Alexander M. Spokoyny (CV)
Principal Investigator Professor and Department Chair, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and California NanoSystems Institute (CNSI) Office Location: Molecular Sciences 1505B E-mail: spokoyny "at" chem.ucla.edu Office Phone: (310) 825-0450 B.S. Chemistry, UCLA (2006); Advisor: Hawthorne Ph.D. Chemistry, Northwestern (2012); Advisor: Mirkin Post-Doctoral Fellow, MIT (2012-2014); Buchwald and Pentelute Labs Spokoyny's Academic Tree 
Hashim Al Khunaizi
Graduate Researcher (Chemistry) B.Sc. (Honors), University of Manchester 
Andrew Baubulis
Graduate Researcher B.S. Chemistry, Notre Dame 
Thomas Louis-Goff
Post-Doctoral Researcher Ph.D. Chemistry, University of Hawaii (2024) Advisor: Hyvl 
Isabel (Xin) Li
MACS Researcher Medicinal Chemistry |
Yessica Nelson
Graduate Researcher B.S. Chemistry, CSU Los Angeles (2020), 
Tyler Kerr
Post-Doctoral Researcher Ph.D. Chemistry, UC Irvine (2022), Advisor: Yang 
Daniel Torres Pomares
Undergraduate Researcher Chemistry, Senior 
Reanne Coutinho
MACS Researcher Medicinal Chemistry 
Mei Matsumoto
Graduate Researcher B.S. Cal Poly Pomona 
Hanna Auchynnik
Undergraduate Researcher Biochemistry, Junior |
Qiao Qiao Wang
Graduate Researcher (BMSB) B.S. Biochemistry, Virginia Tech (2019) 
Vicki Rubio
Graduate Researcher (Chemistry) B.S. Chemistry, UCSB 
Nima Adhami
Graduate Researcher (Chemistry) (joint w. Prof. Jose Rodriguez) B.S. Chemistry, UCLA 
Varun Tej
Post-Doctoral Researcher Ph.D. Chemistry, UC Riverside (2023), Advisor: Lavallo 
Alice Phung
Post-Doctoral Researcher Ph.D. Chemistry, UC Davis, Advisor: Power 
Lucy Liu
Undergraduate Researcher Chemical Engineering, Senior |
Group Alumni:
Hayden Montgomery (2018-2024), Graduate Researcher (Ph.D. 2024), Currently at Terray Therapeutics.
Greg Gorobets (2021-2023), Undergraduate Researcher.
Evan Doud (2020-2024), Post-Doctoral Researcher.
Zaira Barrera (2022-2023), Graduate Researcher.
David DeLuca (2022-2023), Graduate Researcher.
Cecilia McCormick (2022-2024), Undergraduate Researcher.
Bryant Zhu (2021-2023), Undergraduate Researcher.
Austin Ready (2019-2024), Graduate Researcher (Ph.D. 2024), Currently at LBNL.
Anastasia Lubarsky (2021-2023), Undergraduate Researcher.
Aimee Liang (2021-2023), Undergraduate Researcher.
Ovie Soman (2021-2023), Undergraduate Researcher, Currently Graduate Student at UT Austin.
Sangmin Kim (2021-2023), Post-Doctoral Researcher, Currently Assistant Professor at Yonsei University.
Angela Bui (2021-2022), Graduate Researcher.
Zeeshan Parvez (2017-2022), Graduate Researcher (Ph.D. 2022, jointly advised with Prof. Aradhna Tripati), Currently at Northrop Grumman.
Kierstyn Anderson (2017-2022), Graduate Researcher (Ph.D. 2022), Currently at Lam Research.
Harrison Mills (2016-2021), Graduate Researcher (Ph.D. 2021), Currently post-doctoral researcher at University of Toronto.
Nicholas Bernier (2016-2021), Graduate Researcher (Ph.D. 2021), Currently at NCI (NIH).
Paige Kotowitz (2021), Chemistry Rotation Student.
Jasmine Keane (2021), Chemistry Rotation Student.
Mary Waddington Grumbles (2016-2021), Graduate Researcher (Ph.D. 2021), Currently at Lam Research.
Kevin Chandler (2019-2020), Chemistry Rotation Student.
Xin Mu (2017-2021), Post-Doctoral Researcher, Currently Assistant Professor.
Ila Castro (2018-2021), Undergraduate Researcher, Currently PhD student at UMichigan.
Fadi Al Sarhan (2018-2021), Undergraduate Researcher, Currently PhD student at UC Berkeley.
Julia Stauber (2017-2020), Post-Doctoral Researcher, Currently Assistant Professor at UCSD.
Miles Savage (2017-2020), Undergraduate Researcher.
Morgan Hopp (2017-2020), Undergraduate Researcher, MD student at Creighton University.
Katie White (2020), Chemistry Rotation Student.
Quintashia Wilson (2020), Chemistry Rotation Student.
Lily Taylor (2020), BMSB Summer Rotation Student.
Gustavo Marin, (2018-2020), Undergraduate Researcher.
Congzhi Zhu, (2019-2020), Post-Doctoral Scholar, Current Post-Doctoral Scholar at UT Austin.
Maya Pathuri, (2017-2020), Undergraduate Researcher, Currently Graduate Student at Northwestern University.
Alex Umanzor, (2017-2020), Undergraduate Researcher, Currently Graduate Student at University of Minnesota.
Anabel Cho, (2019-2020), Undergraduate Researcher.
Rebecca Kubena, (2018-2020), Graduate Researcher, Currently Teacher in LAUSD.
Jessica Logan, (2016-2020), Graduate Researcher. Currently Teacher in Knox County School District.
Isaac Diaz, (2018-2019), Undergraduate Researcher.
Rafal Dziedzic, (2014-2019), Graduate Researcher (Ph.D. 2019), Currently Post-Doctoral Researcher at LBNL.
Marco Messina, (2014-2019), Graduate Researcher (Ph.D. 2019), Currently Post-Doctoral Researcher at UC Berkeley.
Elaine Qian, (2014-2019), Graduate Researcher (Ph.D. 2019), Currently at Emerald Cloud Lab.
Dahee Jung, (2014-2019), Graduate Research (Ph.D. 2019), Currently Post-Doctoral Researcher at Northwestern University.
Ben Pisa, (2018), Undergraduate Researcher.
Jonathan Axtell, (2015-2019), Post-Doctoral Researcher, Currently at Dow Chemicals (Midland, MI).
Kent Kirlikovali, (2014-2019), Graduate Researcher (Ph.D. 2019). Currently Post-Doctoral Researcher at Northwestern University.
Roshini Ramachandran, (2017-2018), Post-Doctoral Researcher. Currently Academic Administrator at UCLA.
Chantel Mao, (2017-2018), Undergraduate Researcher, Currently Graduate Student at UC Davis.
Olivia Brand, 2017-2018, Undergraduate Researcher.
Alex Wixtrom, 2014-2018, Graduate Researcher (Ph.D. 2018), Currently Materials Scientist at BNNT.
Paul Chong, 2015-2018, Undergraduate Researcher, Currently Ph.D. student at Stanford University, Chemistry Department.
Kevin Qian, Summer 2018, Amgen Scholar, Continuing Undergraduate studies at Columbia University.
Ali Gonzales, 2014-2018, Undergraduate Researcher. Currently Graduate Student at Brandeis University.
Katelyn Spilman, Summer 2017, Undergraduate Researcher.
Hana El-Arabi, Summer 2017, Undergraduate Researcher.
Monica Kirollos, 2015-2017, Undergraduate Researcher, Currently M.D. student at Maya Clinic.
Michelle Ko, 2015-2017, Undergraduate Researcher, Currently Research Associate at Achaogen.
Azin Saebi, 2015-2017, Undergraduate Researcher, Currently Ph.D. student at MIT Chemistry Department.
Joshua Martin, 2016-2017, Undergraduate Researcher, Currently Ph.D. student at the University of Michigan Chemistry Department.
Sarah Kim, 2015-2017, Undergraduate Researcher.
Yanbo Ren, 2016-2017, Undergraduate Researcher.
Dr. Liban Saleh, 2015-2017, Post-Doctoral Researcher. Currently Associate Researcher at Moloney Search.
Daniel Mossalaei, 2015-2016, Undergraduate Researcher, Currently M.D. student at UCSD.
Talia Saravi, 2016, Undergraduate Researcher.
Roselyn Rodriguez, 2016, Rotation Researcher, Currently in the Chong Lab at UCLA.
Kassandra McCarthy, Summer 2016, Rotation Researcher.
Elamar Hakim Moully, 2014-2016, Undergraduate Researcher. Currently Ph.D. student in Mrksich's group, Northwestern University.
Yanwu Shao, 2015-2016, Undergraduate Researcher. Currently Ph.D. student in Ozerov's group, TAMU Chemistry Department.
Yiqun Wang, Summer 2015, Undergraduate Researcher (joint w. Alexandrova). Currently Ph.D. student in Shiozaki's group, Northwestern University.
Sylvia Chow, 2015-2016, Undergraduate Researcher.
Parker Beatty, 2014-2016, Undergraduate Researcher.
John Wang, Summer 2015 Rotation Biochemistry Student, Currently graduate student in Bowie laboratory, UCLA.
Brian Munekiyo, 2014-2015, Undergraduate Researcher.
Jena Kim, 2014-2015, Undergraduate Researcher.
Vinh Nguyen, 2014-2015, Undergraduate Researcher. Currently a research chemist at Pharmatek.
Ekaterina Titarenko, 2015, Undergraduate Researcher, Currently: Regulatory Affairs Specialist at Globizz Corporation.
Jack Li, Summer 2015, Visiting High School Researcher.
Chelsea Atkins, Fall 2014, Biochemistry Rotation Student. Currently: graduate student at Xing's laboratory, UCLA.
Chatu Sirimanne, 2014-2015, Visiting Researcher, Currently: Lecturer at CSU LA.
Shaunt Kevork, 2014-2015, (Materials Science Undergraduate), Currently: Associate Engineer at Amgen.
Jamie Lam, 2014-2015, (Biochemistry Undergraduate), Currently at Gilead.
Simone Stevens, 2014-2015, (Chemistry Undergraduate), Currently: research chemist at Beyondmeat.
Alice Phung, 2014-2015 (Researcher). Currently Ph.D. student in Power's group, UC Davis Chemistry Department.
Hayden Montgomery (2018-2024), Graduate Researcher (Ph.D. 2024), Currently at Terray Therapeutics.
Greg Gorobets (2021-2023), Undergraduate Researcher.
Evan Doud (2020-2024), Post-Doctoral Researcher.
Zaira Barrera (2022-2023), Graduate Researcher.
David DeLuca (2022-2023), Graduate Researcher.
Cecilia McCormick (2022-2024), Undergraduate Researcher.
Bryant Zhu (2021-2023), Undergraduate Researcher.
Austin Ready (2019-2024), Graduate Researcher (Ph.D. 2024), Currently at LBNL.
Anastasia Lubarsky (2021-2023), Undergraduate Researcher.
Aimee Liang (2021-2023), Undergraduate Researcher.
Ovie Soman (2021-2023), Undergraduate Researcher, Currently Graduate Student at UT Austin.
Sangmin Kim (2021-2023), Post-Doctoral Researcher, Currently Assistant Professor at Yonsei University.
Angela Bui (2021-2022), Graduate Researcher.
Zeeshan Parvez (2017-2022), Graduate Researcher (Ph.D. 2022, jointly advised with Prof. Aradhna Tripati), Currently at Northrop Grumman.
Kierstyn Anderson (2017-2022), Graduate Researcher (Ph.D. 2022), Currently at Lam Research.
Harrison Mills (2016-2021), Graduate Researcher (Ph.D. 2021), Currently post-doctoral researcher at University of Toronto.
Nicholas Bernier (2016-2021), Graduate Researcher (Ph.D. 2021), Currently at NCI (NIH).
Paige Kotowitz (2021), Chemistry Rotation Student.
Jasmine Keane (2021), Chemistry Rotation Student.
Mary Waddington Grumbles (2016-2021), Graduate Researcher (Ph.D. 2021), Currently at Lam Research.
Kevin Chandler (2019-2020), Chemistry Rotation Student.
Xin Mu (2017-2021), Post-Doctoral Researcher, Currently Assistant Professor.
Ila Castro (2018-2021), Undergraduate Researcher, Currently PhD student at UMichigan.
Fadi Al Sarhan (2018-2021), Undergraduate Researcher, Currently PhD student at UC Berkeley.
Julia Stauber (2017-2020), Post-Doctoral Researcher, Currently Assistant Professor at UCSD.
Miles Savage (2017-2020), Undergraduate Researcher.
Morgan Hopp (2017-2020), Undergraduate Researcher, MD student at Creighton University.
Katie White (2020), Chemistry Rotation Student.
Quintashia Wilson (2020), Chemistry Rotation Student.
Lily Taylor (2020), BMSB Summer Rotation Student.
Gustavo Marin, (2018-2020), Undergraduate Researcher.
Congzhi Zhu, (2019-2020), Post-Doctoral Scholar, Current Post-Doctoral Scholar at UT Austin.
Maya Pathuri, (2017-2020), Undergraduate Researcher, Currently Graduate Student at Northwestern University.
Alex Umanzor, (2017-2020), Undergraduate Researcher, Currently Graduate Student at University of Minnesota.
Anabel Cho, (2019-2020), Undergraduate Researcher.
Rebecca Kubena, (2018-2020), Graduate Researcher, Currently Teacher in LAUSD.
Jessica Logan, (2016-2020), Graduate Researcher. Currently Teacher in Knox County School District.
Isaac Diaz, (2018-2019), Undergraduate Researcher.
Rafal Dziedzic, (2014-2019), Graduate Researcher (Ph.D. 2019), Currently Post-Doctoral Researcher at LBNL.
Marco Messina, (2014-2019), Graduate Researcher (Ph.D. 2019), Currently Post-Doctoral Researcher at UC Berkeley.
Elaine Qian, (2014-2019), Graduate Researcher (Ph.D. 2019), Currently at Emerald Cloud Lab.
Dahee Jung, (2014-2019), Graduate Research (Ph.D. 2019), Currently Post-Doctoral Researcher at Northwestern University.
Ben Pisa, (2018), Undergraduate Researcher.
Jonathan Axtell, (2015-2019), Post-Doctoral Researcher, Currently at Dow Chemicals (Midland, MI).
Kent Kirlikovali, (2014-2019), Graduate Researcher (Ph.D. 2019). Currently Post-Doctoral Researcher at Northwestern University.
Roshini Ramachandran, (2017-2018), Post-Doctoral Researcher. Currently Academic Administrator at UCLA.
Chantel Mao, (2017-2018), Undergraduate Researcher, Currently Graduate Student at UC Davis.
Olivia Brand, 2017-2018, Undergraduate Researcher.
Alex Wixtrom, 2014-2018, Graduate Researcher (Ph.D. 2018), Currently Materials Scientist at BNNT.
Paul Chong, 2015-2018, Undergraduate Researcher, Currently Ph.D. student at Stanford University, Chemistry Department.
Kevin Qian, Summer 2018, Amgen Scholar, Continuing Undergraduate studies at Columbia University.
Ali Gonzales, 2014-2018, Undergraduate Researcher. Currently Graduate Student at Brandeis University.
Katelyn Spilman, Summer 2017, Undergraduate Researcher.
Hana El-Arabi, Summer 2017, Undergraduate Researcher.
Monica Kirollos, 2015-2017, Undergraduate Researcher, Currently M.D. student at Maya Clinic.
Michelle Ko, 2015-2017, Undergraduate Researcher, Currently Research Associate at Achaogen.
Azin Saebi, 2015-2017, Undergraduate Researcher, Currently Ph.D. student at MIT Chemistry Department.
Joshua Martin, 2016-2017, Undergraduate Researcher, Currently Ph.D. student at the University of Michigan Chemistry Department.
Sarah Kim, 2015-2017, Undergraduate Researcher.
Yanbo Ren, 2016-2017, Undergraduate Researcher.
Dr. Liban Saleh, 2015-2017, Post-Doctoral Researcher. Currently Associate Researcher at Moloney Search.
Daniel Mossalaei, 2015-2016, Undergraduate Researcher, Currently M.D. student at UCSD.
Talia Saravi, 2016, Undergraduate Researcher.
Roselyn Rodriguez, 2016, Rotation Researcher, Currently in the Chong Lab at UCLA.
Kassandra McCarthy, Summer 2016, Rotation Researcher.
Elamar Hakim Moully, 2014-2016, Undergraduate Researcher. Currently Ph.D. student in Mrksich's group, Northwestern University.
Yanwu Shao, 2015-2016, Undergraduate Researcher. Currently Ph.D. student in Ozerov's group, TAMU Chemistry Department.
Yiqun Wang, Summer 2015, Undergraduate Researcher (joint w. Alexandrova). Currently Ph.D. student in Shiozaki's group, Northwestern University.
Sylvia Chow, 2015-2016, Undergraduate Researcher.
Parker Beatty, 2014-2016, Undergraduate Researcher.
John Wang, Summer 2015 Rotation Biochemistry Student, Currently graduate student in Bowie laboratory, UCLA.
Brian Munekiyo, 2014-2015, Undergraduate Researcher.
Jena Kim, 2014-2015, Undergraduate Researcher.
Vinh Nguyen, 2014-2015, Undergraduate Researcher. Currently a research chemist at Pharmatek.
Ekaterina Titarenko, 2015, Undergraduate Researcher, Currently: Regulatory Affairs Specialist at Globizz Corporation.
Jack Li, Summer 2015, Visiting High School Researcher.
Chelsea Atkins, Fall 2014, Biochemistry Rotation Student. Currently: graduate student at Xing's laboratory, UCLA.
Chatu Sirimanne, 2014-2015, Visiting Researcher, Currently: Lecturer at CSU LA.
Shaunt Kevork, 2014-2015, (Materials Science Undergraduate), Currently: Associate Engineer at Amgen.
Jamie Lam, 2014-2015, (Biochemistry Undergraduate), Currently at Gilead.
Simone Stevens, 2014-2015, (Chemistry Undergraduate), Currently: research chemist at Beyondmeat.
Alice Phung, 2014-2015 (Researcher). Currently Ph.D. student in Power's group, UC Davis Chemistry Department.
Interested graduate students are encouraged to apply through UCLA Chemistry and Biochemistry Ph.D. programs.
Incoming graduate students at any department within UCLA interested in conducting research in our group are welcome to contact Alex to discuss available opportunities. Interested post-doctoral candidates should contact Alex directly via e-mail.
Incoming and current UCLA undergraduates from any majors are welcome to contact Alex directly via e-mail to inquire regarding research opportunities.
Incoming graduate students at any department within UCLA interested in conducting research in our group are welcome to contact Alex to discuss available opportunities. Interested post-doctoral candidates should contact Alex directly via e-mail.
Incoming and current UCLA undergraduates from any majors are welcome to contact Alex directly via e-mail to inquire regarding research opportunities.