We are an undergraduate research lab.
Focused on developing scientists and solving environmental problems by applying knowledge of organic chemistry and microbial metabolism.
Current Members
Erica Schultz, PhD
Dr. Schultz is an associate professor of chemistry at Lake Forest College in Lake Forest, IL. Before joining the faculty at Lake Forest, she was a post-doctoral researcher at Harvard University studying enzymatic mechanisms, biosynthesis, biocatalysis and biocompatible chemistry. Dr. Schultz received her doctorate degree from the University of California, Berkeley, where she studied total synthesis and method devolopment, focusing on nitrogen containing heterocyclic. She started her chemistry career at Macalester College in Saint Paul, MN working on total synthesis and method development.
Gwendolyn Jones, class of 2026
Gwendolyn is a Chemistry Major from Illinois. She is a part of Student Affiliates of the American Chemical Society and a private tutor for Chemistry. While at LFC she has been a TA for Chemistry and has been on the dean’s list since freshman year. In the future, she hopes to be a forensic chemist. Her favorite thing about Chemistry is when it feels like solving puzzles: labeling unknowns, preforming syntheses to achieve desired products, troubleshooting experiments, etc. In her free time, she likes to hang out with her cats and dogs.
Unicorn, Lab Manager
Serious scientist.
Mariam Beshara, Class of 2026
Mariam is originally from Cairo, Egypt and is majoring in BMB and Economics at Lake Forest College. She developed a great interest in organic chemistry throughout this academic year, and excited to be doing research and learning more about how organic chemistry is used in the real world and more about the numerous techniques used in lab for analyzing products. She grateful to be a part of a research dedicated to saving our planet.
Connor McKelvey, Class of 2027
Connor is a mathematics major and chemistry minor at lake forest college. He’s from Wisconsin and enjoys hiking and kayaking. Indoors he enjoys audiobooks, sudoku, minesweeper, and Star Trek. At Lake Forest Connor works as a TA for chemistry and statistics. After Lake Forest Connor hopes to attend graduate school for mathematics.
Alumni
Research Students
Molly Major, Class of 2018
Molly was a student athlete (soccer) and Chemistry major at Lake Forest College. After graduation, Molly worked at Abbvie in Lake County, IL before attending graduate school in Biochemistry at University of Utah.
Nebojsa Markovic, Class of 2018
Nebojsa was a Chemistry and Sociology and Anthropology double major at Lake Forest College, and worked on an interdisciplinary project determining the identity of pills found at a dig site in Chicago. After graduation Nebojsa went to pharmacy school at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Rhyan Shanker, Class of 2019
Rhyan Shanker is an undergraduate student at Lake Forest College. She is a Chemistry Major and Environmental Studies Minor. She is also a Resident Assistant and a member of the Campus Sustainability Committee and Student Affiliates of the American Chemical Society. Rhyan is from Buffalo Grove, Illinois. In her spare time, she likes to exercise, bake, and rewatch Game of Thrones and Breaking Bad.
After graduation Rhyan worked at Abbvie and is currently a chemist at Nexus Pharmaceuticals.
Mohammed AbuBakar, Class of 2021
Mohammed AbuBakar is a Computer Science Major and Chemistry Minor with a focus on Pre-Health. On campus, he is a Resident Assistant, External Relations Chair of the South Asian Student Association, Secretary of the Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity, and member of the Lake Forest College Rugby Football Club. He loves to eat and loves to play video games even more. What interests him most about chemistry is the analysis of product such as NMR, IR, GC, etc. He is excited to see what the summer holds and can't wait to make a healthier planet! :) Mohammed is currently working at Lake Forest Acute Care.
Karen Gomez, Class of 2022
Karen is a Biology and Psychology double major and Chemistry minor. She is also president of Activism Club and has served as a tutor/peer mentor for the psychology and biology department. Her favorite part about chemistry is that it encompasses numerous disciplines and allows for a broader understanding of biological and physical functions. Outside of lab, Karen enjoys Sudoku puzzles and hiking with her dog. She is currently a PhD student at at Northwestern University.
Yousif Saleh, Class of 2023
Yousif is a Chemistry and Computer Science double major and a Mathematics minor. He aspires to pursue a Doctorate in Chemical Engineering. At Lake Forest College, he is the Vice President of The Student Affiliates of the American Chemical Society, a member of Omicron Delta Kappa, as well as a co-founder of Project Code, a computer science club on campus. In the lab, he is fascinated by the various synthetic mechanisms and how they can be manipulated to acquire the desired product. He also enjoys altering reaction conditions to produce higher yields and more pure products.
Anne (Annie) Ahern, Class of 2024
A Chemistry Major from the Near-West Side of Chicago pursuing a career in medicine. Annie was recipient of the 2022 CLC-LFC Scholars award, a member of the CLC Scholars, and mentor community college graduates. Gifted with a passion for science from a young age, Annie has absorbed and applied Chemistry readily in their life through research and personal projects including winning best in show at the Skyway intercollegiate poster competition for their research in biopharmacology and synthesizing home-made crystals in their kitchen with varying results. At LFC, Annie has become lead tutor at the SRC, tutored extensively with the QRC, entered the Dean’s list, founded and edits the Health and Science column of the LFC Stentor, and co-founded both the Order of the White Lotus and the Astronomy club. Anne also remains active in their community, running a podiatric clinic for the underserved and volunteering at Comer Children’s hospital. In the future, Anne hopes to continue to grow as a servant leader and become an asset to both the chemistry and medical community.
Annie is currently employed at AbbVie.
Richter Scholars
Beana Yanovskaya, Class of 2020
Beana Yanovskaya attends Lake Forest College in Lake Forest, IL graduating with the class of 2020. She is a student-athlete pursing the pre-med track with a Chemistry major and a Spanish minor and going into her 3rd season as a libero/DS for the college's volleyball team. She grew up not far in Highland Park, IL graduating from Highland Park High School. Besides being an athlete, Beana is also part of many clubs on campus: SAACS, Future Health Professionals, and Athletic Council. After graduations, she attended Trinity Medical School.
Emma Clay-Barbour, Class of 2023
Emma Clay-Barbour is a Chemistry Major with a Spanish Minor from Evanston, IL. She loves to enjoy time outside and weighlift, and is a member of the Women’s Rugby team. She is also a part of Student Affiliates of the Lake Forest College American Chemical Society chapter, the Alpha Phi Omega service fraternity, and the Student Programming Board. What she loves most about Chemistry is performing hands-on work and getting to do analyses of reactions.
After graduating, Emma got a job in Discovery at AbbVie doing high-throughput organic synthesis and NMR analysis.
Alana Garcevic, class of 2024
Alana is a chemistry major and music minor from Wheeling, Illinois. At Lake Forest, she is a member of the Student Affiliates of the American Chemical Society (SAACS), Chemistry Student Academic Advisory Committee (SAAC), and is the programming director at WMXM radio station. In the future she hopes to pursue research. In the lab, she enjoys the hands-on nature of chemistry, and using instrumentation to analyze the purity of products.
In her free time, she enjoys playing guitar and piano, and watching Breaking Bad.
Jacob Levin, Class of 2020
Jacob Levin is a Chemistry and Music double major at Lake Forest College. He lives in Edwardsville, Illinois and was born in Cleveland, Ohio. His favorite thing about chemistry is how it can explain not only why materials behave the way they do, but also why and how life functions. He enjoys cooking and playing violin in his free time. After graduation, Jacob attended graduate school at University of California, Santa Barbara and is currently employed at AbbVie.
Farhan Ahmed, Class of 2024
Farhan is a Chemistry and Physics double major, aspiring to be an engineer. He is from Dhaka, Bangladesh! He is an orientation leader, a member of the academic honesty board and student academic advisory committee. He is the President of South Asian Student Association and the Vice President of Omicron Delta Kappa. He is also a TA for Physics, Chemistry and the Math department. His favorite thing about chemistry is utilizing different high tech (super cool) instruments to analyze different products and reactants. He is excited to learn more and prepare for the industry!
Farhan is currently at the University of Colorado Boulder pursuing a PhD in mechanical engineering and working on kinetic modeling of fuel.
Diana Rosiles-Dueñas, Class of 2024
Diana is a Chemistry major and a Sociology and Anthropology minor from Guanajuato, Mexico. She aspires to work in green chemistry and pursue further research to improve the environment. Diana is a member of the Student Affiliates of the American Chemical Society (SAACS) and the Student Academic Advisory Committee (SAAC) for the chemistry department at Lake Forest College. She is also the recipient of the Dr. Ann Welton Science in the Summer Award! While at LFC she has been a TA for organic chemistry and has been on the dean's list since freshman year. Her favorite part of lab is learning how to work with new instrumentation to analyze several chemical compounds and determine reaction success. In her free time, she likes to discover new music and play with her dog. Diana is currently at AbbVie!
Peter Simmeth, Class of 2021
Peter is an undergraduate student at Lake Forest College studying biochemistry and education. He is from Los Angeles, California and enjoys cycling, going to the beach and cooking. He is interested in various aspects of environmentalism and how humanity can coexist with the natural environment while protecting both.
Peter currently works at Northwestern University as a Research Assistant.
Samantha Stubbs, Class of 2022
Samantha Stubbs is a student-athlete pursuing the pre-med track with a Chemistry Major and Environmental Studies Minor. She grew up in Thunder Bay, ON, Canada and plays hockey at the college. When she is not on the ice she likes to cook or go to the gym. She is also a part of Athletic Council on campus. Sam is currently attending Trinity Medical School.
Giselle Schiet, Class of 2023
Giselle is a Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (BMB) major who is also on the pre-med track. She is part of the Health Professionals Program (HPP) and is a BMB SAACS Committee Member. In her free time, she likes to play hockey, spend time with her dog, and cook. Her favorite thing about chemistry is connecting chemistry concepts, like synthetic mechanisms, to the real world to hopefully find ways to make a healthier planet.
Amy Tram, Class of 2025
Amy is a Chemistry and Psychology double major and Chinese minor from Chicago, IL. They are a part of Student Affiliates of the American Chemical Society, PRIDE, and the fencing club at Lake Forest College. In the future, they hope to be a forensic chemist. Their favorite thing about chemistry is how it can be applied to our everyday lives. They also enjoy performing and analyzing reactions using different instruments in the lab. During their free time, they love to play piano and watch anime.
Hridey Kapoor, Class of 2025
Hridey Kapoor is a Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (BMB) and Neuroscience Major who is on the pre-med track. He’s a Horizon Scholar, Web Manager for the Synapse Club, Treasurer for the Student Affiliates of the American Chemical Society (SAACS) chapter at LFC, Treasurer and the Senator of the class of 2025 for the Student Government, Member of the American Society for the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB), and part of the Health Professionals Program (HPP). His favorite activity is going fishing with his father and spending the whole day with minimal luck :) and learning to code in languages like AHK and Python. His curiosity resides in the use and application of different instruments in Chemistry and learning the mechanisms of how different compounds behave and correspond.
Anna Garry, Class of 2026
Anna is a Chemistry major from Wisconsin. She aspires to pursue a Doctorate in Chemistry. At Lake Forest College, she is playing for the soccer team, is a TA for Chemistry and is a 2023 Richter scholar. Her favorite thing about chemistry is gaining understanding on how the world works.
Office Hours
by appointment
Location
Office: Lillard Science Center 350
Laboratory: Lillard Science Center 379
Email & Phone
eschultz[at]lakeforest[dot]edu
(847) 735-6074