John is a second year PhD student in the Raj Group. His work began with the development of bioconjugation techniques for previously untargeted amino acids, particularly asparagine and glutamine. More recently, he has begun using fluorophore probes to investigate aldehyde concentrations in living cells and has developed protocol for differentiating between various classes of aldehydes.

“John fluently speaks the languages of organic chemistry, peptide chemistry and proteomics,” says Dr. Monika Raj. “I am impressed by his intelligence, punctuality, and work ethic. John’s overall academic record, including his success in the classroom, laboratory, and community is excellent, and I believe that he has the potential to be an outstanding scientist.”

“John fluently speaks the languages of organic chemistry, peptide chemistry and proteomics.”

Dr. Monika Raj

“John is definitely a go-getter,” agrees graduate colleague and fellow Raj Group member Lyndsey Prosser. “He is ambitious and very direct with his work and this is demonstrated in all of his accomplishments.”

Prior to his recognition by the NSF, John received a seed grant from Emory’s Biological Discoveries through Chemical Innovation (BDCI) for a collaborative project with Andrew LeBlanc in the Wuest Group.

Before coming to Emory, John obtained his BS in chemistry with minors in biology and business administration at Elizabethtown College where he also participted in the men’s lacrosse team. He worked under the mentorship of Dr. James MacKay developing synthetic nucleic acids for selective targeting of double helical RNA. His undergraduate work was recognized wit a Barry Goldwater Scholarship and an ACS DOC Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship.

Outside of the lab, John spends his free time completing an online MBA program and working with the Goldwater scholarship leadership team mentoring younger scientists.

Congratulations, John!