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Post-Doctoral Associates

Matthew Lauer

Matthew Lauer

Dr. Matthew Lauer joined the Shaughnessy group in 2013 after completing his PhD under the direction of James Stambuli at OSU.  Matt studied ligand controlled product selectivity in Heck couplings and developed a new palladacycle catalyst for the selective cross-dimerization of alkynes.  Matt accepted a position with PharmAgra Labs in fall 2015.
BS, Northern Kentucky University (2007)
PhD, The Ohio State University (2012)
  • J. Org. Chem., 2014, 79, 10837-10848
  • ​ACS Catal., 2016, 6, 5834-5842
Steven Raders

Steven Raders

Dr. Steven Raders  joined the Shaughnessy group in 2010. His work at UA focused on the development of new phosphine ligands and their application in Pd-catalyzed cross-coupling. In 2012, he accepted a position with Dwight & Church.
BS, Louisiana Tech (2003)
PhD, Iowa State University (2009)
  • J. Org. Chem. 2013, 78, 3676-3687
  • J. Org. Chem. 2013, 78, 4649-4664
  • ​Eur. J. Org. Chem. 2014, 7395-7404
Michael Sliger

Michael Sliger

Dr. Michael Sliger  joined the Shaughnessy group in 2002. Michael's work focused on the development of new sterically demanding ligands and fundamental studies of the effect of ionic liquids on organometallic reactivity. In 2004, he moved to Wesleyan University as a post-doctoral associate in the lab of Prof. Joseph Bruno. In 2006, Michael began working for Aerogel, Inc on the development of carbon aerogel materials. In 2007, he moved to the lithium battery division of Duracell, Inc.
BS (magna cum laude), Western Illinois University (1992)
PhD, University of Iowa (2002)
  • J. Organomet. Chem. 2005, 690, 1478-1486
  • J. Organomet. Chem. 2005, 690, 3540-3545

Graduate Students

Kerry Barnett

Kerry Barnett

Kerry earned a BS in Chemistry at Mississippi State University.  She started in the PhD program in chemistry in fall 2013 and joined the Shaughnessy group soon after.  Kerry's research has focused on air-stable palladium phosphine complexes as precatalysts for cross-coupling reactions.  Kerry was a GAANN fellow during the 2016-17 academic year. After finishing her PhD, Kerry accepted a post-doctoral position at Smith College.
BS, Mississippi State University (2013)
PhD, The University of Alabama (2017)
  • Dissertation:  Air-Stable Palladium(II) Precatalysts: Synthesis, Properties, and Applications in Cross-Coupling Reactions
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Jeffrey Semmes

​Jeff earned his undergraduate degree at the University of West Florida and entered the PhD program at UA in fall 2011.  Jeff developed an effective catalyst for the acylation of malonate esters using di-tert-butylneopentylphosphine in combination with palladium.  In collaboration with ThruPore Technologies, Jeff has tested novel palladium on carbon catalysts for cross-coupling reactions and hydrogenation of alkenes.
BS, University of West Florida (2011)
  • Tetrahedron Lett., 2015, 56, 3447-3450
  • Eur. J. Org. Chem. 2014, 7395-7404
Jane Moore

Jane Moore

Jane Moore earned her chemistry degree at Tennessee Wesleyan University. She spent the summer of 2008 in the Shaughnessy group as a SURP student. After completing her degree at TWU in 2009, Jane rejoined the group as a graduate student. Jane's research is focused on design and synthesis of water-soluble phosphines. Upon completing her PhD in 2014, Jane entered the UA School of Dentistry.
BS, Tennessee Wesleyan University (2009) 
MS, The University of Alabama (2012)
PhD, The University of Alabama (2014)
  • Dissertation:  Synthesis and Application of Sterically Flexible and Water-Soluble Phosphine Ligands in Palladium Catalysis
  • Chem. Eng. Technol, 2015, 38, 1717-1725
  • J. Organomet. Chem. 2015, 777, 16-24
  • Tetrahedron Lett. 2014, 55, 4801-4806
  • Org. Proc. Res. Dev., 2013, 17, 1262-1271
  • J. Org. Chem. 2013, 78, 3676-3687
  • J. Org. Chem. 2013, 78, 4649-4664
Rambhoopal Kantam

Rambhoopal Kantam

Ram was a member of the Shaughnessy group from 2011-2012.  His research focused on synthesis of water-soluble ligands.  After completing his MS, he took a position as an IT developer for Informatics.
MS, The University of Alabama (2012)
Dayne Fraser

Dayne Fraser

Dayne came to UA with a McNair fellowship. Dayne joined the Shaughnessy group in fall 2008. His research focused on understanding electron transfer in dye-sensitized solar cells using model titanium complexes.
BS, Kennesaw State University (2008)
MS, The University of Alabama (2012)
Nigel Welch

Christopher Nigel Welch

Nigel earned his undergraduate degree at UT-Chattanooga and worked with Dr. Kyle Knight on metal catalyzed reactions. Nigel joined the Shaughnessy group in summer 2008. Nigel's work focused on the development of new Pd catalysts for cross-coupling reactions.
BS, University of Tennessee Chattanooga (2008)
​MS, The University of Alabama (2012)
Scott Brown

William Scott Brown

Scott is a native of Lewisburg, Kentucky, where he was raised on a Tobacco farm that he still works in his spare time. Scott joined the program at UA in fall of 2004. Scott's research has focused on mechanisms and applications of cross-coupling reactions. Scott currently teaches high school chemistry in Kentucky.
BS, Western Kentucky University (2001)
PhD, The University of Alabama (2009)
  • Dissertation: Design and Synthesis of Phosphine Ligands for Palladium-Catalyzed Coupling Reactions
  • Synthesis, 2008, 1965-1970 
  • Tetrahedron, 2008, 64, 6920-6934
Lensey Hill

Lensey L. Hill

Lensey  came to UA in 2004 and joined the Shaughnessy group soon after. Lensey's work focused on the development and application of new ligands for Pd-catalyzed coupling reactions. She contributed to studies on the application of neopentyl phosphines to Pd-catalyzed coupling reactions. She also structurally characterized a number of neopentylphosphine-palladium complexes both in solution and in the solid state. Lensey currently works for Daikin America.
BS, University of Tennessee-Chattanooga (2004)
PhD, The University of Alabama (2009)
  • Dissertation: Investigations of Cross Coupling Reactions: Synthesis and Scope of New Neopentyl Phosphine Ligands and Pre-formed Palladium Catalysts
  • J. Org. Chem., 2006, 71, 5117
  • Tetrahedron, 2008, 64, 6920-6934
  • J. Org. Chem. 2010, 75, 6477-6488
Joon Cho

Joon Hyung Cho

Joon-Hyung Cho is a native of South Korea. Joon joined the chemistry program at UA in August 2002. Joon's research focused on the modification of unprotected halogenated nucleosides using water-soluble palladium catalysts. Joon has also developed the first examples of Pd-catalyzed aryl selenylation. After completing his PhD, he was a post-doctoral associate with Prof. Scott Gilbertson at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, TX. Joon is currently employed by Entropy Solutions..
BS, Seoul National University, Korea (1989)
MS, Seoul National University, Korea (1992)
PhD, The University of Alabama (2007) 
  • Dissertation: Part I. Palladium -Catalyzed Alkenylation and Alkynylation of Nucleosides in Aqueous Media. Part II. Palladium-Catalyzed Carbon-Selenium Bond formation for Unsymmetrical Diselenides
  • Main Group Chem. 2007, 6, 201-214
  • Eur. J. Org. Chem. 2010, 3678-3683 
  • Synlett 2011, 2963-2966 
  • Curr. Prot. Nucl. Acid Chem.2012, 49, 1.27.1-10
Justin P'Pool

S. Justin P'Pool

Justin joined the Shaughnessy group in 2001. Justin's research focused largely on the effect of ionic liquids on organometallic reactivity. He studied olefin polymerization reactions in ILs as well as the kinetics of oxidative addition of methyl iodide to Vaska's complex. Upon completing his PhD, Justin joined Dr. Hans Schanz's lab at the University of Southern Mississippi, where he worked on developing aqueous-phase olefin polymerization catalysts. Justin is currently an instructor at Indianapolis University
BS, University of Kentucky (2001)
PhD, The University of Alabama (2006)
  • Dissertation: Polar, Weakly Coordinating Ionic Liquids as Solvents for Fundamental Organometallic ReactionsIonic Liquids as Green Solvents, ACS Symposium Series, 2003, 300-313
  • J. Organomet. Chem. 2005, 690, 3522-3528 
  • J. Organomet. Chem. 2005, 690, 3540-3545
Lucas Moore

Lucas Moore

Lucas is a native of Mississippi and attended the University of West Alabama. He joined the Shaughnessy group in the summer of 2002. Lucas has been involved in a variety of projects during his time at UA. He worked on the catalytic application of sulfonated ortho-substituted arylphosphines and t-Bu-Amphos in aqueous-phase cross-coupling reactions. He also developed the first examples of hydrophilic N-heterocyclic carbene precursors with anionic substituents. Upon completing his PhD at UA, Lucas joined the lab of Dr. Dave Vicic at the University of Arkansas as a post-doctoral associate. Lucas is currently Manager, Technical Customer Service Group, ArrMaz.
BS, University of West Alabama (2002)
PhD, The University of Alabama (2006)
  • Dissertation: Ligand Design and Application Toward Palladium-Catalyzed Cross-Coupling Reactions
  • ​Org. Lett. 2004, 6, 225-228
  • J. Org. Chem., 2004, 69, 7919-7927
  • J. Org. Chem. 2006, 71, 5117-5125
  • Organometallics 2006, 25, 5151-5158
  • Organometallics, 2008, 27, 576-593
Beth Western

Elizabeth C. Western

Beth grew up in Dyersburg, TN and earned a double major in Music (Voice) and Chemistry at MTSU. She entered the graduate program in the fall of 2001 and joined the Shaughnessy group. Beth's research focused on the catalytic modification of nucleosides using water-soluble catalyst systems. She developed efficient methods for Suzuki coupling of halonucleosides and elucidated the mechanism by which guanine inhibits the catalyst system in these reactions. Beth earned a thesis masters in 2004. Her thesis was named the Outstanding Master's Thesis by the College of Arts & Sciences. In 2005, Beth completed her dissertation. Her dissertation was named the UA Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation in 2007. Upon graduating from UA, Beth entered the UA School of Medicine and earned her MD in 2011. Beth currently in private practice in Tuscaloosa. BS, Middle Tennessee State University (2001)
MS, The University of Alabama (2004)
PhD, The University of Alabama (2005)
MD, University of Alabama School of Medicine (2009)
  • Thesis (2004): Efficient Modification of Halonucleosides Using Suzuki-Miyaura Coupling in Aqueous Media. College of Arts & Sciences Outstanding Masters Thesis, 2005 
  • Dissertation (2005): Palladium-Catalyzed Modification of Halonucleosides: Methodology Development and Mechanism Determination. University of Alabama Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation, 2007 
  • ​J. Org. Chem. 2003, 68, 6767-6774
  • J. Org. Chem. 2005, 70, 6378-6388
  • Organometallics, 2008, 27, 576-593
Rongcai Huang

Rongcai Huang

Rongcai is a native of China. He came to UA in the fall of 2001 as a member of the Shaughnessy group. Rongcai's work covered a range of topics, including: asymmetric hydrogenation of imines and ketones, development of enzyme based assays for high-throughput enantioselectivity screening, synthesis and catalytic application of water-soluble palladacycles, and Rh-catalyzed coupling of aldehydes and boronic acids in aqueous solvents. Upon finishing his PhD at UA, Rongcai was a postdoctoral associate position with Prof. Brian Frost at the University of Nevada-Reno. Rongcai is employed as a research scientist with J&W Pharmalab.
BS, Hangzhou University (1989) 
MS, Hangzhou University (1992) 
PhD, The University of Alabama (2005)
  • Dissertation (2005): Part I. Asymmetric Hydrosilylation of Acetophenone Using Titanium Catalysts; Part II. Synthesis of Water-Soluble Palladacycles and Their Applications to the Suzuki Reaction; Part III. Rhodium-Catalyzed Addition of Aryl and Alkenylboronic Acids to Aldehydes
  • ​Synth. Comm. 2002, 32, 1923-1928
  • Chem. Commun. 2005, 4484-4486
  • J. Org. Chem. 2006, 71, 5117-5125
  • Organometallics, 2006, 25, 4105-4112
Rebecca DeVasher

Rebecca B. DeVasher

Rebecca is a native of Talladega, AL. She  joined the Shaughnessy group in the fall of 2000. Her research focused on the application of water-soluble, sterically demanding phosphines in aqueous-phase coupling reactions and efforts to understand the coordination chemistry of these ligands. In 2004, Rebecca became the first person to complete a PhD in the Shaughnessy group. Upon graduation, Rebecca joined the faculty of Rose-Hulmann Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, IN and is currently an associate professor.  
BS, The University of Alabama (2000)
PhD, The University of Alabama (2004)
  • Dissertation (2004): Water-Soluble Alkylphosphines as Ligands in Palladium-Ctalyzed Aqueous-Phase Cross-Coupling Reactions: Mechanistic Advances and Catalytic Activity
  • ​Org. Lett. 2001, 3, 2757-2759
  • J. Org. Chem., 2004, 69, 7919-7927
  • Organometallics, 2005, 24, 962-971
  • Curr. Org. Chem., 2005, 9, 585-604
  • "Copper-Catalyzed Amination of Aryl and Alkenyl Electrophiles," in Organic Reactions, vol. 85, Denmark, S. Ed., John Wiley and Sons, 2014, 668 pp.
  • Copper-Catalyzed Amination of Aryl and Alkenyl Electrophiles, John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken, NJ, 2017, 696 pp. 

Undergraduate Students

Joseph Burke

Seph Burke was an REU participant in the Shaughnessy group during the summer of 2017.  Seph is a Chemistry major at the University of the Cumberlands where he is also a member of the football team.  Seph's research focused on the reduction of Pd(II) phosphine precatalysts in the coupling of aryl bromides and anilines.
Michelle Weyhaupt

Michelle Weyhaupt

​Michelle was a Biology and Psychology double major.  She joined the Shaughnessy group in fall 2015. Michelle's research focused on alkyne cross-coupling reactions and developing new ligands for cross-coupling reactions.  After graduating from UA in spring 2017, she enrolled in the MD program at Vanderbilt School of Medicine.
  • ACS Catal., 2016, 6, 5834-5842
Renee Stullich

Renee Stullich

Renee joined the Shaughnessy group in fall 2015. Renee's research has focused on the use of air-stable palladium pre-catalysts for cross-coupling reactions. After earning a BS in Biology at UA in spring 2017, Renee entered the MD program at the Medical University of South Carolina.

Jacob Trull

Jacob is a Chemical Engineering major and joined the Shaughnessy group in fall 2015. Jacob's research has focused on the synthesis of novel heterobidentate ligand structures.  After graduating in spring 2017, Jacob entered the MS program in Environmental Engineering at UA.
Olivia Gobble

Oliva Gobble

 Olivia is a Chemistry major.  She joined the Shaughnessy group in fall 2015. Olivia's research has focused on alkyne cross-coupling reactions and developing new ligands for cross-coupling reactions.  After graduating from UA in spring 2017, Olivia entered the MD program at the UA School of Medicine.
  • ACS Catal., 2016, 6, 5834-5842
Colin Treager

Colin Treager

Colin was in the Shaughnessy group from summer 2015-spring 2016. He is currently in the MBA program at UA.
Adam Shipley

Adam Shipley

Adam worked in the Shaughnessy group from fall 2014 to spring 2016. He is currently in the MD program at the UA School of Medicine.

Russell Macoon

Russell was in the Shaughnessy group from fall 2014 to spring 2016.  Russell is in the PhD program in Medicinal Chemistry at the University of Florida

Haddon Mullins

Haddon did research with the Shaughnessy group from fall 2013 to spring 2016. He is currently in the MD program at the UA School of Medicine.
  • Tetrahedron Lett., 2015, 56, 3447-3450

Rachel VanOsdol

Rachel was an REU participant in summer 2015 from Fairmont State University in West Virginia.  Rachel worked on aqueous-phase C-H arylation reactions.  After graduating, Rachel enrolled in the PhD program in Chemistry at the University of Colorado.

Jordan Kurdi

Jordan worked in the group in 2014-2015 as a member of the Emerging Scholars Program.
Megan Johnston

Megan Johnston

Megan joined the group in spring 2013 as an Emerging Scholars Program participant. Megan graduated with a BS in Chemistry in 2015

Sara Frese

Sara Frese did research during the fall 2014 semester.

Hudson Pierce

Hudson was in the Shaughnessy group from spring 2012 to spring 2013.  After graduation, he enrolled in medical school at Cornell University.
Jason Wang

Jason Wang

Jason was in the group from 2011-2013.  He enrolled in the UA School of Medicine after graduating.
Nicholas Laskay

Nicholas Laskay

Nick worked in the group from 2012-2013. 
He enrolled in the UA School of Medicine after graduating.
  • J. Organomet. Chem. 2015, 777, 16-24
Kevin Duque

Kevin Duque

Kevin was in the group from 2012 to 2013.  He enrolled in the University of Puerto Rico School of Dentistry after graduating.
  • J. Organomet. Chem. 2015, 777, 16-24
Stephanie Bevans

Stephanie Bevans

Stephanie worked in the group form 2011-2013. She is attending the UA School of Medicine.
  • Tetrahedron Lett., 2015, 56, 3447-3450

​Apsana Shrestha

Apsana did research during the summer of 2013 as part of an NSF-RUI grant.  She was an undergraduate at Southeastern Louisiana.

Elizabeth Kimball

Elizabeth did research during the summer of 2013 as part of an NSF-RUI grant. After completing her BS in chemistry at Southeastern Louisiana, she earned a MS degree in Chemistry at LSU.

​Sarju Adhikari

Sarju was a participant in the NSF RUI program from Southeastern Louisiana during the 2012 and 2013 summers.
Luke Brechtelsbauer

Luke Brechtelsbauer

Luke worked in the group from 2011 to 2013. After completing a ChemE degree, he enrolled in the ChemE PhD program at MIT.
Jessica Jones

Jessica Jones

Jessica joined the group in 2010 as a member of the Emerging Scholars Program. Jessica works at the National Center for Pain Management & Research.
Mallory Thompson

Mallory Thompson

Mallory worked in the group in 2012.  She completed a degree in Nursing.
  • J. Org. Chem., 2014, 79, 10837-10848
Alfred Hamilton

Alfred Hamilton

Alfred worked in the group from 2011 to 2013.

​Arjun Pandey

Arjun did research during the summer of 2012 as part of an NSF-RUI grant.  He was an undergraduate at Southeastern Louisiana.
  • ​Tetrahedron Lett. 2014, 55, 4801-4806

​Bhijay Bhattarai

Bhijay did research during the summer of 2012 as part of an NSF-RUI grant.  After completing his BS at Southeastern Louisiana, he enrolled in the PhD program in chemistry at the University of Michigan.
  • ​Tetrahedron Lett. 2014, 55, 4801-4806
Aaron Coleman

Aaron Coleman

Aaron was a member of the group from 2011-2012.  After graduation, he earned an MD at the University of South Alabama.  He is currently a resident at Baptist Health System.
Emma Catt

Emma Catt

Emma worked in the group in 2011-2012. After completing a nursing degree, she took a position with Children's Hospital of Alabama.
Kali Coleman

Kali Coleman

Kali was a participant in the Emerging Scholars Program in 2011-12. She is attending the UA School of Physical Therapy.

John Nguyen

John was a member of the group in summer 2011.

Will Scogin

Will was an REU student working on a joint project with the Shaughnessy and Bakker groups.  After graduating, Will entered the Physical Therapy program at UAB.
Rachel Mustain

Rachel Mustain

Rachel was an REU student during the summer of 2011 from Mississippi State.  She is an Administrative Analyst at UC San Francisco.
Ashley Miller

Ashley Miller

Ashley was a member of the group from 2009 to 2011.  She is employed as a chemist at Kennametal.
Kristy Bearden

Kristy Bearden

Kristy was a member of the group from 2009 to 2011.  After completing a double major in Chemistry and Dance, Kristy enrolled in the Philadelphia College of Medicine in Atlanta.

Thomas Leißing

Thomas spent the summer of 2010 in the Shaughnessy group on a DAAD-RISE fellowship.  Thomas is pursuing a masters degree at TU-Munich.
Duncan Harmon

Duncan Harmon

Duncan worked in the group from 2009-2010. He completed an MD degree at the UA School of Medicine. He is currently a resident at UAB Hospital.

David Beasley

David was in the group from 2009 to 2010. After graduating, David enrolled in the UA Law School.

Zane Hyde

Zane was in the group from 2009 to 2010.  After graduating, he enrolled in the UA School of Medicine.
Hanna Welch

Hanna Welch

Hanna worked in the group in 2009-10.  After finishing at UA, she earned a PharmD at the University of Michigan. She is currently a resident at the University Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy.
Jackie Parks

Jackie Parks

Jackie worked in the group in 2009-10.  After graduating, she earned an MD from the UA School of Medicine.

Zachary Hawkins

Zach joined the group in 2008 as a member of the Emerging Scholars Program.  
Hannah Box

Hannah Box

Hannah was a chemistry major at UA and worked in the group from 2008-2010.  She earned a PhD in chemistry at Mississippi State.
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