Third-Year Graduate Student in
Chemistry
Alex Zestos
received a B.S. with Honors and M.S. in Chemistry from the College of
William
and Mary in Williamsburg, VA. His undergraduate advisor was Prof.
William H.
Starnes, Jr., and his research involved synthesizing transition metal
complex
additives that were used to promote the smoke suppression and fire
retardance
of poly(vinyl chloride). His current project involves the construction
and
testing of polymer and epoxy coated carbon-fiber microelectrodes. In
his spare
time, he enjoys traveling and playing basketball.
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Madelaine Denno
Second-Year Graduate Student in
Chemistry
Madelaine
graduated from Mount Holyoke College with a B.A.
in Biochemistry and a minor in German in 2010. While at Mount Holyoke,
she
studied flow characterization of commercially available microfluidic
devices
and assisted in the translation of an address to the German Chemical
Society by
Heinrich Caro. Madelaine is currently working on optimizing separation
conditions for neurotransmitters using capillary
electrophoresis with fast scan cyclic voltammetric detection. In her
spare time
she enjoys spending time with her dog, Bailey, working out, and
relaxing with
some fellow chemists.
Michael Nguyen
Second-Year
Graduate Student in
Chemistry
Michael
Nguyen graduated from the University of Nebraska – Lincoln with a B.A.
in
Chemistry with a minor in Mathematics.
From 2008 to 2010 he worked for Aerotek Scientific in the
Analytical
Development Lab for Novartis in Lincoln.
Currently he is studying adenosine and dopamine in the rat brain
in vivo.
In his free time he enjoys playing sports, doing anything
outside, and
reading.
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Phuong Vo
Second-Year
Graduate Student in
Chemistry
Phuong graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry from
Mt. Holyoke College, South Hadley, MA in 2010. As an undergraduate
student, Phuong worked for Dr. Megan Nunez investigating Bdellovibrio
predation in a mixed biofilm of E. coliM. luteus.
Her current project is measuring dopamine release in Drosophila
and detecting tyramine and octopamine using Nafion coated
microelectrodes. In her free time, she likes cooking, planting, and
playing with her cute chinchillas, Susu and Nunu.
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Amanda Prior
First-Year Graduate Student in
Chemistry
Mandy received her B.S in Chemistry and B.A in Psychology from
NC State University in 2009. As an
undergrad, she studied ovarian cancer biomarker detection using mass
spectroscopy. Her current project is
developing electrode materials incorporating graphene.
In her free time, she likes to read, play
sports and practice piano.
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Thitaphat
Ngernsutivorakul
M.A. student in
Chemistry
Thitaphat
(Non) Ngernsutivorakul is a Master's student in chemistry from
Thailand. He received his B.S. in chemistry last year from UVA
and is staying in the lab for 1 more year. He is making
carbon-nanotube based electrodes and working on alternative electrode
construction techniques Other than chemistry, especially
analytical chemistry, he
is also interested in food science. Non is going to graduate school
after his Bachelor's degree and wants to be a professional
scientist. During his free-time, he loves to play soccer, running
and enjoys cooking.
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Songserea Wood
Third-Year Undergraduate in
Chemistry
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