The Team

Postdoctoral fellows

Eva Maria Alvarez-Pari, Ph. D.

🇧🇴

Postdoctoral Fellow (joined August 2022)

St. Elmo Brady Postdoctoral Excellence Award 2024

Ph.D. Chemistry, Max Planck Institute, 2022

(with Professor Tobias Ritter)

M.S. Chemistry, University of Oxford (with Professor Michael Willis)

and Friedrich-Alexander-Universität (with Professor Markus Heinrich)

I was born in Bolivia and I am interested in the discovery of new synthetic methodologies to tackle current issues in organic synthesis for the development of valuable building blocks for drug discovery. I am a Lindau Alumni who has selected to participate in 2017 for the Nobel Laurate Meeting in Chemistry. Through an ERASMUS fellowship, I moved to Europe to pursue my Masters degree in chemistry where I conducted research in the laboratories of Prof. Willis at the University of Oxford and Prof. Heinrich at the Friedrich-Alexander-Universität. I then moved to the Max Planck Institute for Organic Synthesis where I obtained my PhD under the mentorship of Prof. Ritter. I joined the Malapit group to work at the interface of organometallic chemistry and electrocatalysis for the discovery of novel organic reactions. Outside the lab, I am interested in hiking and outdoor activities or traveling.

Contact: evamariawara.alvarezpari@northwestern.edu

Jake Evans, Ph. D.

🇺🇸

Postdoctoral Fellow (joined August 2024)

IIN Postdoctoral Fellow

Ph.D. Chemistry, California Institute of Technology, 2024

(with Prof. Nate Lewis )

B.S. Chemistry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 2019

(with Prof. James Cahoon)

Jake grew up in Fuguay-Varina, NC before attending UNC-Chapel Hill fro college, where he gained a love for college basketball. Jake performed research in the lab of Jim Cahoon while at UNC, then decided to continue his education, earning his PhD from Caltech in 2024 working in the lab of Nate Lewis. Jake joined the Malapit lab at Northwestern and is excited to use his expertise in materials and mechanistic electrochemistry to solve challenging questions on underlying the mechanisms in electrosynthesis and energy/CO2 storage. Jake enjoys science outreach, especially at the K-8 level, and outside of lab can usually be found cooking up something new in the kitchen.

Contact: john.evans@northwestern.edu

Enqi Feng, Ph. D.

🇨🇳

Postdoctoral Fellow (joined November 2024)

Ph.D. Chemistry, Washington University in St. Louis, 2024

(with Prof. Kevin Moeller )

B.S. Chemistry, Xiamen University, 2019

(with Prof. Hai-Chao Xu)

Enqi grew up in Jinan and obtained his bachelor’s degree at Xiamen University. There, he started his undergraduate research in organic electrochemistry under the guidance of Prof. Xu. After graduating in 2019, Enqi decided to join Prof. Moeller’s lab at WashU in St. Louis pursuing his Ph.D. degree. His Ph.D. research focused on inducing selectivity in electrochemical reactions by modifying the electrode surface. In 2024, Enqi joined Prof. Malapit's lab as a postdoc and is working on the utility of electrochemistry towards the development of new cross-coupling reactions. Outside the lab, Enqi enjoys hiking, watching soccer, playing golf and cooking.

Contact: enqi.feng@northwestern.edu

Graduate students (PhD in Chemistry)

🇺🇸🇸🇪

Stella Fors

Graduate student (joined Fall 2021)

stellafors2026@u.northwestern.edu

2024 Mirzayan Fellow, National Academy of Sciences

2024 ACS CIBA Award in Green Chemistry

NSF GRFP, Honorable mention, 2021

B.S. Chemistry, 2020

University of California Los Angeles (UCLA)

Research with Prof. Hosea Nelson

Stella grew up near San Francisco and escaped the Bay Area gloom by moving to Los Angeles to pursue her undergraduate degree at UCLA. While at UCLA, she researched Au-mediated catalysis under Professor Hosea Nelson. After graduating in 2020, Stella worked as a polymer chemist at HRL Laboratories in Malibu. In 2021, she started her PhD at Northwestern. When she's not in lab, you can find her trail running, practicing yoga, spending time with her cat, and getting together with friends.

🇯🇵

An Kitamura

Graduate student (joined Fall 2021)

ankitamura@u.northwestern.edu

Quad Fellow by Schmidt Futures, 2023

B.S. Chemistry, 2021

Carleton College

Research with Prof. Deborah Gross

I'm from Kanagawa, Japan. My research interests are in organic and electrochemistry. In the Malapit group at Northwestern, I'm currently working on utilizing principles in physical organic chemistry towards the design and synthesis of redox-active organic molecules for potential application in energy storage technology. Outside of research, I enjoy photography and ice skating.

🇺🇸

Emily Mahoney

Graduate student (joined Fall 2021)

emilymahoney2026@u.northwestern.edu

NSF GRFP Fellow 2022-2025

2024 ACS ENFL Research Award, Gold Prize

B.S. Chemistry, 2021

Rochester Institute of Technology

Research with Prof. Hans Schmitthenner

Emily is from Cazenovia, a small town in upstate New York that is centered around an even smaller lake. When she is home she loves to swim, hike, climb and take her dog on walks. Emily attended Rochester Institute of Technology where she earned her bachelors degree in chemistry in 2021. At RIT, she focused on the synthesis of dyes utilized as cancer imaging agents. After taking a summer to travel and scuba dive, she came to Northwestern to begin her PhD. In the Malapit group, Emily is working on organic redox flow batteries and is very excited to be doing something that contributes to sustainable energy use in the future.

🇺🇸

Griffin Stewart

Graduate student (joined Fall 2022)

griffinstewart2027@u.northwestern.edu

NSF GRFP Fellow 2024-2027

B.S. Chemistry, 2021

Georgia Institute of Technology

Research with Prof. Seth Marder

I am a small town Southerner-turned-city person. My interest in chemistry ignited late in my high school days at the Mississippi School for Math and Science, and I have gained a special interest in sustainability, watching what pollution and climate change driven catastrophes have done to my home region in the deep south/Gulf of Mexico. In my free time, I enjoy cooking, brewing mead, painting my place with my high school sweetheart, and playing bridge.

🇨🇳

Jessica Zhong

Graduate student (joined Fall 2022)

weiyuzhong2027@u.northwestern.edu

B.A. Chemistry, 2022

Colgate University

Research with Prof. Ernest Nolen

Jessica spent her childhood in Chengdu, Hong Kong, and Charlotte, NC. She earned her bachelor's in Chemistry at Colgate University, where she focused on the synthesis of Tn antigen mimics for glycoconjugate cancer vaccine development. Beginning a new chapter of her life at Northwestern, Jessica is excited to be working on reaction discovery using the powerful tools of organometallic chemistry, organic synthesis, and electrocatalysis. Besides chemistry, Jessica is also passionate about ballet, ice skating, and late night karaoke.

Visiting research scholars

Diego Rojas

Graduate student, Year 0 (Summer 2024)

Northwestern University

BS in Chemistry, 2024

University of Michigan

Research with Prof. Alison Narayan

Diego is from Rockville, Maryland, and received his BS in Chemistry from the University of Michigan. During his time in Ann Arbor, he worked in the lab of Professor Alison Narayan harnessing biocatalytic oxidations for total synthesis. Outside of the lab, he enjoys watching sports and swimming.

Undergraduate students

Rossul Aldhufari

Undergraduate researcher (joined Winter 2022)

rossulaldhufari2025@u.northwestern.edu

BS in Chemistry (class of 2025)

Northwestern University

Arch Scholar and Posner Fellow, 2022

SURG Fellow, 2023

Chris Rapala

Undergraduate researcher (joined Summer 2023)

christopherrapala2026@u.northwestern.edu

BS in Chemistry (class of 2026)

Northwestern University

ACS DOC SURF Award, 2024

Baker Research Scholar, 2023

I'm a Northwestern undergraduate from West Dundee, a small town in the Chicago suburbs, so Evanston and nearby Chicago is familiar but much more accessible, which is exciting. I've always known I would be in chemistry since the early days of baking soda and vinegar volcanoes; furthering my exploration of the field has proven extremely valuable. Seeing the application of the chemical techniques in solving real-world problems is definitely one of my favorite parts of chemistry, especially organic chemistry. Hands-on, precise work like this is also what I love to do in my time off--I dabble in baking and gardening, but I also enjoy being an actor and audience member for Northwestern theatre.

Ian Vanswearingen

Undergraduate researcher (joined Winter 2022)

ian.vanswearingen@northwestern.edu

BS in Chemistry; BS in Physics (class of 2025)

University of Illinois at Chicago

REU Fellowship, International Institute for Nanotechnology