Angela Sauers

Ph.D. Chemistry, 2006, Princeton University, NJ
B.S. Chemistry, 2002, Juniata College, MI

Angela Sauers is one of three students who spent a summer with the group through the Indiana University REU program. Angela received her B.S. Chemistry degree in 2002 and entered the graduate program in chemistry at Princeton University. She completed her Ph.D. in 2006 with Stefan Bernhard, and is currently an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at the University of Georgia.

Brittany Perkins

Ph.D. Chemistry, 2009, U. Arizona, AZ
B.S. Chemistry, 2004, Wheaton College, IL

Brittany Perkins is one of three students who spent a summer with the group through the Indiana University REU program. Brittany contributed to the enantioselective synthesis of the IAN amines. Brittany received her B.S. Chemistry degree in 2004 from Wheaton College and entered the graduate program in chemistry at the University of Arizona. She completed her Ph.D. in Chemistry (analytical/mass spectrometry) with Vicki Wysocki in 2009 and is currently a faculty member at Central New Mexico Community College.
Org. Lett. 2008, 10, 2445.

Courtney Conrad

B.S. Chemistry, 2005, Clarion College, IN

Courtney Conrad is one of three students who spent a summer with the group through the Indiana University REU program. Courtney contributed to the preparative scale synthesis of the IAN amines. She received her B.S. Chemistry degree in 2005 from Clarion College and entered dental school.

Daniel McMillan

Daniel McMillan was an REU participant in the Johnston lab during the summer of 2009. He will complete his bachelor's degree at New Mexico State University in 2010.

John Tellis

B.S., 2012, Elizabethtown College, PA

John is from Pottstown, Pennsylvania (not the Yuengling town...that’s Pottsville) and was supported by the NSF-REU at Vanderbilt. As a biochemistry major at Elizabethtown College, his research was directed toward the development and optimization of luminescence-based sensors. John conducted studies with chiral PBAM catalysts and their application to the Nutlin class of chemotherapeutics. John matriculated at U. Pennsylvania in their graduate program in chemistry, where he received a Ph.D. in 2016 under the mentorship of Prof. Gary Molander. In that year, he began at Genentech as a Sr. Scientist in medicinal chemistry.
J. Org. Chem. 2014, 79, 6913.

Weiwei Wang

B.S. Chemistry, 2013, Kalamazoo College, MI

Weiwei was born and raised in Nanjing, China. She enrolled at Kalamazoo College in 2009, and has worked with Professor Greg Slough as an undergraduate researcher studying solid phase synthesis. She joined us for the summer of 2012 with support from the Kalamazoo HHMI program. Weiwei developed a new reaction in our enantioselective catalysis program, for which she received 'Honors' as her Senior Individualized Project at Kalamazoo. Weiwei entered the graduate program in chemistry at Northwestern University in 2013 and joined the research group of Prof. Regan Thompson. She received her Ph.D. in Chemistry there in 2018, and accepted a position as Senior Scientist at Dow AgroSciences (IN).
J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2015, 137, 7302.

Victoria Lim

B.S. Chemistry and Math, 2015, Belmont University, TN

Vickie is from Spring Hill, Tennessee. She was an ACS SCI Scholar for the summer of 2013 at Croda, and an REU student at the University of Georgia in 2014 where she worked in the area of computational chemistry. Vickie was responsible for developing a large scale preparation of an aryl glycine donor for use in UmAS. Following a summer internship at Merck (NJ), she entered the graduate program in chemistry at UC Irvine. Vickie was very active in outreach programs at Belmont, stimulating the interest of many future scientists in the Nashville area. In 2016, Vickie was awarded the prestigious NSF Graduate Research Fellowship.
Org. Synth. 2016, 93, 88.

Jessica Zinna

B.S. Chemistry, 2016, Winthrop University, SC

Jessica is a rising senior at Winthrop University majoring in Chemistry with a Math minor, where she conducts research under the mentorship of Dr. Maria Gelabert in the field of hydrothermal crystal growth. Jessica is the president of the Winthrop chapter of Alpha Chi Sigma, a member of the honors college, and a departmental tutor. She was born in Connecticut, but spent most of her time in Ohio and South Carolina where she acquired her love for sweet tea and biscuits. In her free time Jessica enjoys baking, taking naps, eating pasta, and watching cat videos. Her postgraduate plan is still to be determined.

Danielle Boley

B.S. Biochemistry, 2017, University of Notre Dame, IN

Danielle is a senior majoring in biochemistry with a minor in bioengineering at the University of Notre Dame. She was born in Houston, Texas, and raised in Washington, Illinois. Danielle is a Balfour-Hesburgh Scholar, a Glynn Family Honors Student, and a proud member of the piccolo section in the marching band at ND. As a member of Dr. Norman Dovichi's lab, her research uses capillary electrophoresis-electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry and matrix assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry to study the metabolome of diseased tissue samples and the development of Xenopus laevis. Danielle was a researcher in the Chemical Biology REU at Vanderbilt in 2016, learning new organic chemistry research skills, working with Suzanne on the preparation of a super cool depsipeptide. After completing her undergraduate degree, Danielle plans to pursue a Ph.D. in chemistry.

Hyungyu Lee

B.A. Biochemistry/Math, 2019, Bowdoin College, ME

Hyungyu is currently an undergraduate student at Bowdoin College, double majoring in Biochemistry and Mathematics, and minoring in Latin. He worked in Dr. Rick Broene's lab in summer 2016, attempting to synthesize a phenylphosphabenzene ligand for the improvement of a cobalt-based alpha-olefin dimerization catalyst. In his spare time, he plays music and enjoys coming up with new magic tricks. Hyungyu joined the group for summer 2017 as an NSF-REU student.

Hannah Lankswert

B.S. Chemistry, 2019, Xavier University, OH

Hannah is from Louisville, KY and she is a junior at Xavier University majoring in chemistry. She is a University Scholar at Xavier and is part of Clare Booth Luce Program for women in science. She is getting her first taste of research this summer in the Johnston lab.
ACS Catal. 2018, 8, 11926.

Jared Mendiola

B.S. Biochemistry, 2022, Colorado College, CO

Jared is currently a graduate student at Vanderbilt University.

Cale Locicero

B.S. Chemistry, 2023, Louisiana State University, LA

Cale is an Honors College student and rising senior majoring in chemistry at Louisiana State University. Cale is the president of the LSU Student Affiliates of the American Chemical Society and a Goldwater, Astronaut, and ACS Scholar. He works in Dr. Rendy Kartika’s group at LSU where he studies the stereoselective synthesis of α-quaternary α’-hydroxyketones. After graduation, he plans to pursue a Ph.D. in chemistry.

Rakel Ang

B.S. Chemistry, 2025, Pepperdine University, CA

Rakel is double majoring in biology and chemistry at Pepperdine University, where she has been conducting cell biology research. After graduating in 2025, she hopes to pursue a PhD in chemical biology or medicinal chemistry.

Chase Pyrah

B.S. Chemistry, 2026 (anticipated), Utah State University, UT

Chase is an undergraduate chemistry student at Utah State University. There, he conducts research under Dr. Lisa Berreau, focusing on the synthesis and mechanistic studies of light-triggered carbon monoxide releasing molecules. He is currently conducting summer research at Vanderbilt University through the NSF REU program. Outside of the lab, he enjoys rock climbing, skateboarding, and skiing.