online extras department of chemistry and ......katie smith (phd biochemistry, 1976) i am retired...

DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY AND BIOCHEMISTRY | FALL 2020 | 21O N L I N E E X T R A S

1950s

Robert Greene (BS Chemistry, 1958)I am enjoying my family and grandchildren, and I soon will be celebrating my 90th birthday.

Paul Schnur (BS Chemistry, 1958)A retired surgeon from Mayo Clinic Arizona

Richard Finn (BA Chemistry, 1959)I am a retired physician. I obtained my medical degree from Tulane Univ. in 1963, as Arizona did not have a medical school when I graduated in 1959.

1960s

Kenneth Zahn (BS Chemistry, 1960; MS Chemistry, 1961) u2020 President of the Northwest Federation of Mineralogical Societies (5,500 mem-bers in ~70 clubs and societies in AK, WA, OR, ID, MT, and Northern Utah/Wyoming). I recently celebrated my 84th birthday. Attended U of A on a track scholarship. U of A: BS in Education (‘59), B.S. in Liberal Arts (Chemistry)(‘60), M.S.in Organic Chemistry (‘60); Distinguished Military Graduate (‘59); Phi Beta Kappa (‘60). U of IIlinois: PhD in Organic Chemistry (‘64 -’67).

Harold Hilliard (PhD Chemistry, 1965)I retired after an undeservedly rewarding and interesting career in oil and gas produc-tion.

Peter Forrest (BA Chemistry, 1966)Retired after some 50 years in the field of medicine -- including five years as a corps-man with the US NAVY AND US MARINE CORPS. Great memories of the University of Arizona.

Donald Gosselink (PhD Chemistry, 1966) uI am retired.

David Kingston (PhD Chemistry, 1966) uRetired from teaching/research at Northern Michigan University in 2001. Live in Tuc-son winter and spring months. I meet with friends Dr. Roger Caldwell and Dr. Ted Reid when we all are in town.

Gary Proksch (BS Chemistry, 1965)I opened a small business helping clients with research and consulting.

John Kaczynski (MS Chemistry, 1966)After 34 years teaching, I retired as Dean of Instructional Services at Longview Com-munity College. Our son Steve is an anesthesiologist in Tucson with six grandchildren. Three of them are currently attending UArizona.

Jake Lark (PhD Chemistry, 1966)Grandchildren in Missouri, North Carolina and Virginia, and great-grandchildren in Virginia and North Carolina.

ALUMNI NEWS

Kenneth Zahn

Donald Gosselink

David Kingston

THE CATALYST | CBC ALUMNI MAGAZINE22

Norman Buck (BA Chemistry, 1967)I’m retired from the Department of Entomology at UArizona. I still work a little part time. While I was working, a lot of studies were done on the role of storage proteins in ant larval development and colony founding by ant queens. Later, I was involved in measuring differences in gene expression between honey bee queen larvae and worker larvae. This was accomplished by mRNA extraction of the larvae, cDNA synthesis, and real time PCR quantitation. I designed and tested for efficiency each primer set required for each gene.

t Rich Markham (MS Chemistry, 1967) Judy and I are enjoying living in Tucson, and we love the peaceful life in the desert.

t Dan Nathan (BS Chemistry, 1967) I have been retired since 2008. My BS in Chemistry allowed me to work for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department for 38 1/2 years as a criminalist (CSI work). It was a rewarding career. My time at UArizona from 1963-1967 were four of the best years of my life. That still stands. I attended my 50-year reunion in 2007 in Tucson. Go Wildcats!!

t Jane Orient (BA Chemistry, 1967) Publication of 5th edition of Sapira’s Art and Science of Bedside Diagnosis by Jane M. Orient, M.D.

Robert Stevenson (PhD Chemistry, 1967)Book Review Co-Editor for Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management, Contributing Editor to Instrument News. Editor Emeritus for American Laboratory.

Joe White (PhD Chemistry, 1967)I retired in 1999 after working 31 years for 3M company in Minnesota.

Terry Holcslaw (BS Chemistry, 1968)Retired Medical Scientist, owner/Vice President of Consulting and New Business De-velopment of a medical writing company called New Drug Development Services, Inc.

t Paul Sangster (MS Chemistry, 1968) I am retired.

James Kudrna (PhD Chemistry, 1969)Left UArizona with PhD and went on to Medical School at Northwestern University. Trained in Orthopaedic Surgery and went on to an academic and clinical career as an adult hip reconstructive surgeon. Spent 40 years on the faculty of Northwestern University and then the University of Chicago. Recently retired from clinical practice and continue with research activities as a monitor to post-MD fellows. Now retired and finally became the proud grandfather of granddaughter Emerson in 2019! Enjoy vacationing in Arizona as conditions allow, and I would enjoy visiting the chemistry department in the future!

1970s

Armando Angel (PhD Chemistry, 1970; MD)Grandson Sergio is in chemistry graduate school and granddaughter Gabby graduated in geology.

Dale Edmondson (PhD Chemistry, 1970)I retired in 2014; I am now Professor Emeritus of Biochemistry, Emory University School of Medicine.

Rich & Judy Markham

Dan Nathan

Jane Orient

Paul Sangster


Dan Combs (BS Chemistry, 1971)Consultant for the biotech industry.

Mark Dewhirst (BS Chemistry, 1971)Mark W. Dewhirst, DVM, PhD, FASTRO, FAAAS is the Emeritus Gustavo S. Montana Professor of Radiation Oncology, former Associate Dean for Faculty Mentoring and Vice Director for Basic Science in the Duke Cancer Institute. Dr. Dewhirst has research interests in tumor hypoxia, angiogenesis, hyperthermia and drug transport and has had NIH funding to study these subjects for more than 30 years. He has >600 peer-reviewed publications, book chapters and reviews. His works have been cited more than 40,000 times in the literature. He has given named lectures at the Univer-sity of Western Ontario, Thomas Jefferson University, Stanford University, the Norwe-gian Radium Hospital in Oslo, The University of Pennsylvania and the New Zealand Cancer Society.

Mark received the Alumni of the Year Award from Colorado State University College of Veterinary Medicine. He received the Failla Medal from the Radiation Research Society in 2008, the Eugene Robinson award for excellence hyperthermia research in 1992, and a similar award from the European Society for Hyperthermic Oncology in 2009. He received the Gold Medal Award from the American Society for Radiation Oncology in 2012. He is also a Fellow of the American Association for the Advance-ment of Science. He is a Senior Editor of Cancer Research and Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Hyperthermia.

He graduated from the University of Arizona in 1971 with a degree in Chemistry and Colorado State University in 1975 and 1979 with DVM and PhD degrees, respectively. He has been happily married to Nancy Dewhirst for over 32 years. They enjoy travel-ing, theater and sports together (at least pre-COVID-19!).

Bruce Mayall (MS Chemistry, 1971)Moving to the Tucson area after 35 years in Mission Viejo, CA. (You have no idea of how much “stuff” you have until you have to move it!) I have two married sons and two grandchildren. My wife is the CFO of Silao, a family tortilla business moving to Tucson.

Larry Schwartz (PhD Chemistry, 1971) uI will be married 50 years in August to my wife Leslie (UArizona-RN-1970), and I just turned 75!

Robert Small (PhD Chemistry, 1971)Mostly retired but occasionally get questions about certain semiconductor processes. Most of my time is spent working in my gardens.

David Bear (BA Chemistry, 1972)I am a Research Professor in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine at the University of Arizona College of Medicine. Previously, I was on the faculty of University of New Mexico School of Medicine for 36 years where I served as Chair of the Department of Cell Biology and Physiology and Chair of the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, as well as Associate Dean for Admissions for the medical school.

Larry Schwartz & Family


Sheldon Clare (PhD Chemistry, 1972)I am a retired professor of chemistry from the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown. During my teaching career, I received awards and was given tenure. I taught at Pitt 1962-68 and 1972-99. When I returned to Tucson, I was an adjunct at UArizona and Pima CC. I am a widower. My late wife was an elementary teacher. I have 3 children and 5 grandchildren.

Barbara Harty Golder (BS Chemistry, 1972)I am the Editor in Chief of The Linacre Quarterly, the longest continuously published journal of Catholic bioethics in the US and the journal of the Catholic Medical Associ-ation. I am also finishing my third novel, a murder mystery, Dying for Love. During the Covid pandemic I have been providing medical expertise to Catholic news, radio, and television.

Michael Londrigan (PhD Chemistry, 1972)I am currently retired after working several years for Jim Walter Research and Dow Chemical.

t Dan Chang (PhD Chemistry, 1974) Volunteer as a Pastor at a local church.

t Rick Yost (BS Chemistry, 1974) I love teaching Honors General Chemistry II at the University of Florida every spring semester! But moving the class totally online this March after COVID struck was a challenge. Lecture, team debates, and exams are way easier in a classroom than in Zoom. I’m looking forward to face-to-face classes again soon!

Alan Schoen (BS Chemistry, 1975)Just retired from Thermo Fisher Scientific as a Principal Scientist after 38 years.

t Don Upson (PhD Chemistry, 1975) I am available to assist Ph.D. students in resume and cover letter preparation. I have assisted around 10 Ph.D. students over the past 6 years. While the job market is very challenging in June, 2020, it will get better once the COVID-19 is history.

Lano Balulescu (MS Chemistry, 1976)2 grandchildren; no retirement for now!

Leonard Patt (PhD Biochemistry, 1976)Retired and enjoying all the kids and grandchildren in the great northwest.

Katie Smith (PhD Biochemistry, 1976)I am retired and have 3 granddaughters, ages 9, 11, and 18.

t Walter Rudzinski (PhD Chemistry, 1977) Retired as a Professor Emeritus at Texas State University

t Eric Johnson (BA Chemistry, 1978) Practicing cardiologist with Stanford Health Care in Oakland, CA

1980s

Richard Altenhofen (BS Chemistry, 1980)I earned an MBA in 1990. I retired from Motorola in 2007 and started a nano-business creating and selling writing instruments. I’m now closing the business.

Dan Chang

Rick Yost

Don Upson

Walter Rudzinski

Eric Johnson


Jerry Chalupnik (BS Chemistry, 1980)I graduated from Dental School (Oral Roberts University) in 1986; completed and passed Oklahoma and California Dental Boards that same year; moved to San Diego, associated in different dental practices here in the area; paid off student loans and my parents who helped me through dental school. I then decided I did not want to pur-sue my own dental practice and started working for California Dept. of Corrections as a prison dentist at Calipatria State Prison in Imperial County about two hours east of S.D. in early 2008 where I am still employed. Due to the Coronavirus Pandemic each of the dentists at work are at the prison on alternate weeks. I will likely retire in the next year or two, though I’m not sure when.

Tomi Sawyer (PhD Chemistry, 1981) uI’m “Gappa” (grandfather) and my wife is “Gamma” (grandmother) of twin grand-daughters who are 3+ years old. My sons, Jonathon and Thomas, are graduate stu-dents at the University of Arizona and the University of Massachusetts, respectively.

Malcolm Capel (PhD Biochemistry, 1982)Dept Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell. Responsible for design, construction, and operation of 2 undulator beam lines for macromolecular crystallography at the Advanced Photon Source synchrotron, Argonne National Lab.

Fred Hassman (BS Chemistry, 1982)Analytical chemist at SABIC

Robert Sentman (PhD Chemistry, 1982)Proud grandfather of 2 grandchildren, with a third due in July.

Ninus Simonzadeh (MS Chemistry, 1982)I am a care giver for my own mother.

Rich Sportsman (PhD Chemistry, 1982) uI’m operating a winery (Little Oaks Winery, www.littleoakswinery.com) and Vinmetri-ca (www.vinmetrica.com), a wine testing instrumentation business. We’re located in lovely Carlsbad, California. Our winery makes about 300 cases per year of unique, award-winning wines from grapes grown locally. Not retired yet, but generally enjoy-ing things.

John Bashkin (BS Chemistry, 1983)VP Business Development at S2 Genomics.

Mark DeTar (BS Chemistry, 1984) uAfter 30 years working in the semiconductor manufacturing industry, I’m looking for-ward to retirement in a few years and moving on to the next chapter of my life, which I hope will involve teaching at some capacity and giving back to the community and my professions (chemistry and electrical engineering).

Francisco Figueroa (PhD Chemistry, 1986) uI am retired from S.C. Johnson & Sons where I was Director of Technology.

Patricia Hill (PhD Chemistry, 1986)I am retired and just bought a winter home in Tucson.

Douglas Sobelman (BS Biochemistry, 1986)Son age 23 joined the coast guard in San Diego after graduating from the merchant marine academy.

Tomi Sawyer

Rich Sportsman

Mark Detar

Francisco Figueroa


Hilary Danehy (BA Biochemistry, 1987)Since July 2020, Head of Quality Training at Auris Health, a Johnson and Johnson Company. I really enjoy being back with J&J and working on the latest in surgical robotics and digital health!

Anjan Bhattacharyya (PhD Biochemistry, 1988)Most recently promoted to Radiation Health Specialist III by the Commonwealth of Kentucky Department for Public Health and Safety, Radioactive Materials Division. Licensing and inspection of radioactive material licensees within the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Received Department of Public Health Protection and Safety award for Radiation Health Branch employee of the year. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Integrated Materials Performance Evaluation Program (IMPEP) Team Member for 2021 and will participate in the evaluation of other Agreement State Radioactive Materials programs within the United States.

Rebecca Hailey (BS Chemistry 1988; MS Chemistry, 1991)I am a Professor of Chemistry at Florida State College at Jacksonville.

t Andrew Leavitt (BS Chemistry, 1988) Chancellor - University of Wisconsin Oshkosh

t Cheri Dersam (BS Biochemistry, 1989) I am a physician in Scottsdale and own a medical practice, Integrative Medicine of Ar-izona. My joy is spending time with patients, getting to the root cause of their health challenges, and helping them to heal. I was recently named one of Phoenix Maga-zine’s 2020 Top Doctors.

t Ellen Roth Yezierski (BS Chemistry, 1989) Professor of Chemistry and Director, Center for Teaching Excellence at Miami Uni-versity in Oxford, Ohio. I’m the Chair for the 2021 Gordon Research Conference on Chemistry Education Research and Practice.

1990s

t Silvia Cavagnero (MS Chemistry, 1990)Professor of Chemistry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison

t Cari Cunningham (BS Chemistry, 1990) I permanently moved from Globe to Tucson in January 1989 and have been here ever since. My husband (Ted Moulin, UArizona Mining Engineering 1975) and I travel as much as we can. I retired 9/1/18 and am still adjusting.

t Jani Ingram (PhD Chemistry, 1990) Professor of Chemistry & Biochemistry at Northern Arizona University

John Kunesh (BS Chemistry, 1990)I am a Medical Doctor (pathologist) and surgical pathology and clinical laboratory director at a community hospital in Los Angeles.

Keith Pinckard (BS Biochemistry, 1990)I am the Chief Medical Examiner for Travis County in Austin, Texas.

Christopher Vito (BS Chemistry, 1990)President and Chief Executive Officer of Nevada Adult Day Healthcare Centers. I was named the State of Nevada Business Person of the Year and was sent to the White House to meet the POTUS. In addition, I was named City of Henderson Business Per-son of the Year, which is awarded by the Governor of Nevada.

Andrew Leavitt

Cheri Dersam

Ellen Roth Yezierski

Silvia Cavagnero

Cari & Ted Cunningham

Jani Ingraham


t Joel Pankow (PhD Chemistry, 1991) Retired but exploring part-time university teaching. Enjoying being in the best phys-ical and mental health of my life achieved in part by taking up mountain biking in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains here in Littleton, Colorado and being part of our community volunteer bike patrol.

Patrick Desrochers (PhD Chemistry, 1992)Professor (28 y) and chair (6 y) Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, University of Central Arkansas

Jeff Finch (PhD Chemistry, 1992) I have been working as a Sr. Principal Mass Spectrometry Field Applications Spe-cialist for The Waters Corporation for the past 14 years (based in Gig Harbor, WA), after spending 5.5 years working in Waters Research Development and Engineering Department at their Milford, MA World Headquarters. My son, Ethan, graduated from UArizona in 2020 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Natural Resources: Global Change Ecology and Management.

Scott Rex (BS Chemistry, 1992)Crime Laboratory Manager at the Arizona Department of Public Safety in Phoenix, overseeing Comparative Sciences, Familial DNA, Rapid DNA, and DNA Database, Standards and CODIS, as well as serving as the Projects Manager and Outreach Coor-dinator.

Carmelita Torres (MS Chemistry, 1992)Director of Quality Assurance at Curative Inc., a Covid-19 testing company.

Michael Ruane (BS Chemistry, 1994) uAssociate Professor & Chair, Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, Texas Lutheran University

Scott Mitchell (MA Chemistry, 1997; PhD Chemistry, 1997) uCurrently Senior Director at Gilead Sciences. Found old photo (Dr. Brian Dangel, me, Dr. Hossein Razavi, and Dr. Michael Palian) taken when we were in CBC. Michael’s son commented, “Wow! You used chalkboards back then!”

Mary Padilla (BA Biochemistry, 1997)I just started a new job in June as the Chief of Staff for Boston Biomedical. I’m mar-ried to another UArizona Alum, Juston Jans (Engineering ‘96). We have 2 children; a 19-year-old daughter studying International Business in Spain, and a 16-year-old son who is a junior in high school.

Deepa Whipple (BS Biochemistry, 1997)I work in retail at Ross Stores, Inc. as Group Vice President of Business Information. I spent many years in Northern CA, but we moved to NJ in 2016 so I could work in our Buying Office in NYC.

Lawrence Williams (PhD Chemistry, 1997) uProfessor of Chemistry at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Christy Miller (PhD Biochemistry, 1998)I am a professor of biochemistry at Adams State University in Alamosa, Colorado. I am the department chair of the department of Chemistry, Computer Science and Mathe-matics. I have taught here for 20 years. My only child just graduated from high school during the Covid-19 pandemic. Cameron, Nicole and I enjoyed graduation in our car in the school parking lot very much.

Joel Pankow

Michael Ruane

Dr. Brian Dangel, Scott Mitchell, Dr. Hossein Razavi, and Dr. Michael Palian

Lawrence Williams


t Jennyfer Faridy Cocco (BA Biochemistry & Chemistry, 1999) I am a Plastic Surgeon practicing in Dallas, TX. It was my 10-year anniversary in Pri-vate Practice, and I used my Biochemistry foundation by launching my own skin care line!

t Rogerio Sotelo Mundo (PhD Biochemistry, 1999) Glad to continue active in research, 21 years after finishing my Ph.D. under the advice of Prof. Bill Montfort.

2000s

t Molly Deane (BS Biochemistry, 2000) I’m an Assistant Professor of Surgery at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine and Trauma Surgeon at Harbor UCLA Medical Center in Torrance, CA where I helped start a Hospital-based violence intervention program. I’m currently back in school get-ting my Master’s in Public Health through the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins where I was selected as a Bloomberg Fellow with a focus on Violence.

Michael Herman (BS Chemsitry, 2000)Working at Roche Tissue Diagnostics, Oro Valley as a Project Manager/Scientist.

Wei Wang (Post-Doctoral Fellow Chemistry, 2000) uCo-Director of the Arizona Center for Drug Discovery and professor in the Depart-ment of Pharmacology & Toxicology, University of Arizona, College of Pharmacy

Francisco Villa (BS Biochemistry, 2001)I have been working at Northern Arizona University (Yuma Branch Campus) since 2012. I was promoted to Clinical Professor in Biological and Natural Resource Sciences in 2017. In 2018 I was a USDA Kika De La Garza Science Fellow in collaboration with the National Soil Laboratory in Lincoln, Nebraska. 2020 is the last year of a 5-year NSF S-STEM program I am serving as PI for at NAU-Yuma.

Dayle Smith (PhD Chemistry, 2001)Our son Jackson, who was born in 1998 during my PhD studies, just graduated from University of Oregon and is pursuing civil rights law.

Xuejun Steven Tang (PhD Chemistry, 2002)Business Manager, Colonial Chemical Inc.

Richard Hall (BS Chemistry, 2003)I am proud to be helping out with the pandemic response at Luminex where we man-ufacture oligonucleotides and other components used in testing for Covid-19.

Sean Ryan (BS Biochemistry, 2003; MS Biochemistry, 2006)I am a Professional Development Coordinator at the Center for Science Teaching and Learning at NAU. I write grants, provide educator professional development, and coordinate citizen science and community engagement programs focused on STEM. I have three young children, an amazing wife, and a great job.

t Stephanie Slater (BS Biochemistry, 2003) Married my husband in October 2018 in Tucson. We bought a house in the Los Ange-les area in 2019.

Jennyfer Faridy Cocco

Rogerio Sotelo Mundo

Molly Deane

Wei Wang

Stephanie Slater


Christopher Cabello (BS Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics, 2004)I am the Chemistry Department Head and faculty member at Pima Community College.

Jamie Dawson (BS Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics, 2004)Microbiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Preven-tion (CDC).

t Ware Flora (PhD Chemistry, 2004) VP R&D for Callisons (Flavor and Food Ingredient Company). Since leaving Arizona I have started a family and held indus-trial positions across the consumer packaged food and food ingredient space, from large Fortune 500 companies now to a smaller, family-run business. We have lived in Illinois, Nebraska, Kentucky, and now Washington!

Katie White (BS Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics, 2004)I’m currently a Staff Scientist at Roche Tissue Diagnostics

(Ventana Medical Systems) here in Tucson. I love it.

ShangU Kim (MS Chemistry, 2004; PhD Chemistry, 2008) uI am a Principal Engineer, Quality and Reliability Team, OLED business for Samsung Display Co.

RJ Erickson (BA Chemistry, 2006) uI work as a Senior Sales Consultant for SAP Concur. I recently left a 10+ year career in medical device sales with Johnson & Johnson.

Jennifer (Tumonis) Marsalla (BS Chemistry, 2006)I am the 2020 Chair for the Puget Sound Section of the American Chemical Society. My son Tai Tumonis was a recipient of one of last year’s Fred Hutchinson Science Education Partnership (SEP) internships.

Shane Morrison (BS/MS Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics, 2006)I recently completed my residency in plastic surgery at the University of Washington and am beginning a fellowship in gender-affirming surgery at the University of Michi-gan.

Bryan Thacker (BA Biochemistry, 2006)I am directing a research and development program at TEGA Therapeutics where we are creating a mammalian cell based system to produce heparin, a commonly used anticoagulant that is currently produced from pig intestines. We have recently achieved anticoagulant potency equal to pharmaceutical heparin and are working to increase production to commercial levels.

Andrew Wenger (BA Biochemistry, 2006) uI am a Fellow, Hospice and Palliative Medicine at Mayo Clinic Arizona and an Emer-gency Medicine Physician.

Varada Gadre (BS Chemistry, 2007) uQuality and Product Development Manager at Water Source One.

Jennie Morse (PhD Chemistry, 2007)I am working at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment manag-ing a team of field inspectors that assess compliance with state and federal air quality regulations specific to the oil and gas industry.

Ware Flora ShangU Kim

RJ Erikson

Varada Gadre

Andrew Wenger


t Patrick Vinck (BS Biochemistry, 2007) Currently, I am the medical director at PopHealthCare. We provide in-home prima-ry care to Arizona’s most vulnerable patients. My work is to help oversee quality, outcomes and utilization for all of our patients. I also co-founded a medical device company seeking to improve labor outcomes in the US. I graduated from the bio-chemistry program in 2007. I then went to medical school at UArizona and completed residency in Phoenix, Arizona at St Joseph’s Hospital.

While in CBC, I worked in the Montfort lab. I’m incredibly grateful to Dr. Montfort, Jacquie and the lab. The whole team played a transformative role in my life. During this difficult time in the world, I appreciate even more how lucky I was to pursue research, work with such group and study at UArizona. I will always be grateful to the Montfort lab and the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry for the opportunities they afforded me.

Alan Wang (BS Biochemistry, 2007)I am Clinical Assistant Professor of Neurology and Associate Program Director of Neurology Residency at University of Arizona College of Medicine - Phoenix/Banner University Medical Center - Phoenix.

t Christina Birch (BS Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics, 2008) tI have been named to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Long Team for Track Cycling. The Tokyo Olympics has been rescheduled to run from July 23 to August 8, 2021.

t Elsa Marquez (BS Biochemistry & MCB, 2008) G’day everyone! I am a postdoctoral fellow at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, where I investigate therapeutic agents for their use in pre-clinical studies of inflammatory conditions such as arthritis and lupus. While studying at the University of Arizona I worked with a great research team that inspired me to pursue graduate studies.

After graduating from UArizona, I moved to Canada to pursue a Doctoral degree in Immunology at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. Although I spent most time focused on my research project studying how cells of the immune system can specif-ically recognize cancer cells, I also enjoyed my time teaching undergraduate courses, volunteering with local health organizations, and running along the Saskatchewan river. I loved Canada, but my adventurous and curious self decided to take a leap to Australia.

Since being in Australia I have ventured in the complex world of X-ray crystallogra-phy, worked in collaboration with industry and engineered proteins for therapeutic use. I have also enjoyed the Australian sunsets on the beach, seen many kan-garoos and koalas, stumbled upon big spiders, and yes, have had “shrimp on the barbie”. A degree in science can really take you places, and I am grateful for the good advisors I had during my time at UArizona.

James Hepler (BS Chemistry, 2009) uI graduated from ASU (:O) in 2011 with a Professional Master’s in Nanoscience. Jobs have come and gone, but I’ve done explosives-sensor research at ASU, cancer research at St. Joseph’s Hospital, tutor work, and finally landed at my current

Patrick Vinck

Christina Birch

Elsa Marquez

James Hepler


position at Empire-Cat’s fluids lab, where I help with chemical analysis, programming and data science and interpretation. I have recently launched my company, Autonomy Scientific, which will produce chemical and instrumental products, as well as provide synthetic and analytical services.

Mark Leick (BS Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics, 2009) uAfter UArizona I went to medical school at Georgetown followed by a residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital. I’m currently finishing my clinical fellowship in bone marrow transplant at Harvard medical school/Dana Farber Cancer Institute and Massachusetts General Hospital while doing lab research on novel chimeric antigen receptor (CAR-T) cells for acute myeloid leukemia.

Lizette Mada (BA Biochemistry, 2009)I work for a startup biotech company in Carlsbad, CA: DNA Electronics, Inc.. With-in their R&D department, I am part of their NGS Library Preparation team. We are working to develop a sample-to-sequencing platform that will have an initial focus on bloodstream infections. Our initial goal is to advance Sepsis diagnostics by providing a fast turnaround time BSI test. This would allow doctors to quickly identify the infect-ing organism and administer the proper antibiotics. I am lucky to have a job in which I am working towards saving lives via science & technology.

Kevin Sunitsch (BS Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics, 2009)I’m busy mountain biking, snowboarding and enjoying the outdoors in the Columbia River Gorge. In my spare time, I work as a dentist for a local public health clinic.

2010s

LaKeisha McClary (PhD Chemistry, 2010) uI am currently teaching faculty and an Assistant Professor at The George Washington University. Within the last year, I was appointed as the Inaugural Director of Under-graduate Studies for the Chemistry Department, appointed as a Scientist Member to the Science Advisory Board for the D.C. Department of Forensic Sciences, and elected Treasurer of the Phi Beta Kappa Alpha of D.C. Chapter.

Thusitha Muhandiramlage (PhD Chemistry, 2010) uI am at the University of Kelaniya in Sri Lanka.

Naren Patel (BS Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics, 2010)I am a Podiatrist at Banner University Medical Center at Tucson.

Alberto Rascon (PhD Biochemistry, 2010)Associate Professor – Biochemistry in the Department of Chemistry at San José State University

Dominique Villela (BS Chemistry, 2010) uI’m currently am the managing partner of a venture capital firm, and I live in Tucson and San Francisco. Our firm, Shot Ventures, was formed to support the flow of capital into both Tucson and Phoenix, Arizona. Our goal is to make it easier to grow business-es from the innovative minds in our state.

Jessie Brown (BS Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics, 2011)I was chosen in April 2020 as a Forbeck Scholar for the Forbeck Forum on Targeted Therapies in Pediatric Cancers. Also, while NYC and Columbia have been on PAUSE I have helped organize and run a Virtual COVID-19 Symposium over Zoom which high-lights the most up-to-date work on SARS-CoV-2, not only scientifically, but also the pandemics effects on society such as the economy, mental health and poverty. COVID-19 Virtual Symposium Series | Video channel

Mark Leick

LaKeisha McClary

Thusitha Muhandiramlage

Dominique Villele


Ashley Head (PhD Chemistry, 2011)My husband Jeff and I welcomed our second daughter in July 2019.

Meytal Shtayer Fabrikant (BS Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics, 2011)I am in the last year of my Hematology/Oncology Fellowship at GW University Hospi-tal.

Brett Stoll (BS Chemistry, 2011)Production Manager at Novipax, LLC.

Mary-Helen Wanat (BS Biochemistry, 2011)I work as an Epidemiologist at the Maricopa County Department of Public Health col-lecting and analyzing data related to non-fatal opioid overdose events and hepatitis C.

Ashley Zappia (BS Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics, 2011)I received the Roche Support Network Team Player Award in 2018. I was nominated for the Indiana Women in Hi Tech “You Inspire Us” award for 2020. I was highlighted as an outstanding STEM education volunteer in 2020 for the Techpoint Foundation for Youth.

t Aubri Carman (BS Biochemistry, 2012) After my undergrad at UArizona, I stayed in Tucson to pursue medical school. After my third year of medical school, I took a research year and was awarded a Doris Duke fellowship that afforded me the opportunity to live and work in Kampala, Uganda, studying pediatric sickle cell disease. I did my residency training in Emergency Medi-cine at Maricopa Medical Center (now Valleywise Health) in Phoenix for three amaz-ing years. During residency, I worked with the WHO Emergency, Trauma, and Acute Care Program to create tools for improving emergency care in low-resource settings. I am now starting a fellowship in Pediatric Emergency Medicine at Dell Children’s Hospital/UT Austin for the next two years and hope to have a career balancing gen-eral/adult emergency medicine and subspecialty pediatric emergency medicine while maintaining some of my global projects. Feel free to contact me if you want to discuss medical school, emergency medicine, or global health and how your biochemistry degree can help you!

t Logan Robinson (BS CHEE & Chemistry minor, 2012) Hello! I’m Logan Robinson, a Chemical Engineering and UBRP Alum (2012) and currently the Divisional Engineering Manager for Nestlé Purina overseeing nearly $250,000,000 in capital investments across our four rapidly growing Litter Factories.

My experience at the University of Arizona in CBC, CHEE, CE, and undergraduate research were truly some of the most impactful moments of my life and set me up for a successful career pursuing a combination of my many passions that I developed at UArizona.

After I graduated, I moved from Tucson to the Mid-West to work for Nestlé Purina in an area known as the Quad Cities which rests on the Mississippi River in Iowa and Illinois. While in Iowa, I got to be part of a new process design and product launch for one of our top brands. From Iowa, I moved to Western New York and got to lead some large projects including a waste water treatment process for our factory in Dunkirk, New York. I also got to experience a 100-year storm in which my house was com-pletely buried in snow. I remember asking my realtor when I first moved out there in the summer why all the fire hydrants had 10 foot poles attached to them. After that storm, I didn’t need to ask that question anymore. In the years following my time in New York, I have moved back to Arizona, back to Iowa, and then out to California all with Nestlé Purina fulfilling various roles and responsibilities at our different factories.

Aubri Carman

Logan Robinson


Currently, I am leading as our End to End Manager for our new $100,000,000 lightweight litter factory in Bloomfield, Missouri. I have been responsible for cradle to grave management which included design, procurement, construction, opera-tional startup, and qualification. This has been an 18-month project, and we are set to produce our first saleable products here in July. I have been fortunate to have an opportunity that has combined my past experiences in research, chemistry, chemical engineering, and civil engineering into a career in which I need all of those experienc-es to be successful. The best part so far has been the different types of people from around the country that I have had the privilege of working with. Everywhere I have been has been an amazing experience both in my career and outside of work living and experiencing the different cultures around our country.

Syna Daudfar (BS Biochemistry, 2013)I’m working as a resident physician in the emergency department at Maricopa Hospi-tal.

Christopher Kosters (BS Chemistry, 2013) uEarlier this year I was promoted to Senior Synthetic Chemist at Corden Pharma, aPharmaceutical CDMO.

Marvin O’ketch (BS Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics, 2013; PhD Immunobiology, 2018) u As an Associate Director, Immunobiology, at Systems Oncology, Scottsdale AZ, Marvin applies his expertise in biochemistry and immunology to the identification of novel cancer targets and development of targeted therapeutics.

Carolina Pusec (BS Biochemistry, 2013) uI finished my PhD in biological sciences/metabolism at Northwestern University in 2018! I did a short post-doctoral fellowship in Dr. Brian Layden’s laboratory at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC). During this time, I was applying for medical school and ended up at UIC’s College of Medicine program! I just finished my first year of medical school where I work part time in Dr. Layden’s laboratory studying fatty liver disease. My hope is to become a physician scientist specializing in preventive med-icine. My boyfriend and I hope to get married in the near future (post-covid19) and hope to match together for residency in Chicago.

Carly Schnoebelen (BS Biochemistry, 2013)I recently started a new position as a chemistry professor at Chandler-Gilbert Commu-nity College.

t Luis Torres Figueroa (MA Chemistry, 2013)I just celebrated my 5th year working at Western Emulsions, a subsidiary of Idaho Asphalt Supply, a company that supplies asphalt and pavement preservation products, since January 2015. In 2018 I was promoted to the Regional Techni-cal Manager position, to provide technical and quality support for 3 facilities in Arizona and California. As part of this role, I am very involved with formulation work, overseeing the technical aspects, and supporting the quality control at these 3 locations. COVID-19 has been a little bit frustrating, because it has stopped work-related travel to conferences, training, and outreach that is part of my role. However, my work since April has shifted a little bit to production process im-provement and support, more formulation and product compliance testing.

Christopher Kosters

Marvin O’ketch

Carolina Pusec

Louis Torres Figueroa


t Duyen Vo (BS Biochemistry & Chemistry, 2013) I am currently in my 3rd year of medical school at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.

Jeremy Gantz (PhD Chemistry, 2014)I am a scientist at Nike, where I was an innovation manager overseeing a group of 10 scientists for 3 years. Recently I moved to another role which focuses on innovation.

Erzsebet Hickey (BS Chemistry, 2014)I am currently employed at Natera (San Carlos location) working as a QC Reagent Associate I. At Natera I am working in a GLP and GMP laboratory environment to prep and qualify reagents, review data obtained by qualification procedure for compli-ance to specifications and reports and resolve abnormalities by coordinating with appropriate departments, review and revise documentation as needed to ensure the documentation is not missing important information and matches the production workflows, assist co-workers in prep and qualification of reagents, and verify that the reagents are qualified correctly and in a timely manner for production use.

Bianca Montoya (BS Chemistry, 2014)I am currently finishing up my first semester in the MEPN program at UArizona.

Sophia Park (BS Biochemistry, 2014)I’m enrolled in a PhD program at ETH Zurich in Switzerland.

t Alexandra Petlick (MS Chemistry, 2014)My husband, Dmitry Khuseynov (fellow CBC alum, PhD 2014, Sanov group), and I were married in 2017 with several CBC friends in attendance. Our son, Oliver, was born in early 2020.

Sho Taniguchi (BS Biochemistry and MCB, 2014) uAfter 4 years of undergrad, I continued my education at UArizona and graduated with a Masters of Public Health in Epidemiol-ogy. There I found my passion in dental public health. After my Master’s, I worked for a year at a non-profit in Phoenix work-ing on providing resources for community health centers, tackling legislative priori-ties impacting oral health, and collaborat-ing with stakeholders to determine best practices to better the community. With such experience, I am now a 4th year dental student at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine in Boston! My hope is to do a residency after graduation to expand my dental skills and to be able to help more people with their oral health. Even with all of that, I still love my free time! I enjoy playing video games, classic board games, hiking, and traveling around the East Coast.

t Peter Verhey (BS Biochemistry, 2014) Bought my first home during Memorial Day weekend.

Duyen Vo

Alexandra Petlick with Dmitry Khuseynov and Oliver

Peter Verhey Sho Taniguchi


Louis Chavez (BS Biochemistry, 2015) uMy time at the University of Arizona provided me with a great network of supportive friends, colleagues, and mentors. If you’re new to UArizona, check out some of the intramural sports, honoraries, clubs or other organizations that you might be interest-ed in! I was involved with Freshman Class Council, Arizona Ambassadors, The Student Health Advocacy Committee, Arizona Allegiance Honorary, Mortar Board, studying abroad (in Ecuador), and the Running Club while I was at UArizona. In addition, I worked in Eli Chapman’s laboratory, studying the effects of four viral proteins involved with the human cytomegalovirus (HCMV). All the organizations and activities I was involved with helped provide me with great experiences and friendships that have lasted well beyond graduation.

I took one year off after graduating in 2015 and after that year, I packed up my be-longings and moved east to start a career in Chicago as a Forensic Chemist with the Drug Enforcement Administration—a career that has been challenging and rewarding. I’ve learned the ins and outs of some highly technical instrumentation (some of which we learned about in O Chem!), and how to use these instruments to quantitatively and qualitatively identify unknown compounds.

Cheryl Cheah (BS Biochemistry, 2015) uI am a rising pediatric intern at UCSF. Some of my most memorable and formative ex-periences in life and career were created at UArizona. After graduation, I took a year off to conduct research at the Arizona Respiratory Center and scribe at an orthopedic surgery clinic. Then, I packed up my winter coats and boots (that were largely inade-quate) for Michigan, where I went to medical school! I dabbled in various community and clinical research projects, exploring topics like gender differences in total joint replacements, asthma inhaler education, nutrition education in pediatrics, and opioid addiction education. Four years of frigid winters in “the mitten” proved too much for the Arizonan in me, so I was thrilled to return to the West coast for pediatric residen-cy. Down the road, I’m interested in working with the youngest of the pediatric pop-ulation, hopefully pursuing a fellowship in neonatology. In my free time, I like to run, swim and hike. The foodie in me also loves trying new cuisines and baking recipes that involve coffee or tea!

Guadalupe Davila (BS Biochemistry, 2015) uGuadalupe is an M.D. Candidate, Class of 2020, University of Arizona College of Med-icine . She will be part of the first recipients of the Primary Care Physician Scholarship award. Through this financial support she will be able to emphasis her passion and devotion to serve the underrepresented population in Arizona as well as the commu-nities facing inequality health care.

Kristy Roberts Hilt (BA Chemistry, 2015)Teaching high school chemistry in Colorado

Aileen Leyva (BS Biochemistry, 2015) uI am still working at Roche Tissue Diagnostics (my first adult job out of college) here in Tucson. I will be celebrating my 5-year anniversary in October! I am also celebrating that I wrapped up my MBA studies and just recently closed on my first house!

Louis Chavez

Cheryl Cheah

Guadalupe Davila

Aileen Leyva


t Celestina Mesa (BS Biochemistry, 2015) Attending the University of Arizona College of Pharmacy for PharmD. I was recently elected the Secretary for the College of Pharmacy.

t Yvonne Ng (BS Chemistry, 2015) After 4 years of undergrad, I continued my education at UArizona and graduated with a Doctor of Pharmacy. During pharmacy school, I coordinated and participated in various health fairs throughout the underserved communities in Arizona. One of my passions is serving the rural population. I also participated in various clinical research projects, exploring topics like apixaban use in older adults and reactivation rate of hepatitis B in oncology patients receiving rituximab. After graduating with my PharmD, I completed my pharmacy residency in California. Now, I am an ambulatory care pharmacist. I hope to continue to volunteer at health fairs and to serve our rural communities. During my free time, I enjoy volunteering at health fairs, watching dra-mas, cooking, hiking, and traveling.

t Haley (Kent) Stancyzk (BS Biochemistry, 2015) I got married and started a family. My daughter is currently 6 months old, and we are loving life on our ten acres in Kentucky.

t Kellen Coulson (BS Chemistry, 2016) Since graduating from the University of Arizona I have been working as Medical Labo-ratory Scientist at Sonora Quest Laboratories. For a job that I had never heard of until I started working it, it has become incredibly relevant. Due to the pandemic this career has been put on full blast as we are the ones performing, reviewing, and resulting the covid-19 test results as well as many other medical lab tests. I have had a pretty grat-ifying experience in knowing the contributions being made to help or maintain the health of the local community. It is a great career for someone who enjoys working in a laboratory and due to the recent events, it is very in demand.

Aside from my career, if I could give any one advice for anyone in college, it is to get involved. I had no idea what I wanted to do well into senior year. Because of this I took a shotgun approach at trying everything. Get into research, become a student worker – work in the preparation room, preceptor, tutor, try anything you’re interested in. The director of business analytics for Kroenke (owns the LA Rams, Denver Nuggets etc.) is a chemistry graduate who participated in a sports analytics club in college. Life will take you places you don’t expect, and 2020 is prime example. As a chemistry or biochemistry student, you know the importance of hard work.

John De Lorenzo (BS Chemistry, 2016) uJohn graduated with a BS in Chemistry and a BA in Italian Language & Literature in 2016. Since then, he’s worked with several small business startups and helped to fundraise for their projects in differing industries.

John started with American Green Hearts (AGH) in 2011 and 2012 as a tech consultant for its small agricultural venture which was put on pause, later to rejoin them in 2015 to help prepare their business plan and financial projections. AGH shifted its focus from a proposed greenhouse cultivation operation of then-newly-decriminalized hemp and cannabis, to include wider-scale operations of wholesale and retail sales, manufacturing, and lab testing. The project transferred its base from Tucson to Los Angeles, and John spent 6 months helping to locate potential sites for licensing, nego-tiating lease terms, entering into leases, supply contracts, and consulting agreements for AGH. The project is currently on hold while LA City undergoes licensing reforms.

In 2016, John pursued his first house flip with the help of his family and a local realtor, getting into real estate investing. Many of his skills crafting spreadsheets and per-forming data analyses while working as an undergraduate researcher in the Henry K. Hall, Jr., lab for polymer sciences were readily transferable to identifying and evalu-

Celestina Mesa

Yvonne Ng

Haley (Kent) Stancyzk

Kellen Coulson


ating potential investment opportunities. There was still plenty to learn about home improvement, hiring workers, buying materials, and marketing a property. It took three times longer to finish a project, but still came out on top with a modest profit. However, a lot of hard lessons paid off and some other local investors took interest, including his own family, and John went on to co-found a local real estate investment company in 2019, JLJ Capital, along with two other real estate investors. JLJ continues to buy, improve, and sell single-family homes in Tucson, with plans to grow operations to include new development, construction, and lend-ing over the next few years.

In addition to his real estate-based activities, John is also working with a UArizona Alumni-founded specialty gourmet mushroom farm, Desert Pearl Mushrooms (DPM). A few of his fellow classmates with Italian, science, and engineering backgrounds banded together in 2018 to start the company. John joined later in 2019 to help the garage-based farm-

ing operation move to a much larger warehouse space near Speedway and I-10. After the COVID-19 pandemic hit Tucson, John and DPM’s core founders pushed to expand their product offerings and business model to pivot along these trying times. The small business atmosphere and the shared drive to solve problems compose a nurtur-ing environment for creativity, resourcefulness, exploration, and entrepreneurship.

John continues to appreciate and benefit from his studies in Chemistry and science in general. He is very thankful for the opportunities afforded to him as a result of his STEM education, networking in college, skills trained in research, and overall love of learning. Outside of work, John maintains a few hobbies and a lovely romance, sharing some common interests - John’s life partner and fiancée, Sunnie, also tends to her own pursuits in real estate, aviation, and publishing. John and Sunnie’s wildly different backgrounds and life experiences supplement their strong friendship and complement their romantic relationship. They each have a profound influence on and support each other’s goals. Together, John and Sunnie make time for their families in Arizona and Missouri and hope to start one of their own soon.

Denisse (Cuarteros) Devine (BA Biochemistry, 2016) uEmployed as Reagent Process Lead at Roche Tissue Diagnostics. Brand Influencer for Addilyn Styles. Member of Advisory Council at Harvard Business Review, and MBA Student at Denver University. I just recently received my Six Sigma Yellow Belt for Design Reliability and Manufacturing.

Kassidy Tompkins (BS Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics, 2016) uI am a 4th year PhD Candidate in the Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Molecular Biology program at the University of Minnesota. My wife, Bailey (Lahtinen) Tompkins, who was also a UArizona Biochemistry graduate and is now a nurse, and I had our first baby, Wilder, born last year.

Karey (Armenta) Viramontes (BSED Chemistry, 2016) uI received my undergrad degree in chemistry & secondary education from the best university in Arizona! I am now 4 years out of college and currently work as a high school chemistry teacher in Phoenix. While we are ALL currently experiencing the strain of this pandemic, COVID19 has put an especially large amount of pressure on education. Despite this, each day this year I have become more and more amazed by the resiliency of my students and their willingness to learn despite the circumstances.

John De Lorenzo

Denisse (Cuarteros) Devine

Kassidy Tompkins with Bailey (Lahtinen) Tompkins and Wilder

Karey (Armenta) Viramontes


They are a breath of fresh air during a time where truly there isn’t much. Because of this, today I am especially grateful for the career I chose and the kids I am so lucky to call my students!

t Udeep Chawla (PhD Biochemistry, 2017) After I finished my Ph.D. in Prof. Michael Brown’s lab, where I had an awesome time, I joined as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Kentucky. I worked with Prof. Emily Galperin and Prof. David Rodgers on protein crystallography enhancing my research skills. I really enjoyed my postdoctoral experience. In 2020, I went back to India and joined as an Assistant Professor at Glocal University, Uttar Pradesh, India. Here I have the opportunity to collect serum samples from diabetic patients and test for natural compounds for the treatment of the disease. In addition, I am also Director of Jag-riti Tinkering Lab, an organization to provide education in advanced technology to orphans and underprivileged students in rural areas in Delhi. I am looking forward to excel in my new ventures and would be happy if I can make valuable contributions to the scientific community.

t Iman Daryaei (PhD Chemistry, 2017) I founded a biotechnology company called TheraCea Pharma (see page 12), which is developing novel chemical process for the preparation of diagnostic agents for PET imaging. I am currently the CEO of the company. My company was awarded a Small Business grant from NIH/NIBIB.

t Lauren Koch (BS Biochemistry and MCB, 2017) After my fabulous 4 years in sunny Tucson, I packed up and moved back to my home state of Michigan to pursue a PhD in Cell & Developmental Biology at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. After a few months in my PhD lab, my mentor accepted a chair position at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, so I packed up again and have now spent 2 years in the lab studying a lifelong population of regionally restricted skeletal stem cells in development and beyond. I’ve had a blast in my lab, but over time I’ve realized it’s not the right fit for me, so I’m moving (again!) to Ann Arbor to switch to a new PhD lab. To all the incoming CBC students, I hope you have an amaz-ing experience at UArizona that inspires you to pursue your dream program and/or career! Don’t be afraid to seek out what you want and forge your own path! Stay healthy and Bear Down!

Gloria Le (Biochemistry and MCB, 2017) uAfter my 4 years in the CBC lounge, I have successfully transitioned into the wilder-ness as a research associate at Roche Tis-sue Diagnostics for the past 3 years. Here, I improve Roche cancer diagnostic systems by applying analyses at the intersection of assay, hardware, and software. It has been an extremely challenging role, but a worth-while experience. I am still well-involved with UArizona as a CMM masters student and as a Senior Design Mentor through the College of Engineering. I hope to continue my industry career to understand how we can improve patient lives. I still find time to pursue extra fun rock climbing, visiting my fellow CBC alumni, and experiencing new things! I chase personal growth and love pushing myself mentally and physically.

Udeep Chawla

Iman Daryaei

Lauren Koch

Gloria Le


David Renner (BS Biochemistry, 2017)PhD candidate in Microbiology, Parasitology and Virology at the University of Pennsyl-vania. Mentored by Dr. Susan Weiss.

Victor Ruiz (BS Biochemistry, 2017) uI am in my 4th professional year of pharmacy school. I am currently employed with Walgreens as a pharmacy intern and also at the University of Arizona College of Phar-macy as a research associate in the field of pharmaceutics.

Jonathan Samuel (BS Chemistry, 2017) uAfter graduation, I backpacked with some friends around Czech Republic, Italy, Ger-many & other countries in Europe! I returned immediately after to finish a few more years at UArizona and have recently graduated with an extra degree and three-quar-ters in both Chemical Engineering & Mathematics–Probability & Stats (technically 2 classes short from a math degree, but who’s counting?). I have just signed with a pharmaceutical-tech start-up in the Washington D.C. area, where I will be working as a Junior Scientist with many hats (process engineer, data scientist & organic chem-ist). I am excited about the responsibilities and challenges that lie ahead. I hope all the incoming CBC students enjoy their journey at UArizona. I know these times are unfavorable and create a great challenge, but stay persistent and achieve everything you desire within your professional career! On a side note, I am a portrait & fine-art photographer who enjoys experimental/psychedelic music along with some great coffee.

Bryce Tipton (BS Chemistry, 2017)Employed as biological science technician at the National Genomics Center in Mis-soula, Montana.

Kimberly (Widrick) Doty (BS Biochemistry, 2017)I am currently in the PhD program for BME at UArizona and simultaneously pursuing a Master’s of Science in the College of Optics. I recently married my college sweet-heart.

Brandon Goldenberg (BS Biochemistry, 2018)I am at Georgia Institute of Technology pursuing a M.S. in Computer Science.

Christopher Marshall (BS Chemistry, 2018)I currently work as a formulation chemist at Accelerate Diagnostics in Tucson, AZ.

James McNamara (BS Biochemistry 2018)I currently work at the Ivy Brain Tumor Center at Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix while I apply to medical school.

Anthony Raviele (BS Biochemistry, 2018)Postdoctoral Fellowship at Indiana University School of Medicine (T32 Fellowship program)

Kathia Antillon (BS Chemistry, 2019)I am a PhD. student at the University of Kansas in the Medicinal Chemistry Depart-ment. I work under Dr. Mark Farrell and our research focuses on glyco-chemical biology and the ways modification of sugars on cell surfaces can impact the immune system. I was recently awarded the Madison and Lila Self Graduate Fellowship at the University of Kansas, one of the highest offered fellowships for graduate students at KU. The Self Fellowship will fund my research for the next 4 years and provide me with different professional opportunities to enrich my doctoral education.

Victor Ruiz

Jonathan Samuel


Hongxi Guo (BS Biochemistry, 2019)Currently working at a biotechnology company. Going to University College London for graduate study in immunity in the fall.

Emma Harrell (BS Biochemistry, 2019)I am attending UTSW Medical Center as a Cell and Molecular Biology graduate stu-dent. I recently joined the Center for Alzheimer’s and Neurodegenerative Diseases (CAND) under the joint mentorship of Drs. Lukasz Joachimiak and Marc Diamond.

Metin Karayilan (PhD Chemistry, 2019)I am a Postdoctoral Associate at Duke University. I was recently selected as a 2020-2021 Preparing Future Faculty (PFF) Fellow by Duke University Graduate School. https://gradschool.duke.edu/professional-development/programs/preparing-fu-ture-faculty

t Steven Le (BS Chemistry, 2019) Well met, everyone! I am Steven Le: Analytical Chemist, Laboratory Technician of MGC Pure Chemicals America Inc., and 2019 alumnus of University of Arizona’s CBC program. Hailing from Yuma, Arizona, I was always curious on understanding how and why things work which led me to major in Chemistry at UArizona. There, I refined my interest into analytical chemistry and involved myself in many roles from outreach volunteer at UA SMACS (colloquially the Chemistry Club) to preceptor for Introductory Chemistry to even Food Service (yes, even that experience can be valuable).

Eventually, I would then serve in Quality Control roles for Laboratory Technician for Gowan Milling and now for MGC Pure Chemicals America Inc. If you enjoy working with precision and consistency and also have a love for instrumentation and numbers, analytical chemistry is worth exploring (and has so many other applications). The whirling and humming noises of operating instrumentation is sweet music to my ears, and I honestly enjoy weighing out samples more than I should (100.0001g instead of 100.0002g? YESSSSSSSSS).

I still have quite a ways to go in my Chemistry journey, and though the end goal remains clouded, it’s certainly more clear (or at least less blurry?) than where I began. If you don’t know exactly what you want to be, you can at least learn what you don’t want to be instead. My advice: breathe, be open-minded, keep learning, remain consistent, and reflect. Chemistry can be a challenging subject, but so long as you can invest the effort, think critically about yourself and the task at hand, and muster the will, your journey will work out, even if the result may not be what you imagined.

t James Stanfill (PhD Chemistry, 2019) Employed as an “Applications Scientist” at Nanoscience Instruments in Phoenix, supporting the demonstration and sale of Electron Microscopes and Electrospinning Machines.

Connor Tully (BS Chemistry, 2019)I am working as a legal assistant at a law firm in Tucson while studying to take the LSAT. I will attend law school in the Fall of 2021.

Steven Le

James Stanfill

online extras department of chemistry and ......katie smith (phd biochemistry, 1976) i am retired...

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