Our Team
Dr. Mitchell P. Croatt
Marie Foscue Rourk Distinguished Professor and
Interim Director of the Undergraduate Research, Scholarship, and Creativity Office.
Phone: (336) 285-2805
Fax: (336) 271-3333
Address: 309 West Dr.
Room: 135 Shaw Residence Hall
Email: mpcroatt@uncg.edu
CV
Mitch was born in 1980 in the town of New Prague, Minnesota. He went to the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities in 1998 and earned his B.S. in Chemistry after doing research in the research group of Professor George A. O’Doherty. In 2002, Mitch then went to Stanford University to pursue a Ph.D. in Chemistry in the group of Professor Paul A. Wender. He focused his graduate research on the design and development of new transition metal-catalyzed reactions and successfully defended his thesis in 2007. Mitch then went overseas to Zurich, Switzerland to study in the group of Professor Erick M. Carreira at ETH-Zurich. There he made semi-synthetic analogs of Amphotericin B to help study its mechanism of action. In 2010, Mitch started his independent academic career at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG), was promoted to Associate Professor in 2015 and to Professor in 2021, and became Department Head in 2017. In 2022, Mitch was named the Marie Foscue Rourk Distinguished Professor based on the many successes of his research group. From May of 2024 until August of 2025, Mitch served as the Interim Dean of the Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering a program that is jointly run by UNCG and NCA&T. Starting in August of 2025, Mitch became the Interim Director of the Undergraduate Research, Scholarship, and Creativity Office and was named Director of that Office in January of 2026.
Current Members
Drew Canning
MS Student 
Drew received his B.S. in chemistry from UNC Asheville in the Spring of 2015. He has nearly a decade of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, which allowed Drew to spend evenings honing his other lifelong interest – brazilian jiujitsu. While at UNCG, Drew hopes to produce quality research and support other students that would like to consider industry roles.
Calvin Semczuk
MS Student
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Nolan Garci
Undergraduate Student 
Nolan is pursuing his B.S. in Chemistry. He joined the group in Spring 2024 and he strives to continuously learn organic chemistry. In Nolan’s free time, he enjoys programming, hiking, kayaking and spending time with his friends.
Sydney Jones
Undergraduate Student 
Sydney joined the group in spring of 2023. She is pursuing her B.S. in Biochemistry degree at UNCG and has a passion for women’s health research. When she’s not in the lab Sydney loves to spend her time with her husband and her two cats, Gwen and Tobey. Her hobbies include reading, going to concerts, and traveling!
Katelin Parra-Castro
Undergraduate Student
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Caden Pfeffer
Undergraduate Student 
Caden is pursuing his B.S. in Chemistry degree at UNCG. He enjoys playing tennis and spending time with friends and family. Caden joined the Croatt Group in Spring 2026.
Jarom Skarda
Ph.D. Student 
Jarom Skarda got his B.S. in Biochemistry from Brigham Young University Hawaii winter of 2020. He met his wife Val and had their first child, Dantes while working in an analytical lab. He then moved his family here and joined the Croatt lab in the fall of 2023. He is a huge Chemistry fan but also enjoys spots and music.
Christina Wiswell
Ph.D. Student 
Christina got her B.A in Applied Mathematical Sciences and Applied Data Analysis with a minor in Chemistry from Wesleyan College in the Spring of 2022. Christina played collegiate soccer all four years of her undergraduate and continues to enjoy playing soccer through the intermural athletics offered at UNCG. Christina joined the Croatt Group in Spring 2023.
David Tanas
PhD Student 
David got his B.S. in Chemistry with a Biochemistry concentration from Appalachian State University in 2021.He enjoys working in the Croatt Research lab, and spends his free time playing guitar and piano and hanging out with friends. David joined the Croatt Group in Fall 2021.
Alumni
MS’s
- Tangela Johnson – Terminal Masters Degree in 2023-Research and Development Chemist at Henkel
- Harris Khan – Terminal Masters Degree in 2023-Chemist at AkzoNobel
- Elvis McFee – Terminal Masters Degree in 2021-Pursuing his PhD in Chemistry at the University of Michigan.
- David Von Dohlen – Terminal Masters Degree in 2024-Lecturer at UNCG.
- Saad Sohail – Terminal Masters Degree in 2020-Medicinal Chemistry at Moderna Therapeutics
- Jarrod Stanley – Terminal Masters Degree in 2021-Pursuing his PhD in Chemistry at the University of Michigan.
- Kristen Gettys – Terminal Masters Degree in 2013-Obtained her PhD in Chemistry at Purdue University.
- Lorraine Norris – Terminal Masters Degree in 2013 and is teaching at UNCG, GTCC, and Forsyth Tech
- Sommayah Sayed – Terminal Masters Degree in 2016 – Attending Dental School at Roseman University.
PhD’s
- Tian Li – PhD in 2023 – Postdoc at High Point University
- Abraham Ustoyev – PhD in 2023 – Visiting Assistant Professor at Adelphi University
- Manahil Abdalhameed – PhD in 2015 – Adjunct Professor at Northern Virginia Community College.
- Lara Fakhouri – PhD in 2015 – Academic Position in Jordan
- Hanan Althagafy – PhD Degree in 2013 – Academic Position in Saudia Arabia
- Ghina’a Abu Deiab – PhD in 2017 – Academic Position in Jordan
Postbacs
- Mary-Margaret Crabb – Medical Assistant at Bay Area Cosmetic Dermatology.
- Crystal Odom – Pursuing her Dental Degree at ECU.
- Adam Nehls – Attending Graduate School at Marshall University.
- Bashir Deeb – Pursuing his Master’s Degree in Chemical Engineering from NC A&T State University
- Christine Joliat – Obtained her MD at Ross University School of Medicine
- Paige Daniel – Obtained her PhD in Chemistry at Duke University.
- Emma Nagy – Obtained her PhD in Biology at Harvard University.
- Silas Cardwell – Obtained his MD at the University of Michigan.
- Philip Ramirez – Obtained his MD at UNC-Chapel Hill.
- Vasili Katsadouros – Attending Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine.
- Zach Sullivan – Pursuing his MD at Duke University.
Postdocs
- Khyarul Alam “Fahim” – Research chemist at Milliken & Company
- Ivan Fabe Dempsey Hyatt – Associate Professor at Adelphi University
- Maria Elena Meza Avina – Currently helping at her daughter’s school in Greensboro
- Dr. Mohammed Al-Huniti – Staff Scientist at Patheon, by Thermo Fisher Scientific
Undergrads
- Emily Guin – Finishing her undergraduate degree
- Gurjant Sekhon – Currently pursuing MD at UNC-Chapel Hill
- Grant Develle – Currently applying for Medical Schools
- Emily Ramirez – Pursuing MS at Campbell University
- Logan Brown – Pursuing his PhD at Harvard
- John Kaiserlik – Analyst at Deutsche Bank.
- Hanifah Hendricks – Pursuing her MD at ECU.
- Thien Le – Data Analyst at InfoSys.
- Pablo Mora Forte – Returned to Spain to finish his degree.
- Ashley Brown – Quality Control Technician at Innospec Inc.
- Rachel Hodges – Pursuing her MD at Wake Forest.
- Philip West – Pursuing his PhD in Chemistry at MIT.
- Charles Crawford – Pursuing his PhD in Chemistry at the University of Illinois, Chicago.
- Madison Reynolds – Finishing her undergraduate degree
- Celine Kisimba – Finishing her undergraduate degree
- Daniel Naderi – Finishing his undergrad degree
- Hajar Tadili – Attended the MED Program at Chapel Hill
- Jamison Breeding – Finishing his undergraduate degree
- Oluwatobiloba (Tobi) Jimoh – 2019 Graduate – Pursuing her MS degree at University College London.
- Mark Perez – 2018 Graduate-QC Specialist at P&G.
- Kevin Doheny – Finishing his undergraduate degree
- Brandon King – 2018 Graduate-Pursuing MD
- Juan Polanco Francisco – 2016 Graduate – Applying for positions
- James Carson – Chemist at ITG Brands.
- Bobbi Love – Finishing her undergraduate degree
- Katsuya Colon – 2018 Graduate-Pursuing his PhD at Caltech
- Matthew Garr – 2019 Graduate-Applying to MD/DO Schools
- Rupa Vummalaneni – Clinical Trials Assistant at Duke Cancer Institute.
- Michael Brandon Schroder Spano – Pursuing his PhD at UC-Irvine.
- Buthainah Al Rifaie – 2015 Graduate – Worked at Pharmacore, obtained PhD from the University of Utah, currently at Biogen.
- Laura Johnson – 2015 Graduate – Pursuing her PhD in Biochemistry at Rutgers
- Michael Maxwell – 2015 Graduate – Pursuing his PhD in Chemistry at Florida State
- Kristen Gettys – 2011 Graduate-UNCG Graduate School
- Shawn Yeazell – 2011 Graduate Cum laude-Obtained his MD at UNC Chapel Hill Medical School.
- Thomas Dietz – 2011 Graduate-Obtained his Pharmacy Degree at UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy.
- Cylivia Lee – 2012 Graduate-Currently working at Greer Labs in Lenoir
- Mudita Patel – 2012 Graduate-Obtained her Medical Degree at West Virginia School of Medicine.
- Stephen Frempong – 2012 Graduate-Obtained his Medical Degree at UNC Chapel Hill.
- Dipti Paudel – 2013 Graduate-Obtained her MS in Biochemistry from NC State.
- Daniel Nasrallah – 2015 Graduate – Obtained his PhD in Chemistry at the University of Michigan; postdoc at UCLA; Assistant Professor at Roanoke College.
- Sommayah Sayed – 2014 Graduate-Obtained her MS in Chemistry at UNCG.
- Luke Olsen – 2017 Graduate – Working
- Zachary Adkins – Finishing his undergraduate degree
- Peter Matusik – Finishing his undergraduate degree
- Angela Hairston – Finishing her undergraduate degree
- Matt Philips – 2016 Graduate – Pursuing PhD at University of Delaware.
- Christopher Cook – 2016 Graduate – Pursuing his PhD at Baylor University
- Patricia Pittman – 2016 Graduate – Pursuing her DO at Edward Via College.