Manusha Gamage
5th Year Graduate Student, Chemistry Department
Just graduated with a Ph.D.! December 2025
M.A. in Chemistry: Johns Hopkins University, 2021
Stella Matutina Ikuzwe
5th Year Graduate Student, Chemistry Department
Hometown: Kigali, Rwanda
M.A. in Chemistry: Johns Hopkins University, 2022
B.A. in Chemistry with Biochemistry Emphasis: Macalester College, 2020
Stella is studying the role of iodotyrosine deiodinase (IYD) in other invertebrates to see if there is also a correlation between dehalogenation and fertility as the one found in drosophila.
Ekroop Cheema
5th Year Graduate Student, Chemistry Department
Hometown: Rajpura, Punjab, India
M.A. in Chemistry: Johns Hopkins University, 2022
M.S. in Chemistry: Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur
B.S. in Chemistry: Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur
Ekroop is studying how cofactor replacement can manipulate the enzymatic activity of Iodotyrosine Deiodinase (IYD).
Crystal (Yu-Ju) Peng
4th Year Graduate Student, Chemistry Department
Hometown: Hsinchu, Taiwan
M.S. in Chemistry: National Taiwan University, 2020
B.S. in Chemistry: National Taiwan University, 2018
Crystal is studying azoreductase-sensitive prodrugs. She is currently working on the designs that generate aza-quinone methides (aQMs) as a warhead to target biomolecules in the presence of azoreductase.