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)
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M.S. Chemistry, University of Oxford (with Professor Michael Willis)
and Friedrich-Alexander-Universität (with Professor Markus Heinrich)
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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.
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In the Fall of 2025, Eva will be starting her new lab at the University of Virginia as a tenure-track assistant professor of chemistry.
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Jake Evans, Ph. D.
🇺🇸
Postdoctoral Fellow (joined August 2024)
IIN Postdoctoral Fellow
Ph.D. Chemistry, California Institute of Technology, 2024
(with Prof. Nate Lewis)
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B.S. Chemistry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 2019
(with Prof. James Cahoon)
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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.
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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)
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B.S. Chemistry, Xiamen University, 2019
(with Prof. Hai-Chao Xu)
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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.
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Contact: enqi.feng@northwestern.edu
SangHyun Lee, Ph. D.
​🇰🇷
Postdoctoral Fellow (joined February 2025)
Ph.D. Chemistry, University of Texas at Austin, 2024
(with Prof. Kami Hull)
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M.S. Chemistry, University of San Diego (with Prof. Valerie Schmidt)
B.S. Chemistry, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
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SangHyun was born and raised in Changwon, South Korea. She earned her B.S. in Chemistry at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She obtained her M.S. in chemistry at University of California at San Diego where she investigated transition metal-catalyzed decarbonylative/decarboxylative cross-coupling reactions under the supervision of Professor Valerie Schmidt. She then moved to University of Texas at Austin and completed her Ph.D. in Chemistry under the guidance of Prof. Kami Hull. Her doctoral research focused on developing Cu-catalyzed oxidative olefin difunctionalization reactions and their mechanistic investigations. In 2025, she joined the Malapit group where she is interested in developing novel electrochemical organic transformations through the merger of transition metal-catalysis and electrochemistry. Outside of the lab, she enjoys listening to new music, watching movies, and trying good restaurants.
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Contact: sanghyun.lee@northwestern.edu
Graduate students (PhD in Chemistry)
🇺🇸🇸🇪
Stella Fors
Graduate student (joined Fall 2021)
stellafors2026@u.northwestern.edu
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2024 Mirzayan Fellow, National Academy of Sciences
2024 ACS CIBA Award in Green Chemistry
NSF GRFP, Honorable mention, 2021
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B.S. Chemistry, 2020
University of California Los Angeles (UCLA)
Research with Prof. Hosea Nelson
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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)
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Quad Fellow by Schmidt Futures, 2023
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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
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2024 ACS ENFL Research Award, Gold Prize
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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.
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Griffin Stewart
Graduate student (joined Fall 2022)
griffinstewart2027@u.northwestern.edu
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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
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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.
🇺🇸
Michael Garza
Graduate student (joined Fall 2024)
MicahelGarza2029@u.northwestern.edu
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B.S. Biochemistry, 2025
University of Notre Dame
Research with Prof. Juan Del Valle
I'm from San Antonio, Texas and received my BS in Biochemistry from the University of Notre Dame. During this time, I worked on the synthesis of the natural product pseudouridimycin, a bacterial RNA polymerase inhibitor. At Northwestern, my interests now lie in methodology aimed at discovering new ways of achieving important chemical transformations in order to provide improved access to complex targets of medical relevance. Outside of lab I enjoy cooking new things and playing video games with my friends.
Visiting research scholars
Undergraduate students
Rossul Aldhufari
Undergraduate researcher (joined Winter 2022)
rossulaldhufari2025@u.northwestern.edu
BS in Chemistry (class of 2025)
Northwestern University
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Arch Scholar and Posner Fellow, 2022
SURG Fellow, 2023
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Chris Rapala
Undergraduate researcher (joined Summer 2023)
christopherrapala2026@u.northwestern.edu
BS in Chemistry (class of 2026)
Northwestern University
ACS DOC SURF Award, 2024
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
Come join us!
We are looking for talented graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, and undergraduate researchers. We are located along the shore of Lake Michigan and about 10 miles north of downtown Chicago.
Interested postdoctoral applicants should send an email to Christian with a cover letter and CV with contact information of at least two references.
Prospective graduate students should apply to the PhD program in Chemistry at Northwestern.
Undergraduate students looking for a research experience should email Christian with their resume.
Former members
Former postdocs and graduate students:
Dr. Maxime Boudjelel
Postdoctoral Fellow (March 2022 – April 2024)
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Current: Scientist, Merck
Postdoctoral scholar, UC Riverside, 2020-2022 (with Professor Richard Schrock)
Ph.D. Molecular Chemistry, Université Paul Sabatier, 2019
Former undergraduate and master students, visiting scholars
Jia Yap, MS
BS/MS student (Jan 2022 – May 2024)
Northwestern University
Henry Shavel
Undergraduate researcher (Jan 2022 – May 2024)
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Jinxiao Li
Visiting undergraduate scholar (July 2023 – May 2024)​
Current: PhD Student, University of Minnesota
Mohammed Ullah, MS
MS Chemistry (Dec 2022 – Nov 2023)
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Lorenzo Ballerini, MS
ERASMUS Visiting scholar (Jan–July 2023)
Dr. Yanqin He
Visiting Scholar (Feb 2022 - April 2023)​
Stephonda Lewis
NIH MARC Fellow, Visiting Scholar (Summer 2022)
Mira Goldstein
High school research intern (Summer 2022)​
Daniel Thomas
​Undergraduate researcher (Jan 2022 to Aug 2022)
Izzy Huang
Undergraduate researcher (Jan to June 2022)