People
Shaun McKinnie
2004 - 2008 B.Sc. in Biochemistry (Honors) - University of Alberta
2010 - 2015 Ph.D. Organic Chemistry - University of Alberta (with Prof. John C. Vederas)
2016 - 2019 Postdoctoral Scholar - Scripps Institution of Oceanography,
University of California, San Diego (with Prof. Bradley S. Moore)
2019 - present Assistant Professor - University of California, Santa Cruz
Jackson Baumgartner
PhD student
Hometown: San Luis Obispo, California
Degrees: Biochemistry B.S. and History B.A. - Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo
Chemistry M.S. - San Francisco State University (with Prof. Misty Kuhn)
Program: PBSE, CB3 track
About Jackson: enjoys nature walks, baking bread, and tinkering; believes spontaneous puns are the height of human achievement
Email: jabaumga [at] ucsc.edu
Jennifer Cordoza
PhD student
Hometown: Murrieta, California
Degree: Biochemistry B.Sc - Point Loma Nazarene University (with Prof. Katherine Maloney)
Program: PBSE, CB3 track
About Jenny: enjoys being outside, strategy games, and going to museums; aspires to learn something every day.
Email: jcordoza [at] ucsc.edu
Austin Hopiavuori
PhD student
Hometown: Rochester, New York
Degree: Biochemistry B.Sc - University of Rochester
Program: PBSE, CB3 track
About Austin: enjoys tennis, playing various instruments, and digital music production; loves cold weather
Email: ahopiavu [at] ucsc.edu
Radcliff Huffman
PhD student
Hometown: Albuquerque, New Mexico
Degrees: Allied Health, B.S. Minors in Biology and Biochemistry - Manhattan College, New York City
Program: PBSE, CB3 track
About Radcliff: enjoys swimming, olympic weight lifting, and playing the violin, still doesn't understand why he can't see when he closes his eyes
Email: trhuffma [at] ucsc.edu
Karina Campos Salazar
MSc student
Hometown: Mexico City, Mexico
Degrees: Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Biology B. Sc. - Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana
Pharmacology M.S. - Instituto Politecnico Nacional, Mexico City
Program: Chemistry, MSc track
About Karina: enjoys going to the beach, camping, and traveling with family. Big pastry lover and enjoys volunteering within her community in her free time.
Email: kcamposs [at] ucsc.edu
Manasi Natu
Junior specialist
Hometown: Folsom, California
Degree: Chemistry B.S. - University of California, Santa Cruz
About Manasi: enjoys reading and playing video games with friends. Big fan of cats and overly sugary coffee.
Email: mnatu [at] ucsc.edu
Amelia Smyth
Undergraduate researcher
Hometown: Berkeley, California
Major: Chemistry and Fine Arts
About Amelia: is very interested in philosophical theories about life and its meaning, and spends her free time cooking, drawing or in nature (camping, backpacking, swimming, etc).
Mel Jones
Undergraduate researcher
Hometown: San Jose, California
Major: Biochemistry major, politics minor
About Mel: enjoys playing the violin, writing poetry, PC gaming, traveling, and learning new things about mathematics, biology, chemistry, and philosophy! They are a social activist in their spare time for access to healthcare and housing as a human right.
Olivia Matsumoto-Elliott
PhD Rotation student - Fall 2022
Hometown: Fairfield, California
Degree: Chemical Biology B.Sc. - University of California, Davis
Program: PBSE, CB3 track
About Olivia: enjoys hiking, bad karaoke nights, and video games; will get lost just about anywhere easily and frequently.
Adam Lentz
PhD Rotation student - Fall 2022
Hometown: Sacramento, California
Degree: Biology B.S. - University of California, Santa Cruz
Program: PBSE, METX track
About Adam: enjoys hiking and fishing; is a big fan of desserts for breakfast.
Lab Alumni
Visiting researchers
Alondra Maranon Rodriguez - summer ACCESS undergraduate student (Hartnell) - 2022
Linnea Blaustein - summer ACCESS undergraduate student (Cabrillo) - 2021 - 2022
Hanna Fleming - summer undergraduate researcher (UC Los Angeles) - 2021
Undergraduate students
Griffin May - undergraduate researcher - 2019 - 2021
Mehrzad Mohaddess - undergraduate researcher - 2019 - 2021
Ethan Bales-Dagemjian - undergraduate researcher - 2019 - 2021
Joshua Marquez - undergraduate researcher - 2019 - 2021
Mano Ranaweera - undergraduate researcher - 2019 - 2020
Elise Rogotzke - undergraduate researcher - 2019 - 2020
Rotation students
Sarah Levy - UCSC chemistry rotation student - 2022
Leila Parker - UCSC chemistry rotation student - 2022
Addis Getahun - UCSC chemistry rotation student - 2022
Casey Heaney - PBSE CB3 rotation student - 2021 - 2022
Allyson McAtamney - UCSC chemistry rotation student - 2021
Zhilian Liu - UCSC chemistry rotation student - 2021
Panpan Zhang - PBSE CB3 rotation student - 2021
Cristobal Morfin - PBSE CB3 rotation student - 2021
We are looking for students and postdocs with interests in organic chemistry, natural products chemistry, protein biochemistry, and molecular biology to join us!
Click here for more information!