multi-disciplinary research and never shy of learning new methods and techniques. He enjoys cooking and listening to classical music in his leisure time. |
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Dr. David Delgadillo
Ph.D., University of California Santa Cruz B.S., University of California Merced Email: ddelgadi[at]caltech.edu Research Project: Structural Chemistry Thesis Title: Cheminformatic Approaches to Decipher Natural Product-Target-Disease Associations David was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. After dabbling in the bustling city life, he decided to pursue a degree in Human Biology at UC Merced. While at Merced, he worked on non-innocent ligand synthesis under Prof. Ryan Baxter. He went on to obtain his Ph.D in Chemistry at UC Santa Cruz under prof. John MacMillan studying marine bacteria-derived bioactive natural products. Outside of the lab, David enjoys being one with nature and tinkering with random hobbies. |
Staff Scientist
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Dr. Dmitry Eremin Ph.D., Zelinsky Institute of Organic Chemistry, 2019 M.Sc., Moscow State University, 2014 Email: eremin[at]caltech.edu Research Project: Structural Chemistry Thesis Title: The Key Role of Metal-Ligand Bond Lability in the Formation of Active Centers in Palladium-Catalyzed Reactions Dmitry was born and raised in Moscow, Russia, where city streets speak of art and history. He obtained his M.Sc. degree in chemistry from Moscow State University in 2014. It was during this time when Dmitry developed his passion for mass spectrometry and joined the laboratory of Prof. Valentine Ananikov at the Zelinsky Institute of Organic Chemistry. After obtaining a dual Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry and Catalysis in 2019, he chased the American dream and moved to Hollywood as an inaugural Agilent Postdoctoral Fellow in the group of Prof. Valery Fokin at the University of Southern California. There, he got his feet wet with on-water chemistry. As a believer in new technology, Dmitry followed the 110 freeway north and joined the Nelson Lab to work on next-generation automation and data science for microED. Outside the lab, Dmitry collects minerals and enjoys the diverse nature of California, from the waves of the Pacific Coast to the summit of Mammoth Mountain. |
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Hongyu Zhang
B.S., Caltech, 2024 Email: hzhang7[at]caltech.edu Hongyu was born in Shanxi, China. He is finishing up his B.S. in physics from Caltech in December 2024, and currently working in condensed matter theory. He is also working with Dr. Dmitry Eremin on a microED database. When not working, he is usually doing some weird things. |