Enver Cagri Izgu
(Enver Çağrı İzgü)
Associate Professor, Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Rutgers University – New Brunswick, USA
Member of Cancer Pharmacology Program, Rutgers Cancer Institute
Member of Center for Lipid Research, Rutgers University, New Brunswick
Postdoc, Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital, USA
Research: Replication of genetic information, systems chemistry of protocells
Advisor: Dr. Jack W. Szostak
Ph.D., University of Minnesota, USA
Research: Total synthesis of alkaloids, synthetic method development, NMR spectroscopy
Advisor: Dr. Thomas R. Hoye
B.Sc., Middle East Technical University (METU), Turkiye
Research: Asymmetric Catalysis
Advisor: Dr. Ozdemir Dogan
Honors and Awards
Maximizing Investigators' Research Award, NIH – National Institute of General Medical Sciences
Interstellar Initiative – Early Career Investigator, The New York Academy of Sciences and Japan Agency for Medical Research
and Development
Trailblazer Award, NIH – National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering
Institutional Research Grant Early Investigator Award, American Cancer Society
Charles and Johanna Busch Biomedical Grant Award, Rutgers University
Arthur Klorfein Scholarship, Marine Biological Laboratory
Highest Distinction, Ranked #1 in Chemistry, METU
Young Scientist Award (National Scholarship Program), The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkiye
Yeşim Er Öztaş
Visiting Professor
Professor, Department of Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Hacettepe University, Turkiye
Associate Professor, Department of Biochemistry, School or Medicine, Hacettepe University
Clinical Biochemist, Emergency Laboratory at Hacettepe University Hospital
Ph.D., Hacettepe University, Institute of Health Sciences, Department of medical Biochemistry
Research: Protein and lipid oxidation markers, as well as associated biochemical alterations, in blood samples from patients with sickle cell disease
Residency, Ankara University, Department of Medical Biochemistry, Turkiye
Research: Electrophoretic detection of small dense LDL in the plasma of patients undergoing coronary angiography
M.D., Hacettepe University, Faculty of Medicine, Turkiye
Visiting Researcher:
Molecular Pathology Lab, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, MA, USA
Biochemical Genetics Department, Children’s Hospital, Boston, Harvard Medical School
Department of Laboratory Medicine, Children’s Hospital, Boston, Harvard Medical School
Honors and Awards
TUBITAK (The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkiye) Travel Award, 59th ACLPS (Academy of Clinical Laboratory Physicians and Scientists) Annual Meeting, New York, 2024.
Hacettepe University Scientific Research Projects Unit, Travel Award, Gordon Research Seminar, Red Cells: Exploring the Mechanisms Controlling Erythropoiesis and Red Blood Cell Biology in Health and Disease, Rhode Island, 2025
Hacettepe University Scientific Research Projects Unit, Travel Award, Gordon Research Conference, Glycolipid and Sphingolipid Biology, Barga, Italy, 2016
Han Zhang
Postdoctoral Fellow
Ph.D., Chemistry, The Pennsylvania State University
M.Sc., Medicinal Chemistry, Peking University
B.Med., Medicine, Peking University
Molecular biosensors
Medicinal chemistry and drug development
Han Zhang earned his bachelor's degree in Medicine and his master's degree in Medicinal Chemistry from Peking University. He then moved to Pennsylvania State University to conduct his Ph.D. studies in Chemistry. At Penn State, his research focused on the design and synthesis of fluorescent ligands and chemical tools for super-resolution microscopy. Outside the lab, he enjoys mountain biking and spending time with his family and his cat, Paopao.
Geoffrey Chan
Postdoctoral Fellow
Ph.D., Medicinal Chemistry, Rutgers–New Brunswick
B.A., Mol. Biol. & Biochem., Rutgers–New Brunswick
Medicinal chemistry and drug development
Geoffrey received his bachelor’s degree in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry from Rutgers University. After working as a QC Microbiologist in industry, he returned to Rutgers to receive his PhD in Medicinal Chemistry under the guidance of Dr. Matthew Moschitto. There, he worked on natural product synthesis, design of transcription factor inhibitors, and sulfonyl fluoride chemistry. When not in the lab, he can be found at the gym or at home playing games and cooking/baking new recipes.
Dorsa Ebrahimi
Graduate Student
M.Sc., Chemistry, Alzahra University
B.Sc., Chemistry, Kharazmi University
Functional nucleic acids systems
Molecular biosensors
Prodrugs
Dorsa earned her bachelor's degree in Applied Chemistry from Kharazmi University and her master's in Organic Chemistry from Alzahra University in Tehran, Iran. Under the guidance of Dr. Ghodsi Mohammadi Ziarani, she delved into the intricate realm of multicomponent reactions, integrating organic compounds into synthetic methodologies to create advanced catalysts and precision-engineered chemosensors.
Sarah Cho
Graduate Student
M.Sc., Biochemistry, Montclair State University
B.Sc., Biochemistry, Montclair State University
Molecular and cellular biology
Molecular biosensors
Sarah graduated from Montclair State University with both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in chemistry, with a focus on biochemistry. She has a strong background in enzymology and hopes to become a professor of biochemistry to help students better understand the complexities of anatomical systems at the molecular level. In her spare time, Sarah enjoys traveling, cooking, and avoiding heights at all costs.
Xinyi (Cindy) Miao
Graduate Student
B.Sc., Chemistry, Davidson College
Functional nucleic acids systems
Targeted therapeutics
Synthetic biology
Cindy graduated from Davidson College with a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry (Biochemistry track). She has previously studied amine transaminases, NRAS palmitoylation systems, and mechanisms for bacterial transcription termination. Horticultural therapy is her favorite means of stress reduction.
Ryan Lee
Graduate Student
Designer bio(macro)molecules
Targeted therapeutics
Lipid synthesis and biochemistry
B.Sc., Pharmaceutical Sciences, Purdue University
Ryan received his B.Sc in Pharmaceutical Sciences from Purdue University, where he worked on gem-difluoroalkene functionalization and synthetic methodology under the guidance of Ryan Altman. Originally from New Jersey, Ryan is an avid beach go-er and bagel connoisseur. In his free time, you can catch Ryan at home overfeeding his labrador retriever, at the gym, or at his local Wawa.
Kousik Rana
Graduate Student
Molecular biosensors
Medicinal chemistry and drug development
B.Sc., Chemistry, Vidyasagar University
M.Sc., Chemistry, IIT, Bombay
Kousik, born in West Bengal, India, completed Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from Vidyasagar University and pursued a Master of Science in Chemistry at the IIT Bombay. His master’s project focused on organic functional materials and supramolecular chemistry, with emphasis on the synthesis and substituent-dependent liquid crystalline behavior of Blatter radicals. Following his master’s degree, Kousik worked as a Project Intern at the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, where his research involved the synthesis of circularly polarized luminescence materials through co-assembly with achiral NMI derivatives. Outside academics, he enjoys travelling, cricket and football, reading, music, and movies.
Bugzie Wong
Undergraduate Student
Chemistry
Rutgers University – New Brunswick
Molecular biosensors
Prodrugs
Supported through the Women in Science and Engineering Program.
Bugzie is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry at Rutgers University’s School of Arts and Sciences. They will be working with the Izgu Lab through the SUPER Research Program to gain hands-on research experience. Bugzie is passionate about learning and hopes to pursue research in chemistry-related fields in the future. Outside of academics, they enjoy creating art, music, and video game assets.
Nofer Tadros
Undergraduate Student
Genetics
Rutgers University – New Brunswick
Immunity and immunopharmacology
Molecular biosensors
Nofer is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Genetics at Rutgers University’s School of Arts and Sciences. In our group, he will contribute to the development of molecular probes and degraders while building a strong foundation in experimental research. His long-term interests lie in clinical research and molecular biology, with the goal of applying these approaches to advance the treatment of disease. In his spare time, he enjoys playing guitar.
Veronica Hajduk
Undergraduate Student
Chemistry (major), Biochemistry (minor)
Rutgers University – New Brunswick
Molecular biosensors
Prodrugs
Veronica is majoring in Chemistry and minoring in Biochemistry with a focus on Chemical Biology. She is especially interested in how chemistry is used to study biological mechanisms, and has joined the team to learn new techniques and contribute to research on molecular biosensors. In the future, she plans to continue research by pursuing a PhD. In her free time, Veronica enjoys exploring new cultures through travel, reading, and spending time in nature.
Alumni
Postdoctoral Fellows
Zhaojun Jia
2019–2021
Ph.D., Peking University
B.Sc., Sichuan University
Rhia Stone
2020–2022
Ph.D., The University of Queensland
B.Sc. & M.Sc., Victoria University of Wellington
Huseyin Erguven
2020–2022
B.Sc., Bilkent University
Ph.D., McGill University
Graduate Students
Ruchi Yadav
2018–2019
M.Sc., IIT, Bombay
B.Sc., University of Delhi
Bryan Gutierrez
2017–2023
B.Sc., Pacific Lutheran University
Kern Hast
2019–2023
B.E., University of Florida
Tushar Aggarwal
2017–2023
M.Sc., IIT, Bombay
B.Sc., University of Delhi
Mark Dresel
2023–2024
B.Sc., University of Minnesota
Liming Wang
2020–2025
B.Sc., Peking University
Melih Baci
2020–2026
M.Sc. Texas A & M University
B.Sc., Bilkent University
Undergraduate Students
Thaybeth Malavé Méndez
RISE Fellow, Summer 2018
B.Sc., Chemistry, University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras
Dylan Schroeder
2017–2019
B.Sc., Environmental & Biological Sciences, Rutgers
Jiayu Zhang
2017–2019
B.Sc., Chemistry & Chemical Biology, Rutgers
Tian You
2018–2019
B.Sc., Chemistry
Jilin University, China
Kyle White
2018–2019
B.Sc., Environmental & Biological Sciences, Rutgers
Emmanuel F. Rivera Iglesias
RISE Fellow, Summer 2019
B.Sc., Chemistry, University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras
Bhavya Shah
2017–2019
B.Sc., Environmental & Biological Sciences, Rutgers
George Guanga
2019–2020
B.Sc., Chemical & Biochemical Engineering, Rutgers
Jonathan Hong ◊
2019–2021 (co-author)
B.Sc., Cell Biology and Neuroscience, Rutgers
Camden De Sanctis
2021
B.Sc., Biological Sciences
Rutgers
Sammy Hansali
2022
B.Sc., Chemistry & Chemical Biology, Rutgers
Caitlin Yeung
2020–2022
B.Sc., Biochemistry
Rutgers
David Dejoz
2022–2023
B.Sc., Chemistry
University of Valencia
Hakan Guven ◊
2022–2023 (co-author)
B.Sc., Chemistry, Rutgers
Zayna Bajwa
2022–2023
B.Sc., Environmental & Biological Sciences, Rutgers
Haia Mohsen
2023
B.Sc., Molecular & Cellular Biology, UC Berkeley
Aditya Sivakumar
2023–2024
B.Sc., Chemistry & Chemical Biology, Rutgers
Shuvon Islam
2024
Pharm.D., Pharmacy, Rutgers
Bridget Broncales
2024
Pharm.D., Pharmacy, Rutgers
Serena Yee
2024
B.Sc., Biotechnology and Microbiology, Rutgers
Monique Robinson ◊
2024 (co-author)
B.Sc., Mechanical Engineering Biology, Rutgers
Ibraheem Akhtar
2024–2025
Neuroscience, Rutgers
Nandini Natarajan
2025
Bioengineering, Rutgers
Yuhyun Kim
2024–2025
B.Sc., Chemistry, Rutgers
Anuva Joshi ◊
2026 (co-author)
Women in Science and Engineering Program
B.Sc., Biotechnology, Rutgers
High School Students
Anton Krotenok
Summer 2018
Woodbridge Academy for Allied Health and Biomedical Sciences
ACS Project SEED
Muhammad Sharaf
Summer 2019
Edison High School
ACS Project SEED
Mei Kim
Summer 2022
Edison High School
ACS Project SEED
Aisha Mansoor
Summer 2019
Franklin High School
ACS Project SEED
Naiya Bharvard
Summer 2023
The Lawrenceville School
ACS Project SEED
Mahazabin Akther
Summer 2023
Piscataway High School
ACS Project SEED
Oscar Wong
Summer 2024
Dr. Ronald E. McNair Academic High School High School
ACS Project SEED
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