Current Members of the Wang Group 

Current group members

Yiming Wang (Principal Investigator)

Yiming was born in Shanghai, China, and grew up in Boulder, Colorado. He graduated with an AB/AM degree in chemistry & physics and mathematics from Harvard University in 2008 after conducting research in the group of Professor Andrew Myers. After obtaining his PhD under the supervision of Professor Dean Toste at the University of California, Berkeley in 2013, he conducted postdoctoral research in the laboratory of Professor Stephen Buchwald at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a National Institutes of Health Postdoctoral Fellow.  He joined the Department of Chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh in the Fall of 2017!

Postdoctoral Researchers

Jiao Yu (joined in 2022)

Jiao was born and grew up in Shandong, China. He obtained his BSc degree in Shandong Normal University in 2014. In 2019, he got his PhD degree under the supervision of Professor Ji-Chang Xiao at the Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry. After that, he joined Xin-Yuan Liu’s group in at Southern University of Science and Technology as a postdoc. Now, he is conducting postdoctoral research in the Wang group at the University of Pittsburgh.

Graduate Students

Yue Xia (joined in 2018)

Yue was born and grew up in Beijing, China. He received his BS degree at Pennsylvania State University, where he studied in Professor Steven Weinreb’s group for his undergraduate research on natural product synthesis. He is now pursuing a doctoral degree in the Wang group at the University of Pittsburgh.

Austin Durham (joined in 2019)

Austin was born and grew up in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He attended Hamilton College in New York where he worked under Professor Emeritus Robin Kinnel on the synthesis of Alphafetoprotein Peptidomimetic compounds before graduating with a BA with a major in Chemistry and minors in Biology and Mathematics. After moving to Pittsburgh, he worked briefly as a research associate under Jill Millstone PhD studying multimetallic nanoparticle synthesis and architecture then joined the group of Peter Wipf PhD to do graduate research on the synthesis of mitochondria-targetting small molecules. He defended his Ph.D. in December 2023.

James Corcoran (joined in 2019)

James Corcoran is from Bucks County, Pennsylvania.  James majored in chemistry with a minor in Spanish at the University of Pittsburgh and graduated in 2018.  After a stint in the private sector, he joined the Wang Group as a graduate student in Fall 2019.

Sarah Scrivener (joined in 2019)

Sarah was raised near Smithsburg, Maryland. She attended Grove City College in Pennsylvania, where she worked under Dr. Kristina Pazehoski studying metal binding proteins and later under Dr. Charles Kriley on the synthesis of tungsten aryloxides. She graduated with a BS in Biochemistry with a concentration in synthetic chemistry. She is now researching the use of iron catalysis and pursuing a doctoral degree in the Wang group at the University of Pittsburgh.

Ruihan Wang (joined in 2019)

Ruihan Wang was born and grew in Nanjing, China. She received her Bachelor of Science degree at China Pharmaceutical University, where she worked as an undergraduate research assistant in associate professor Bo Zhang’s group for two and a half years. Her research area was focused on the development of visible-light-mediated transition-metal-catalyzed reactions. She joined Wang group in 2019 and is now pursing a PhD degree at University of Pittsburgh.

Shalini Dey (joined in 2021)

Shalini was born and grew up in Calcutta, India. After completing a bachelor’s and masters degree in Chemistry from the University of Calcutta, she joined the University of Pittsburgh as a graduate student in Spring 2021 where she is carrying out research with the Wang group. Apart from academics, Shalini likes to draw, travel, and spend time with family and friends.

Ruiqi Ding (joined in 2021)

Ruiqi was born in Beijing, China. He graduated from Peking University with a B.A. in Chemistry, where he studied in Professor Rong Zhu’s group. Now he is pursuing a doctoral degree in the Wang and P. Liu groups as a co-advised Ph.D. student at the University of Pittsburgh.

Aaron Charlack (joined in 2021)

Aaron was raised in Melville, New York. He graduated with his B.S. in chemistry and a minor in physics from SUNY Potsdam, having done research with Dr. Martin Walker and Dr. Fadi Bou-Abdallah. He stayed at SUNY Potsdam an extra year to receive his Masters degree in secondary education and his N.Y.S. teaching certificate, and is a teacher by trade. He is now continuing his education by pursuing his Ph.D. in chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh and doing research in the Wang Group. In his free time he likes to volunteer with local youth organizations and continue teaching.

Hai Chang (joined in 2022)

Hai Chang was born and grew up in Jiangsu, China. He graduated from Nankai University in 2022, where he worked under Professor Gong Chen’s group on C-H bond activation of glycal. He joined Wang’s group in Fall 2022 as a graduate student.

Michael Leitch (joined in 2024)

Michael was raised in Everett, WA. In 2020 he received a M.S. in chemistry at Western Washington University, studying asymmetric SmI­2 reductions of allylic benzoates under Professor Gregory O’Neil. He went on to the University of Pittsburgh to obtain his PhD in chemistry. First working with Professor Peter Wipf, synthesizing novel 1,4-benzothiazine scaffolds for the selective activation of KCNQ channels, then with Professor Yiming Wang, researching an Ir-catalyzed propargylic thiolation of unactivated alkynes. Over the summer of 2023, Michael interned for Stephen Greszler at AbbVie on a scalable asymmetric Strecker reaction.

Undergraduate Students

Christopher Zhihan Zhao (joined in 2022)

Christopher grew up in Tianjin, China. He is currently a junior majoring in Chemistry (Bioscience track) major.

Yuting Song (joined in 2022)

Yuting grew up in Qingdao China. After finishing high school there, he went to Guangxi Normal University, and then transfer to Pitt, where he is currently a chemistry major.

Kiu Sui Jerry Cheung (joined 2023)

Jerry grew up in Hong Kong, came to the states after completing his secondary school education, and he is currently a third-year international student majoring in Chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh.

Genevieve Maddox (joined 2024)

Genevieve is a sophomore undergraduate at Pitt and was raised in North Carolina.  She is currently pursuing a chemistry degree on the bioscience track.  Genevieve joined the group in spring of 2024. 

Mason Semenick (joined 2024)

Mason Semenick was born in Pittsburgh and grew up in Smyrna, Delaware. He is majoring in Chemistry and Linguistics while planning on graduating in 2025. He joined the Wang lab in the Fall of 2023.

Former Group Members

Jin Zhu (Graduate Researcher, 2018-2023)

Jin was born and grew up in Jiangsu, China. She graduated from Nanjing University with a BA in Chemistry in 2018, where she studied in the group of Professor Shaolin Zhu for her undergraduate thesis. She defended her Ph.D. on December 4th, 2023. She is currently working on post-doctorial research at MIT under Alison Wendlandt.

Emily Spielvogle (Undergraduate, 2023)

Athanasios Tsoukaras (Undergraduate,  2023)

Thanas was born and raised in New Jersey.  He is a Junior majoring in Biological Sciences with a minor in Chemistry on a pre-med track. He joined spring semester 2023.

Jialu Wang (Undergraduate, 2022-2023)

Jialu is from Xinjiang, China. She is currently in junior majors in Biology and minors in Chemistry. She joined Wang’s group in Summer 2022.

Cindy Liu (Undergraduate, 2020-2023)

Cindy grew up in Hillsborough, New Jersey. She joined the group as a rising Junior at the University of Pittsburgh majoring in Statistics and Biology and focused on iron-mediated cycloaddition chemistry. Cindy went on to continue her education as a graduate student in chemistry at the University of Pennsylvania.

Phillip Palermo (Graduate Researcher, 2020-2023)

Phil was born and grew up in Rochester, New York. He attended the University of Rochester where he performed research under Bill Jones on catalytic hydrogenation by third row transition metals. He later obtained a BS in Chemistry and a minor in Latin. Phil contributed to several publications with a focus on catalyst structure-activity relationships and defended a masters in the group in April 2023. He is now a process chemist at Kodak in New York.

Paul Ghantous (Undergraduate, 2022-2023)

Paul is from Huntingdon valley, PA. He was an undergraduate research student that joined the Wang group in fall 2022. Since graduating he stayed at the University of Pittsburgh as a researchers in the Wipf Lab.

Yidong Wang (Postdoctoral Researcher, 2017-2022)

Yidong Wang was born in Zhejiang, China. He obtained his B.Sc. degree at Northeast Normal University after conducting research in the group of Professor Xihe Bi in 2012.  Then he moved to East China Normal University to continue his Ph.D. study under the supervision of Professor Junliang Zhang.  After obtaining his Ph.D. in 2017, he joined the Wang group as a postdoctoral researcher. In Fall 2022, he returned to China and joined the faculty at the School of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering at Yangzhou University.

Molly Nagle (Undergraduate, 2021-2022)

Molly Nagle is  from Allentown, PA and is a rising senior Chemistry major on the Bioscience track with a certificate in Children’s Literature. Molly plans to attend graduate school after graduating Pitt.

Parker Staub (Undergraduate, 2021-2022)

Parker was born and raised in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. He is completing his undergraduate degree at the University of Pittsburgh, majoring in Chemistry. Parker joined the Wang Group in early 2021, and graduated in 2022.  Parker is currently a graduate student in the Chemistry PhD program at the University of Minnesota in the group of Professor Christopher Douglas.

Nick Wade (Undergraduate, 2021-2022)

Nick Wade was born and raised in Washington, DC and moved to Pittsburgh for undergrad at Pitt. He majors in chemistry and has a minor in history. Nick graduated in 2022 and is currently a graduate student at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where he is current a graduate student in the Chemistry PhD program in the group of Professor Scott Denmark.

James Paule (Undergraduate, 2020-2022)

James is an undergraduate researcher who is from Bloomfield, New Jersey. James is currently a junior chemistry major on the bioscience track who aspired to attend medical school after graduation. James joined the Wang group in Fall 2020.

Leah Raizen (Undergraduate, 2020-2022)

Leah Raizen is an undergraduate researcher from Lower Merion, Pennsylvania. Leah attends the University of Pittsburgh where she majors in Chemistry on the bioscience track. Leah joined the Wang group the spring of her junior year in 2020. Upon graduating in 2022, she became a graduate student in the Chemistry PhD program at the University of Delaware in the group of Professor Don Watson.

Paul Bizzaro (Undergraduate, 2020-2022)

Paul grew up in Yardley, Pennsylvania. Paul attended Holy Ghost Preparatory Scholl. Paul attends the University of Pittsburgh and majors in Chemistry with a minor in Classics. Paul joined the Wang Group in the fall of 2020.  Upon graduating in 2022, Paul became a graduate student in the Chemistry PhD program at the University of Delaware.

Paul Geaneotes (Undergraduate, 2019-2021)

Paul was born in Philadelphia and grew up in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Paul attended Southern Lehigh High School. Paul attends the University of Pittsburgh and majors in Chemistry with a minor in Neuroscience. Paul joined the Wang Group the summer after his sophomore year.  Upon graduating in 2021, Paul continued his studies at Pitt in the Chemistry PhD program, where he is a graduate student in the group of Professor Paul Floreancig.

Ethan grew up in Acton, Massachusetts. He is a microbiology major at the University of Pittsburgh. Ethan joined the Wang group in the Fall of 2019. He plans on attending medical school after graduating.

Rockwell Pokrant (Undergraduate, 2018-2021)

Rockwell Pokrant grew up in Grove City, Pennsylvania. He fell in love with chemistry after his first semester doing research in the group, changing his major to chemistry. After graduating in 2021, he continued his adventure in chemistry at the Purdue, where he is in the PhD program in the Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology in the group of Professor Ryan Altman.

Xiaodong Zuo (Postdoctoral Researcher, 2018-2020)

Xiaodong was born and grew up in Hebei, China. He graduated from Xiamen University with a BA degree in chemistry in 2012, where he studied in the group of Professor Peiqiang Huang for his undergraduate thesis. Then he joined Qilin Zhou’s group at Nankai University to conduct organic chemistry research and got his PhD in 2017. After completing postdoctoral research in the Wang group, he is currently a scientist at WuXi AppTec in Wuhan, China.

Rui Guo (Postdoctoral Researcher, 2018-2020)

Rui Guo was born and grew up in Shandong, China. He obtained his BSc degree in pharmacy from Ocean University of China in 2012. Then he moved to Lanzhou University and received his MSc degree under the supervision of Professor Hongbin Zhai and Associate Professor Yun Li in 2015. He then joined Professor Guozhu Zhang’s group at Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry (SIOC) and obtained his Ph.D. in organic chemistry in 2018. After completing his postdoctoral research, he returned to the SIOC as a postdoctoral scholar in the group of Professor Guozhu Zhang.

Xiangning (Shannon) Li (Undergraduate, 2019)

Xiangning(Shannon) Li was born and grew up in Yunnan, China. Shannon studies at University of Pittsburgh majors in neuroscience and minors in chemistry. She joined Wang’s group the fall of her junior year.

Haley Lindberg (Undergraduate, 2018-2019)

Haley was born and grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She is a senior at the University of Pittsburgh majoring in Chemistry with a concentration in bioscience. She joined the Wang group in the summer after her sophomore year and hopes to work in medical research after graduating.

Devin Dikec (Undergraduate, 2019)

Devin Dikec was raised in Beaver, Pennsylvania and attended Beaver Area High School. Devin studied at the University of Pittsburgh majoring in Bioinformatics and minoring in Chemistry and joined the Wang group during his senior summer. Upon graduation, Devin pursued a Master’s in Public Health at Pitt.

Andrew Duddleston (Undergraduate, 2018-2019)

Andrew was born in Okinawa, Japan and grew up in both Okinawa and Pyeongtaek, South Korea. Andrew attends the University of Pittsburgh where he is majoring in Biological Sciences and minoring in Chemistry and Teacher Education. Andrew joined the Wang Group the summer before his junior year.

Jonathan Stemm (Volunteer Researcher, 2019)

Jon is from Danville, Pennsylvania. John finished his Bachelor’s in Chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh in 2019. He is currently working at the University of Pittsburgh as a General Chemistry Lab Instructor and doing primary research as a volunteer in the Wang Group. Jon aspires to attend medical school next year.

Kh Tanvir Ahmed (Staff Researcher, 2018-2019)

Kh Tanvir Ahmed was born and grew up in Dhaka, Bangladesh. He completed his B.Pharm. and M.Pharm. (Pharmaceutical Chemistry) degree from the University of Dhaka in 2008 and 2010, respectively. In Bangladesh, he worked for Novartis as a product development officer. Later he worked as a lecturer in the Department of Pharmacy of East West University. He is pursuing an MS in Medicinal Chemistry at Duquesne University, where he worked on the total synthesis of marine cyanobacterial non-ribosomal N-methylated peptide. He worked as a Laboratory Assistant in the Wang group at the University of Pittsburgh and is currently a graduate student in the Chemistry PhD program at West Virginia University in the group of Professor Greg Dudley.

Scott L. Wudarski (Graduate Student, 2017-2020)

Scott Wudarski was born and grew up on Long Island, New York. He obtained a General Equivalency Diploma (GED) from the state of New York in 2010, followed by an Associate in Science (A.S.) degree from Nassau Community College in 2013. He completed his undergraduate career at the University at Buffalo, receiving a B.S. in Chemisty in 2015. He acted as a Research Chemist from 2015 to 2017 within the Medicinal Chemistry Department at Athenex, Inc., a multinational pharmaceutical company based in Buffalo, NY. He joined the Wang group during the summer of 2017 as a Chair’s Scholar.

Kayla Kroner (Graduate Student, 2017-2018)

Kayla Kroner grew up in a small town in northern Illinois.  She graduated from Hinckley-Big Rock High School in 2013 and went on to get her BS in chemistry with a minor in English at Drake University in 2017.  In the summer of 2016, she participated in an NSF funded REU at West Virginia University, where she worked on a boracarboxylation reaction in the Popp group.  She was a Dietrich School of Arts & Sciences Fellow at the University of Pittsburgh.

Zelie Hummer (SURF Program Undergraduate, 2019)

Zelie Hummer is from Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Zelie attended Saint Vincent College for her undergraduate degree. Zelie spent her junior summer in the Yiming Wang group at the University of Pittburgh as part of the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program and plans to attend graduate school to pursue a PhD in chemistry.

Brett Ondich was born and grew up in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania.  He is a senior at the University of Pittsburgh seeking to graduate after the Spring 2018 semester with a BS in chemistry.  Upon graduating, he will commission into the United States Air Force as a 2d Lieutenant.  His first assignment will be working as a chemist at Patrick Air Force Base, Florida.

Yuequan (Rachel) Li (Undergraduate, 2017-2018)

Rachel Li was born and grew up in Xiamen, Fujian, China.  She is a senior chemistry major (bioscience option) at the University of Pittsburgh.  Before her time at the University of Pittsburgh, Rachel graduated from Jimei University in China with a BA degree, double majoring in English and Law.  She hopes to continue her academic studies in scientific research.  She joined Yiming’s group in 2017.

Marianne Kitsio (Undergraduate, 2017-2018)

Marianne Kitsio was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  She graduated from Science and Technology Academy in 2015.  Marianne is currently a junior at the University of Pittsburgh, where she is a chemistry major.  She aspires to attend veterinary school in the future.

Okechukwu U. Aloziem (Undergraduate, 2017-2018)

Okey was born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska.  He completed his high school education at Creighton Preparatory School before coming to the University of Pittsburgh to study biological sciences and chemistry.  He is currently in the MD program at Pitt.

Sinead Eck (Undergraduate, 2017-2018)

Sinead Eck was born and raised in Lehigh County Pennsylvania. She is currently a senior studying chemistry at the Univerity of Pittsburgh. Sinead earned her Associates Degree in Chemistry from Lehigh Carbon Community College before transferring to Pitt. She plans on attending Optometry School in the future.

Through the Years:

Summer 2023

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Group Picnic, April 2022

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Summer 2021

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Spring 2021

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Fall 2020

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Spring 2020

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Fall 2019

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Spring 2019

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Fall 2018