Dr. I-Hon Chen

Was born and raised in Taipei, Taiwan. After receiving his master degree in chemistry at National Chung Cheng University in Taiwan, he started his doctoral studies in catalytic asymmetric synthesis with Prof. Shibasaki at the University of Tokyo and completed his Ph.D. in 2010. He then moved to the Institute of Microbial Chemistry for one year of postdoctoral research. In June 2011, I-Hon joined our group to investigate C-H activation. His research interests include catalytic reactions, catalytic asymmetric syntheses, and the development of new methodologies. He enjoys playing volleyball, jogging, and photography when not in the lab.

ihon.chen@utoronto.ca

Dr. Max von Delius

Is a German Academy of Sciences Postdoctoral Research Fellow, who was born and raised in Nuremberg, Germany. Max completed his undergrad at Friedrich-Alexander Universität, Erlangen-Nuremberg, and spent a research semester with Prof. J.-M. Lehn at Université Louis Pasteur, Strasbourg. For his Master thesis with Prof. A. Hirsch, he was awarded the Helmut-Zerweck Prize. In 2010, Max completed his Ph.D. at the University of Edinburgh under the supervision of Prof. D. A. Leigh. Max is interested in supramolecular chemistry and catalysis and is currently working on novel catalytic directing groups and carbon dioxide functionalization. In his spare time, Max can be found playing sports, bicycling, hiking, or enjoying good
food, beer, and music.

max.vondelius@utoronto.ca

Peter Dornan

Was born and raised in the beautiful city of Ottawa. At the University of Ottawa, he completed an honor’s thesis with Tom Woo and graduated with a BSc in Chemistry. Peter gained significant experience at the bench upon interning at Boehringer Ingelheim and Merck Frosst. He joined our research team in January 2008 and has been awarded an NSERC Vanier Award to continue his doctoral studies. When not in the lab, he enjoys playing ultimate frisbee, hockey, running, and watching the Sens beat the Leafs.

pdornan@chem.utoronto.ca

Hasan Khan

Was born and raised in la capital du Canada. He completed a Hon. Bsc. in the area of medicinal chemistry from the University of Ottawa. Following a summer adventure through England, Czech Republic, Poland, Turkey and Morocco, he settled in our lab in September 2007. Hasan has been awarded an NSERC fellowhip to pursue his doctorate. When not in the lab contemplating novel ways to reduce carbonyl compounds, Hasan can be found making lots of noise on his drumset.

hasnik@gmail.com

Byoungmoo ‘Boni’ Kim

Was born in Korea and moved to Toronto when he was twelve years old. He attended the University of Waterloo where he graduated with a B.Sc. in biochemistry and conducted research in Scott Taylor’s laboratory. Boni joined the Dong Group in September 2008 and began his doctoral studies on carbon-hydrogen bond activation. In addition to making molecules, Boni loves playing sports, including badminton, squash, volleyball, and soccer.


bonoboni@gmail.com

Kevin Kou

Was born and raised in Victoria and received his honour's B.Sc in Chemistry from the University of Victoria. In his early undergraduate years, he was convinced to join the co-op program in which he gained valuable practical experience in organic chemistry working for CANTEST, Neuromed, Targanta, and TRIUMF. Apart from chemistry, Kevin enjoys exploring the many parts of Asia; he has been to China, Inner Mongolia, Japan, and Thailand. In September 2009, he joined the group to pursue a Ph.D in synthesis and catalysis.

kkou@chem.utoronto.ca

Christine Le

Was born, but not raised in Calgary, Alberta. She grew up in Richmond Hill until she moved away from home to pursue post-secondary studies at the University of Western Ontario, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry. Christine joined our group in the summer of 2011 and is working on the application of intermolecular hydroacylation towards natural product synthesis. Despite not being raised in Calgary, Christine likes relaxing to country music. In her spare time, she enjoys cooking, drawing, and doing yoga.

christinem.le@utoronto.ca

Lauren Longobardi

Is the group's resident Maritimer. Born and raised in beautiful Halifax, Nova Scotia, Lauren pursued a B.Sc. honours degree in chemistry at Dalhousie University. While studying at Dal she had the privilege of working with the Burford Group and the Thompson Group, and she completed her honours project with the Stradiotto Group. Lauren joined our research team in July 2011 to pursue graduate studies in synthesis and catalysis. Outside of the lab Lauren enjoys travel, reading, yoga, and spending time with good friends and family.

lauren.longobardi@utoronto.ca

Stephen Murphy

Was born and raised in Picton, Ontario. He completed his bachelors degree in Chemistry at Queen's University in Kingston where he carried out a fourth year project in Dr. Suning Wang's laboratory. He joined our research team in September of 2010, and is currently exploring different directing groups in hydroacylation. Outside of the lab, Stephen enjoys playing the guitar, baseball and volleyball, and watching the Leafs beat the Sens.


stephen.murphy@utoronto.ca

Thi Phan

Is originally from Da Nang, a major port city on the central coast of Viet Nam. She completed her bachelor’s of science in chemistry at York University where she conducted research in the laboratories of Dr. Pierre Potvin. She joined our research team in January 2007, and is enthusiastically pursuing the development of novel sigmatropic rearrangements. After a fun-filled day of running reactions, Thi likes to unwind by watching the Tonight Show.

d.phan@utoronto.ca

Elaine Seraya

Was born in Magdeburg, Germany but spent her early childhood in Russia, Georgia, and the Ukraine. At age thirteen, she moved to southern California. Elaine graduated with a BSc in Biochemistry from the California State University at Fullerton where she explored cyclopropene chemistry in the Hyland Group. After a year of teaching, Elaine decided to pursue doctoral studies in organic chemistry. She joined our group in December 2011 to develop stereoselective C-H functionalizations. In her spare time, Elaine enjoys time with family and friends, dancing, Ukrainian food, catching up on her favorite TV shows, and chasing Princess Kitter, a prideful creature of sheer beauty who happens to be her sister's cat.

eseraya@uci.edu

Charles Yeung

Was born in Hong Kong but grew up in Vancouver. He completed his B.Sc. at the University of British Columbia with honours in chemistry, a materials chemistry option, and a minor in mathematics. Charles joined our lab in September 2006. He's been awarded the NSERC Andre Hamer Award to pursue his doctoral work on carbon doxide and C-H bond activation. In his spare time, Charles enjoys playing the piano, singing, and listening to a variety of music. The odd day not in lab, he spends mastering video games (yes, even for a graduate).

cshyeung@gmail.com

Cynthia Chew

Is a native Vancouverite and received her B.Sc. in Psychology at the University of British Columbia. Cynthia is currently undertaking her MSc in Health Services Research at the University of Toronto under the supervision of Dr. Gunther Eysenbach. She is investigating the role of Twitter in the 2009 H1N1 Pandemic and how social media may be used effectively by health agencies as part of a pandemic communication strategy. She joined our team in January 2010 to provide administrative support. Cynthia enjoys playing the bass, reading, cooking, and playing video games with her better half (Mr. Charles Yeung).

cynthia.mei.chew@gmail.com

Wilmer Alkhas

Is our group coordinator and webmaster. He grew up in southern California where he graduated from the California State University at Long Beach with a bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering.





walkhas@chem.utoronto.ca