Hao (Tom) Xu
Ph.D. Candidate
Contact: haotom.xu@mail.utoronto.ca
Tom (Hao) was born and raised in Chengdu, Sichuan province in China and obtained his BSc. at Sichuan University. His undergraduate thesis, "Adsorption of heavy metal ions and organic dyes via polymer microparticles," was completed under the supervision of Prof. Changsheng Zhao. Currently, Tom is working on the synthesis of homodisperse oligomers and polymers. Outside the lab, Tom enjoys coding in Python, playing the piano, photography, and video games.
Peter Liu
Ph.D. Candidate
Contact: peterjt.liu@mail.utoronto.ca
Peter (Jiang Tian) Liu was born in China and completed his BSc at Concordia University. After a brief period in industry, he obtained his MSc at Concordia University under the supervision of Prof. Pat Forgione. His MSc thesis focused on decarboxylative cross-coupling. He is currently interested in the synthesis of novel conjugated polymers. Outside of the lab, Peter likes to cook and collecte rare books.
Heba Hamdy
Ph.D. Candidate
Contact: heba.farrag@mail.utoronto.ca
Heba grew up in Cairo, Egypt and completed her B.Sc. at Cairo University (Chemistry major). Her M.Sc. thesis project focused on the development of metal oxide nanostructures for photoelectrochemical solar energy-related applications under the supervision of Dr. Ahmad M. Mohammed and Dr. Nageh K. Allan at Cairo University and American University in Cairo. She is currently investigating organic materials for energy storage applications. Outside the lab, she enjoys spending time with her daughter and watching movies.
Jacob Przywolski
3rd Year Ph.D. Student
Contact: jacob.przywolski@mail.utoronto.ca
Jacob grew up in Keswick, Ontario. He completed his BSc at the University of Toronto, where he briefly worked in Doug Stephan's group on phosphine chemistry, and did his undergraduate thesis work in Dwight Seferos' group on oligothiophene chemistry. His current focus is continuing his undergraduate thesis work on using oligothiophenes as light-absorbing materials for producing hydrogen. Outside of the group, Jacob enjoys cooking and baking, playing video games, making cocktails, and spending time with friends.
Jonatas Berbigier
Postdoctoral Fellow
Contact: jonatas.berbigier@utoronto.ca
Jonatas (he/him) grew up in Porto Alegre, Brazil, and completed his B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in Chemistry at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, and his Ph.D. at the University of Saskatchewan. While at USask, he studied the indophenine reaction as a metal-free approach to synthesizing new pi-conjugated polymers. He previously worked as a research assistant at Braskem and the SENAI Institute of Innovation for Polymer Engineering. Jonatas' other interests include PC games, astronomy, and working out.
Kristen Perry
2nd Year Ph.D. Student
Contact: kristenl.perry@mail.utoronto.ca
Kristen (she/her) grew up in Pickering, ON and completed her B.Sc. at Western University in Integrated Science with a Chemistry specialization. Her honours thesis focused on synthesizing organometallic compounds for the reduction of carbon dioxide using secondary coordination sphere effects under the supervision of Dr. Marcus Drover. She is currently exploring modifications of polymers for use in energy storage and polymer self-assembly. Outside of the lab, she loves baking, painting, and playing games with friends. Undercover @SeferosGroup social media coordinator.
Ebad Noman
2nd Year Ph.D. Student
Contact: ebad.noman@mail.utoronto.ca
Ebad Noman grew up in Mississauga, Ontario. He completed his B.Sc. at Toronto Metropolitan University, where he worked in Adler's group to complete his undergrad thesis on porphyrin-siloxanes. He completed his M.Sc. at McMaster University in Brook's group, where he synthesized alpha-lipoic acid-based sustainable silicone materials. Currently, Ebad is looking to develop sustainable membranes for CO2 capture. Ebad's other interests include working out, cooking, and watching live sports.
Kimia Hosseini
2nd Year Ph.D. Student
Contact: kimia.hosseini@mail.utoronto.ca
Kimia (she/her/hers) completed her BSc at the University of British Columbia where she worked in Prof. Laurel Schafer’s group for her undergraduate thesis on zirconium catalyzed hydroaminoalkylation and mechanistic investigations. She also worked in Prof. Parisa Mehrkhodavandi’s lab as a USRA student on mechanistic elucidation for indium catalyzed synthesis of spiro-orthoesters. She is currently exploring modifications of polymers for use in energy storage. Outside of the lab, Kimia likes to play tennis, go to the gym, explore new scenic places and cook.
Ailsa Edward
Postdoctoral Fellow
Contact: ailsa.edward@utoronto.ca
Ailsa (she/her) grew up in Dundee, Scotland, and completed her integrated Masters MChem (Hons) degree in Chemistry at the University of St Andrews. She then continued on at the University of St Andrews for her PhD co-supervised by Prof. Russell Morris and Dr Euan Kay, researching the surface functionalisation of MOF nanoparticles with groups capable of undergoing dynamic covalent exchange and the creation of nanoassemblies. During her PhD, Ailsa also visited the Technical University of Munich for a 3 month research stay with Prof. Roland Fischer’s group. Outside of the lab Ailsa enjoys baking, finding nice coffee spots, and attending spin classes.
Grace Cook
1st Year Ph.D. Student
Contact: grace.cook@mail.utoronto.ca
Grace (she/her) grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the same city where she completed her BcS at the University of Michigan. During her time at the University of Michigan she obtained dual degrees in chemistry and environment & sustainability. She researched redox flow batteries as well as electrochemically chlorinated commodity chemicals from PVC recycling waste with Prof. Anne McNeil. Throughout her PhD Grace will continue exploring sustainable applications of chemistry, particularly related to energy storage. Outside of the lab Grace spends her time gardening, baking sourdough bread, advocating for climate policy, and cuddling her cat Fig.
Nicole Frias
1st Year Ph.D. Student
Contact: nicole.frias@mail.utoronto.ca
Nicole was born and raised in the Greater Toronto Area. She completed her MSc under the supervision of Dr. Brian Kim and Dr. Ryan Hili at York University, working on expanding the scope of current gene-editing technologies (base/prime editing) with enhanced spatiotemporal precision. Previously, she worked under the supervision of Dr. Christopher Caputo, where she discovered her interests in exploring the reactivity of main-group compounds. During her PhD studies, Nicole aims to apply fundamental main-group concepts in the development of sustainable materials for electronic devices. Outside the lab, Nicole enjoys listening to music, going to concerts, and crafting.