Current Group
Professor Jennifer A. Prescher
B.S. in Chemistry and Mathematics 2001, University of Wisconsin – La Crosse (Aaron Monte)
Ph.D. in Chemistry 2006, University of California, Berkeley (Carolyn Bertozzi)
Susan G. Komen and Molecular Imaging Fellow, Stanford University, 2007 – 2010 (Chris Contag)
Assistant Professor, 2010 – 2016, University of California, Irvine
Associate Professor, 2016 - 2018, University of California, Irvine
Full Professor, 2018 – Present, University of California, Irvine
Hometown: Blue Earth, MN
Scientific Hero: Frederick Sanger, Rolf Huisgen, Stephen Kent
Recent Awards: ACS Arthur C. Cope Scholar (2023) ● Paul Allen Distinguished Investigator (2021) ● Scialog Fellow (2018) ● UCI Distinguished Assistant Professor Award for Research (2016) ● ACS Women in Chemistry Rising Star (2016) ● Thieme Chemistry Journal Award (2016) ● Novartis Early Career Award in Organic Chemistry (2015) ● Camille and Henry Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar (2015) ● Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship (2015) ● NSF CAREER Award (2014) ● Cottrell Scholar (2014) ● Kavli Fellow (2014) ● UCI Outstanding Contributions to Undergraduate Education Award (2013)
Visiting scholars & Postdocs
Graduate students
Sharon Chen
Hometown: Torrance, CA
Education: B.A., Molecular and Cellular Biology, UC Berkeley
Scientific Hero: Gertrude B. Elion
Lila Halbers
Hometown: Anaheim Hills, CA
Education: B.A., Chemistry, UC Santa Barbara; M.S., Clinical and Experimental Therapeutics, USC
Scientific Hero: Rosalind Franklin
Awards: Vertex Fellow (2022)
Erin Fuller
Hometown: Encinitas, CA
Education: B.S., Biochemistry, UC Los Angeles
Scientific Hero: Dorothy Hodgkin
Tanya Hadjian
Hometown: Glendale, CA
Education: B.S., Chemistry, UC Los Angeles
Scientific Hero: Elisabeth Bik
Julia Balsamo
Hometown: Santa Rosa, CA
Education: B.S., Chemistry, UC Santa Barbara
Scientific Hero: Marie Curie
Halley Lin-Jones
Hometown: Castro Valley, CA
Education: B.A., Chemistry, Smith College
Scientific Hero: Gertrude B. Elion
Awards: NSF GRFP Honorable Mention (2024)
Alessandra Beelen
Hometown: Hangzhou, China
Education: B.S., Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, UC Davis
Scientific Hero: Peter G. Schultz
Melody Wu
Hometown: La Canada, CA
Education: B.S., Biology, UC Riverside
Scientific Hero: Rosalind Franklin
Undergraduate students
Kelly Pham
Hometown: Orange, CA
Education: B.S., Chemistry
Scientific Hero: August Kekule
Awards: UROP Fellow (2023-2024), UROP Fellow Summer 2024
Katrina Green
Hometown: Laguna Niguel, CA
Education: B.S., Biological Sciences
Scientific Hero: Rosalind Franklin
Awards: UROP Fellow (2023-2024), UROP Fellow Summer 2024
Casey Tran
Hometown: Santa Ana, CA
Education: B.S., Biological Sciences
Scientific Hero: Rosalind Franklin
Awards: UROP Fellow (2023-2024), UROP Fellow Summer 2024
Amelia Hammond
Hometown: Carlisle, MA
Education: B.S., Chemistry
Scientific Hero: Marie Curie
Awards: UROP Fellow Summer 2024
