Joseph Derosa, Ph.D.
(he/him)
Principal Investigator (PI)
Innovation Career Development Assistant Professor, Boston University
AOB Postdoctoral Fellow, Caltech, 2020–2023 (Prof. Jonas C. Peters)
Ph.D. in Chemistry, Scripps Research, 2019 (Prof. Keary M. Engle)
B.S. in Biochemistry, City College of NY, 2015 (Prof. Mark R. Biscoe)
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Research Interests: Transition metals, catalysis, and electrochemistry
Hobbies: Hiking, graphic novels, and creative writing
Graduate Students
Yahui "Leyla" Guo
(she/her)
Graduate Student (G4)
B.S. in Chemistry, University of Rochester, 2023 (Prof. Bradley L. Nilsson)
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Research Interests: Transition metal catalysis
Hobbies: Gym, [solidcore], running, and snowboarding
Bryan Parnitzke
(he/him)
NSF Graduate Research Fellow (G4)
B.S. in Chemistry, Baldwin Wallace University, 2023 (Prof. Ray Shively)
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Research Interests: Transition metals and (electro)catalysis
Hobbies: Longboarding, climbing, yoga, and baking
Jillian Genova
(she/her)
Graduate Student (G3)
B.S. in Chemistry, University of Michigan, 2021 (Prof. John Montgomery)
Vertex Pharmaceuticals (s/o Hardwin O'Dowd)
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Research Interests: Novel synthetic methodology and scalable organic synthesis
Hobbies: Spending time with friends, cooking, and design
Alec Adam
(he/him)
Graduate Student (G3)​
B.S. in Chemisty and Mathematics, University of Florida, 2024 (Prof. Adam Veige)
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Research Interests: Catalysis, synthetic organic methodology, and computational chemistry
Hobbies: Golf, tennis, and playing music
Sally Tepper
(she/her)
Ethan Gerhardt
(he/him)
Graduate Student (G2)
NSF ENERGIZE Trainee
B.A. in Chemistry and Government, Wesleyan University, 2022 (Prof. Brian Northrop)
Vertex Pharmaceuticals (Process Chemistry)
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Research Interests: Process-friendly organometallic catalysis, reaction optimization via mechanistic analysis, machine learning-driven high throughput experimentation
Hobbies: Crocheting, reading, and listening to Taylor Swift
Graduate Student (G2)
NSF GRFP Honorable Mention
B.A. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Boston University, 2025 (Prof. Joseph Derosa)
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Research Interests: Transition metal catalysis and electrocatalysis
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Hobbies: Gym, cooking, listening to music
Undergraduate Researchers
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Joseph Repaci
(he/him)
Kennedy Anderson
(she/her)
Undergraduate Student (UG3)
(Laursen Summer Research Award 2026)​
Undergraduate Student (UG3)
B.A. in Chemistry and Physics,
Boston University, 2028
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Research Interests: Organic chemistry, organometallic chemistry
Hobbies: Cooking, listening to music, electronics
B.A. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Boston University, 2028
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Research Interests: Synthesis
Hobbies: Working out, DJing, hiking, and crosswords
XiaoAn Wu
(she/her)
Undergraduate Student (UG4)
(UROP Award 2026)
B.A. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology,
Boston University, 2027
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Research Interests: Organic chemistry and biological chemistry
Hobbies: Fencing, watching soccer