USF Graduate Program in Chemistry

MS Chemistry graduates from the class of 2024 are starting an exciting new chapter in their scientific training.

Keana Davis (left) has started her PhD studies at the University of California, San Francisco in the Biophysics Program.

Clifford Leung (right) joined the Chemistry PhD Program at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Best of luck, Keana and Clifford!

Dr. Herman Nikolayevskiy’s group had their article accepted in the Journal of Organic Chemistry. The article, entitled “Mechanistic Analysis of 5-Hydroxy γ-Pyrones as Michael Acceptor Prodrugs” features research conducted by Clifford Leung (MS ’24), Umyeena Bashir (MS ’23), William Karney,  Mark G. Swanson, and Herman Nikolayevskiy. Congrats everyone on publishing this exciting new work.

Professor Amrita Bhattacharyya has received a one-million-dollar grant from the Department of Energy for her project entitled “Deciphering the Role of Anaerobic Microsites for Hot Spot/Hot Moment Dynamics of Metal Redox Chemistry and Methane Emissions within Riverine Floodplains.” With collaborators from USF (Amalia Kokkinaki), CSU East Bay, and SLAC, Dr. Bhattacharyya and her research students will investigate metal redox processes and methane emissions at terrestrial-aquatic interfaces.

Recent MS graduate Tiffany Alvarez ’23  (pictured here with her thesis advisor, Dr. Michael Stevenson) just started a Ph.D. program at Emory University. Best of luck, Tiff!

Clifford Leung ’24 won 3rd place for the Best Poster Award at the Bay Area Chemistry Symposium for his work entitled “Development and Mechanistic Analysis of Covalent Inhibitors Against Sortase A Activity in Staphylococcus aureus Bacteria.” We are super proud of Clifford, as most of the participants were Ph.D. students and post-docs. Congrats, Clifford!