Postdoctoral Fellows
Dr. Emilio Leal Cárdenas
Emilio Leal Cárdenas was born and raised in Fresno, California. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from California State University, Fresno. In 2014, he pursued doctoral studies at Purdue University under the supervision of Prof. Arun K. Ghosh. His doctoral studies focused on the design and synthesis of potent and selective aspartic acid protease inhibitors as potential treatments for Alzheimer’s disease, Type-2 Diabetes, and HIV. In 2019, he started postdoctoral studies at the University of Michigan under the supervision of Prof. Amanda L. Garner. His postdoctoral work focused on the design and synthesis of m7GMP-derived cap-binding inhibitors of eIF4E as a potential treatment for cancer. In 2025, he joined the group of Prof. Osvaldo Gutierrez to work on the development of multicomponent iron-catalyzed radical cross-coupling reactions. In his free time, Emilio enjoys watching sports (i.e. Baseball, Football, Boxing, and Formula 1), playing chess and other board games, cooking, and listening to audiobooks.
"Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly." - Langston Hughes
Dr. Remy Lalisse
Remy Lalisse was born and raised in Rochester, New York. In 2017, he graduated from SUNY Geneseo with a Bachelor's in Chemistry. He pursued doctoral studies with Prof. Hadad at The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. His doctoral work focused on the various forms of treatment for organophosphorous poisoning and mechanistic studies for asymmetric hydrofunctionalization from readily available materials in collaboration with Prof. T. V. RajanBabu. He obtained his PhD degree in August 2022. In his free time, Remy enjoys watching movies, rock climbing, and watching football.
“Nothing is more practical than a good theory.”
-Ludwig Boltzmann
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Dr. Ángel Rentería-Gómez
Ángel Rentería-Gómez was born and raised in Guanajuato, México. He did his bachelor’s in chemistry, pharmacy, and biology (QFB for its abbreviation in Spanish) in Guanajuato University. He pursued doctoral studies in Prof. María del Rocio Gámez-Montaño group in the same university. His doctoral work focused on isocyanide-based multicomponent reaction (I-MCR) and mechanistic studies using DFT with the co-advisory of Prof. Jose Oscar Carlos Jimenez-Halla. In his last year of doctorate, Angel did a research stay with Professor Jieping Zhu at the EPFL-LSPN (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne-Laboratory of synthesis and natural products) in Lausanne, Switzerland, worked in MCR methodologies. He obtained his PhD degree in May 2019 (Honor: “summa cumme laude”). From Sep 2019 to December 2020, he worked like researcher and development chemist in Uquifa México S.A. de C.V. (Cuernavaca, México), where he focused on design, synthesis, purification, and characterization of reference standards for use in the manufacture of APIs (active pharmaceutical ingredients). He joined Dr. Gutierrez’s group in January 2021 as a Fulbright-García Robles scholar, working on Iron catalyzed Cross-Coupling reactions and computational research.
“Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change.”
Stephen Hawking
Ph.D. Students
Yaning Liu (G1)
Yaning Liu was born and raised in Changchun, Jilin, China. Yan received her B.S. degree in Chemistry from Emory University in 2022. She then completed an M.S. degree in Organic Chemistry from University of Pennsylvania and graduated with the MCS Research Award in 2024. At Penn, she worked in the Kozlowski group, focusing on oxidative photocatalytic phenol coupling and base-assisted C-H activation. In Fall 2024, She joined the Gutierrez group where she explores the synergy between computation and experiment in transition metal catalysis.
“Per Aspera Ad Astra.” - Lucius Annaeus Seneca
Memona Zafar (G1)
Memona Zafar is a first-year graduate student from Pakistan. She hails from Bahawalpur, where she completed her early education and earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the Islamia University of Bahawalpur. In 2022, she joined the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) for her master's degree, working under the supervision of Dr. Rahman Shahzaib Saleem. Her research focused on drug discovery targeting Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and dementia, specifically the synthesis of organic compounds as potential tubulin polymerization inhibitors to address multidrug resistance in anti-tumour activities. In 2024, Memona joined the O.G. research group. She is now working on multicomponent cross-coupling iron-catalysed reactions and
computational chemistry. Beyond her academic pursuits, Memona enjoys shopping, cooking, and spending quality time with family and friends.
“Do anything, but let it produce joy” by Walt Whitman
Adhya Suresh (G2)
Adhya is from Thrissur, Kerala a small town in India. She completed her Integrated MSc from Central University of Tamil Nadu. She always had a great interest towards organic chemistry starting from the school days. Even though she tried to explore different areas of chemistry through her course curriculum she always felt connected to organic chemistry. She joined Prof. Debabrata Maiti group(IIT Bombay) in her 4th year as a project student where she worked on "High valent non-heme iron-mediated organic transformations" and also continued her Master thesis in the same group where she worked on "Non-covalent interactions with catalytic anionic donor and neutral acceptor to promote Pd-catalyzed distal site selective functionalization of aromatic mmines".In fall 2023, she joined Dr. Gutierrez's group where she is working on synthesis of multicomponent iron-catalyzed cross coupling reaction and further explore her interest in synthetic organic chemistry. She is also interested in working on applications of density functional theory to understand the reaction mechanisms of organometallic and organic reactions.
She enjoys cooking, dancing and going for hikes.
"All matter originates and exists only by virtue of a force.We must assume behind this force the existence of a conscious and intelligent Mind. This Mind is the matrix of all matter."
-Max Planck
Deborshee Das (G2)
Deborshee is from Kolkata, West Bengal, India. He completed his Bachelor's degree in Chemistry at Ramakrishna mission Vivekananda Centenary College, where his passion for Organic chemistry flourished. Building on this foundation, Deborshee pursued his Master's degree in Synthetic organic chemistry at IIT Kanpur, under Prof. D.H.Dethe where he worked on total synthesis. After his masters in 2022 he continued working in his previous lab on Total synthesis of Azadiradione.
With a deep enthusiasm in fall 2023, he joined Dr. Gutierrez's group where he is working on synthesis of multicomponent iron-catalysed cross coupling reaction and further explore his interest in synthetic organic chemistry.
In his spare time, he enjoys chess and cricket, as well as photography.
“Dream is not that which you see while sleeping it is something that does not let you sleep.” ― A.P.J. Abdul Kalam
Arnadeep Datta (G2)
Arnadeep was born and raised in Jhargram, a small city of West Bengal, India. He completed his bachelor's degree (B.Sc. in Chemistry) from Midnapore College (Autonomous) under Vidyasagar University in 2020. Then he completed his masters’ from IIT Kanpur with an Academic Excellence Award as a topper. His masters’ project was under the supervision of Prof. Dattatraya Dethe where Arna used to work in total synthesis of natural product, transition metal catalysis and enantioselective C-H functionalization. After that Arna did a project assistantship at IIT Kharagpur with Prof. Rajarshi Samanta from February’23 to April’23, here he worked on transition metal catalysis of heterocyclic moiety. In fall 2023, he joined Dr. Gutierrez’s group. To pursue his research-interest in synthetic organic chemistry, he is currently working on synthesizing a variety of multicomponent, cross-coupled small molecules using iron-catalyst. In his leisure time, Arna enjoys to watch crime- thriller shows, and spending time with friends. He is also very fond of cricket.
"Arise! Awake! And stop not until the goal is reached."— Swami Vivekananda
Poulami Mukherjee (G3)
Poulami was born in West Bengal, India and was raised in Ukhra, a small town in West Bengal. She completed her Bachelor of Science (Chemistry) from Jadavpur University in 2020 and then completed her masters from IIT Guwahati in 2022. Her master's thesis was done under the supervision of Prof. Bhubaneswar Mandal where she worked in transition metal free synthesis of aryl thioethers via ipso nucleophilic substitution reaction. In fall 2022, she joined Dr. Gutierrez's group where she is working on synthesis of multicomponent iron-catalyzed cross coupling reaction and further explore her interest in synthetic organic chemistry. She is also interested in working on applications of density functional theory to understand the reaction mechanism of organometallic and organic reaction as well. In free time, she does photography; listens to music; cooks food.
“We must believe that we are gifted for something, and that this thing, at whatever cost, must be attained”-Marie Curie
Macayla Guerrero (G3)
Tapas Maity (G3)
Mac was born in Reston, Virginia and raised in Houston, Texas. She received her Bachelor’s in Chemistry and Biology at Stephen F. Austin State University in 2022. There she worked in Dr. Franks’ lab on hydrolysable tannin analysis in hickory nuts. She joined Dr. Gutierrez’s group in Fall 2022 to pursue research in iron catalyzed cross-coupling reactions to gain more knowledge and experience in the field of organic chemistry. In her free time, Mac enjoys reading and spending time with family and friends.
“If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” - Isaac Newton
Tapas was born in West Bengal, India and was raised in Ichhapur, a small village in West Bengal. He completed his Bachelor of Pharmaceutical Science from Bengal College of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research under MAKAUT, WB in 2018 and then he moved to NIPER, Mohali for his masters. His master's thesis was done under the supervision of Dr. Joydev K. Laha where he worked on Generation and Reactivity of Arene Radical by Green Approach. After that he was appointed as a Junior Research Fellow in his previous group where he developed the formylation of azaindole by SET approach. In fall 2022, he joined Dr. Gutierrez's group where he is focusing to develop iron catalyzed enantioselective multicomponent radical cross -coupling reactions.
“You can’t cross the see merely by standing and staring at the water.”- Rabindranath Tagore
Achyut Gogoi (G4)
Achyut was born in Assam, India and was raised in Nazira, a small town in Assam. He completed his Bachelor of Science(Chemistry) from Zakir Husain Delhi College, University of Delhi in 2019 and then completed his masters from IIT Bombay in 2021. His master's thesis was done under the supervision of Prof. R.B. Sunoj where he worked on DFT based mechanistic investigation of transition metal catalyzed C-H activation reactions. In fall 2021, he joined Dr. Gutierrez's group where he is working on applications of density functional theory to understand the reaction mechanisms of transition metal catalyzed reactions. He is also interested in the applications of machine learning to predict, design and improve the catalytic efficiency of various metal catalyzed reactions.
"Equipped with my five senses, I want to explore the universe around me and call the adventure science" -Edwin Powell Hubble"
Jacob Grygus (G4)
Jacob was born and raised in Mokena, Illinois, receiving his Bachelor’s in Chemistry at the University of Arkansas in 2021. As a 2019 NSF-REU student and later a transfer student to the University of Arkansas, Jacob worked under the direction of Dr. Nan Zheng. Exploring his interests in organic chemistry, Jacob investigated the cleavage of strained “cyloaminal” compounds using hypervalent iodine reagents and photocatalysis as a method to achieve selective C-H functionalization. In the fall of the same year Jacob enrolled in Texas A&M University’s Chemistry Department as a graduate student, joining the Gutierrez Research Group where he does synthetic work in multicomponent iron-catalyzed cross coupling reactions and further explore his interests in synthetic organic chemistry. In Spring 2025, Jacob joined the Thomas group at Texas A&M as a joint student. In the free time he can find, Jacob enjoys reading, going on hikes, cooking, baking, exploring history and talking to family.
“It is common sense to take a method and try it: If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something.” -Franklin D. Roosevelt
Shuai Yin (G5)
Shuai Yin was born in Tianjin, China, and graduated in 2018 with B.S in Chemistry at Nankai University, China. In his undergraduate, he developed his interest of Organic mechanism and Physical chemistry. Driven by his strong interest of chemistry, he was admitted by Drexel University, where he worked in Dr. Martinez’s group, working on Pauson-Khand reaction.
In Fall 2020, he decided to pursue research in Dr. Gutierrez’s lab, first at U. Maryland then at Texas A&M University, to have further study on the computational chemistry and the research of organic mechanism. In his free time, Shuai enjoys cooking, reading and playing computer games.
"God does not play dice."— Albert Einstein
Undergraduate Students
Hi! My name is Natalie Berkstresser. I live in Sacramento, California where I attend Sacramento
City College (SCC) majoring in Biology, as well as being a student athlete. I was a part of the
SCC Volleyball team where I played for two years. While being a full time student athlete I
found a passion not just on the court, but also in the classroom. I found a passion in STEM,
mostly Chemistry and Biology. My passion for Chemistry led me to get involved in
undergraduate research with Professor Miller. My goal for the future is to work hard and attend
medical school to pursue a career in the Medical Field as a Doctor.
“I am among those who think that science has great beauty” -Marie Curie
Natalie Berkstresser
(Sacramento Community College)
Madi was born and raised in Sacramento, California. She is currently attending Sacramento City
College where she is studying biology. She plans to transfer to UC Irvine to further specialize in
biochemistry and molecular biology. She joined Dr. Gutierrez's group in Spring 2025 through a
research course instructed by Professor William Miller at Sacramento City College where she
studied iron catalyzed reactions and computational chemistry. Madi hopes to continue research
throughout her undergraduate years and plans to attend grad school someday. In her free time,
Madi loves to cook, watch football, spend time with friends and family and travel.
“If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit
Madi Cha
(Sacramento Community College)
Hi! My name is Ella Lopez and I am 20 years old. I am from Sacramento California where I attended St. Francis Catholic High School to later pursue Sacramento City College with an interest in STEM. Through Sacramento City College I found a passion for all things chemistry and biology. I did one semester of undergrad research in chemistry with Dr. Bill Miller and hope to do much more in the future. I aspire to
become a physician where I can make positive life changing impacts on others. I want to be a part of something bigger than myself. In my free time I enjoy playing piano, dancing, listening to Billy Joel, and going to ballets.
“I think music in itself is healing. It's an explosive expression of humanity. It's something we are all touched by. No matter what culture we're from, everyone loves music” - Billy Joel
Ella López
(Sacramento Community College)
Olivia Rodriguez was born and raised in Sacramento, California. After taking 5 years off
between high school and college due to health issues, started in the Los Rios Community
College District in Spring 2024 to begin pursuing a degree in Biology with plans to transfer to
UC Davis for Global Disease Biology. Areas of interest for research are hormonal diseases and the effects they have on systems within the body, namely the cardiac system.
Joined Dr. Miller and Dr. Gutierrez this semester to gain a strong organic chemistry research
foundation and because she believes computational chemistry can greatly aid in her future
research endeavors. In her free time she enjoys regional wine festivals, running, reading, and
playing Sudoku.
“Your mentality is your reality.” - Victor Santamaria
Olivia Rodriguez
(Sacramento Community College)
Taha Shaikh was raised in Sacramento, California. Currently attending Sacramento City College and has plans to transfer to UC Davis, majoring in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Has a passion for studying chemical and medical sciences, and hopes partaking in Advanced General Chemistry - Honors will help introduce him to science related research. Desires to attend medical school in the future and become a surgeon. Enjoys shadowing doctors, exercising, and wishes to gain more exposure to clinical settings.
“The science of today is the technology of tomorrow.” - Edward Teller
Taha Shaikh
(Sacramento Community College)
Sayan Patel was born and raised in Elk Grove, California and currently attends Sacramento City College. He plans on transferring to UCLA to major in Molecular Biology to expand upon his passion for medical and biological sciences. Sayan aspires to become an anesthesiologist in the near future and is currently seeking many opportunities to gain clinical and patient-care experience. Beyond academics, he enjoys listening to music, driving, and working out as a way to clear his mind while staying active. With commitment and dedication, Sayan is excited to make the most out of the experiences that awaits him that will shape his future career in the medical field.
“If you want something you’ve never had, you must be willing to do something you've never done” - Thomas Jefferson
Sayan Patel
(Sacramento Community College)
Charles Young is an undergraduate research assistant, double majoring in Chemistry and Bioengineering, preparing for a Ph.D. and career in research. Passionate about integrating experimental, computational, and theoretical chemistry with neuroscience and medicine, he is learning to leverage iron-catalyzed radical reactions and transition metal catalysis for drug development, advancing cost-effective, sustainable iron catalysis in pharmaceuticals, particularly for neurodegeneration, neuropsychiatry, and psychedelic research. With licensures and extensive industry experience in clinical research, surgical assistance, anesthetic and neuropsychiatric support, he aims to translate chemical discoveries into biomedical innovations and treatments. Beyond science and technology, he’s been proactively exploring philosophy, religions, cultures, languages, and music, drawn to the intersection of physicality, mentality, spirituality, and creativity.
“We are not atoms randomly scattered in the void. We are chemistry, cognition, and cosmos intertwined. The beauty of the world is best revealed when science, philosophy, and spirituality dance together.” - Unknown
Charles Young
(Sacramento Community College)
Andrey was born and raised in Sacramento, California. He is currently studying at American River College with the intent to transfer to UC San Diego to study chemical engineering. With a great interest in all things chemistry, Andrey joined Gutierrez’s group to broaden the horizon and gain experiences and new opportunities for the future. In his free time, Andrey enjoys cooking and all things music.
“Do the thing you fear and the death of fear is certain.” -Mark Twain
Andrey Khodakovskiy
(Sacramento Community College)
Community College Professors
Bill Miller was born in upstate New York and grew up in western Maryland. He earned his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Delaware and his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from UC Davis. Since then he has taught chemistry at Sacramento City College. His specialties include teaching General Chemistry, teaching The Science of Coffee and teaching/advising undergraduate research. Bill enjoys spending time with his wife and daughter, running, playing tennis, roasting coffee, and attending musicals.
“Five hundred twenty-five thousand, six hundred minutes,
How do you measure, measure a year?” -Jonathan D. Larson, Seasons of Love, Rent
Prof. Bill Miller
(Sacramento Community College)
Former Members
Ph.D. Students
Dr. Cassandra Youshaw (2019-2024)
•Current Position: Postdoctoral Researcher at the Naval Research Labs
Dr. Robert Martin (2018-2023)
•Current Position: Postdoctoral Researcher at Princeton University with Prof. MacMillan [rm8513[at]princeton.edu]
Dr. Zhihui Song (2017-2022)
•Current Position: Research Scientist at Sinopec Beijing Research Institute of Chemical Industry [songzhihui0820_at_icloud.com]
Dr. Ryan Dykstra (2017-2022)
•Current Position: Postdoctoral Researcher at Merck. [ryan.dykstra_at_merck.com]
Dr. Mingbin Yuan (2017-2022)
•Current Position: Postdoctoral Researcher at Los Alamos National Laboratory. [myuan_at_lanl.gov]
Dr. Madeline E. Rotella (2016-2021)
•Current Position: Postdoctoral Researcher at UPenn with Prof. Kozlowski. [mrotella_at_sas.upenn.edu]
Dr. Wes Lee (2016-2021)
•Current Position: Postdoctoral Researcher at NIH. [wes.lee_at_nih.gov]
Postdoctoral Researchers
Dr. Dinabandhu Sar (2020-2024)
•Current Position: Associate Professor at University of Engineering and Management (IEM-UEM) Kolkata, India
Dr. Lei Liu (2017-2022)
•Current Position: Medicinal Chemist at Incyte Corporation
Dr. Ming-Hsiu Yang (2022-2023)
Dr. Jun Zhou (2016-2018)
•Current Position: Assistant Professor at Changsha University of Science & Technology
Visiting Scholars
Camila Aguilera (2022)
•Current Position: Ph.D. from U. Rochester with Prof. Neidig and Merck Research Scientist.
Undergraduates
34. Omar Ramirez, Texas A&M University, Fall 2023-Summer 2024.
34. Pooja Rao, Texas A&M University, Fall 2023-Summer 2024..
34. Kaleb Martinez, Texas A&M University, Summer 2024.
34. Logan Asay, Texas A&M University, Summer 2024.
34. Daniel Delgado Ortiz, Texas A&M University, Summer 2024.
33 Zachary Harshey, Texas A&M University, Summer 2024.
32. Alfonso Ortiz, Texas A&M University, Spring 2023-Fall 2024.
31. Lukas Morehead, Texas A&M University, Fall 2022-Spring 2024.
30. Melanie Garcia, Texas A&M University, Summer 2022-Spring 2023.
29. Mireya Ramirez Lopez, Texas A&M University, Spring 2022-Fall 2022.
28. Yem Nguimbous, Prince George’s Community College, Summer 2022.
27. Anthony Ramirez Chincilla, Prince George’s Community College, Summer 2022.
26. Saul Flores, University of Maryland-College Park, Fall 2020-2021
25. Katya Beltran, University of Maryland-College Park, Spring 2020-2022
24. Joshua Turman, Prince George’s Community College, Summer 2020
23. Dale Allen, Prince George’s Community College, Summer 2020
22. Abigail Hunker, Frostburg State University, McNair Scholars Program, Summer 2020
21. Emma Walter, University of Maryland-College Park, Spring 2019-2021.
20. Stephanie Vargas, University of Maryland-College Park, Spring 2020- 2020
19. David Polefrone, University of Maryland-College Park, Fall 2019-2021
18. Zachary Wilhelm, University of Maryland-College Park, Spring 2020-2021
17. Onyemachi Azubuko, Prince George’s Community College, Summer 2019
16. Oreoluwa Akinyode, Prince George’s Community College, Fall 2019
15. Brandon Williams, Prince George’s Community College, Summer 2019
14. Yuliang (Aaron) Wu, University of Maryland-College Park, Fall 2017-2018
13. Michael “Ben” Geherty, University of Maryland-College Park, Spring 2019-2020
12. Victor Baumann, University of Maryland-College Park, Summer 2018-2020
11. Donovaun Bialose, Prince George’s Community College, Summer 2018-2018
10. Surjo Bandyopadhyay, University of Maryland-College Park, Fall 2016-201
9. Linus Nemiroff, University of Maryland-College Park, Spring 2018-Fall 2018
8. Michael Davis, University of Maryland-College Park, Summer 2018-2021
7. Christopher Acha, Prince George’s Community College, McNair Scholars Program, Summer 2017- 2020.
6. Ashley Henriquez, Prince George’s Community College, Summer 2017
5. Simone Williams, University of Maryland-College Park, Spring 2017-Spring 2018
4. Ashley Onwu, Prince George’s Community College, Summer 2018
3. Alyssa Manio, Prince George’s Community College, Summer 2018
2. Robert Martin, University of Maryland-College Park, Spring 2017-Spring 2018
1. Monica Cardenas, University of Maryland-College Park, Summer 2016
High School Students
2. Deeya Garg, Montgomery Blair High School, Summer 2017
1. Pratik Lahiri, Richard Montgomery High School, Summer 2016