Our Team

Dr. Mitchell P. Croatt

Professor and Department Head

Phone: 336.334.3785
Fax: 336.334.5402
Room: 406 Sullivan Science Bldg.
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, 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.

Current Members

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.

Gurjant Sekhon

Postbac

Gurj joined the Croatt Group in the Fall of 2022. He received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from UNC Chapel Hill.

Grant Develle

Undergraduate

Grant is a Pre-Med student pursuing his B.S. in Human Development and Family Studies at UNCG. Aside from doing research in the Croatt Group since the Summer of 2022, he also works as a medical scribe for Cone Health in the cancer center.

Emily Ramirez

Undergraduate

Emily Ramirez joined the Croatt Organic Synthesis Research Group in the Summer of 2022. She is a senior at UNCG and received her Associate’s Degree from Randolph Community College in Asheboro, NC. She is pursuing her B.S. in Chemistry, with a Biochemistry concentration. After graduating UNCG in the Spring 2023, she hopes to pursue her Pharm.D.

Logan Brown

Undergraduate

Logan is pursuing his B.S. in Biochemistry degree here at UNCG. He spends his time outside of the lab playing saxophone in the UNCG Athletic Bands and participating in UNCG Esports. He is also currently the co-president of UNCG’s Chemistry Club, the Skeptical Chemists. Logan joined the Croatt Group in the Fall of 2021.

Dr. Yomica Powder-George

Visiting Scientist

Yomica joined the Croatt Group in the Summer of 2022 and plans to visit again for the Summer of 2023. She is a faculty member at the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus in Trinidad & Tabago.

David Tanas

MS 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.

Tangela Johnson

MS Student

Tangela got her B.S in Chemistry with a concentration in Biochemistry from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 2021. She then returned to UNCG and is a current MS student, working towards another degree in Chemistry.

Harris Khan

MS Student

Harris earned his B.S. in Biochemistry from UNCG in the Fall of 2021 and started his M.S degree within the same semester. Harris plans to graduate with his Masters degree in the Spring of 2023.

Khyarul Alam “Fahim”

Research Scientist

Dr. Alam completed his BSc and MS degree in Chemistry from Shahjalal University of Science and Technology in Bangladesh. In 2018, he received his PhD in Organic Chemistry under the supervision of Dr. Jin Kyoon Park at Pusan National University in South Korea. His doctoral research was focused on the synthesis of  N-heterocycles and N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs). He joined the Croatt Group in 2019.

Tian Li

Ph.D. Student

Tian received his B.S. in Chemistry from Adelphi University in 2018 and came to UNCG based on the sage wisdom from Dr. I. F. Dempsey Hyatt (Croatt Group alumnus). Tian is currently a fifth year Ph.D. student and applying for PostDoc.

Abraham Ustoyev

Ph.D. Student

Abe received his B.S. in Biochemistry from Adelphi University in 2017 and came to UNCG based on the sage wisdom from Dr. I. F. Dempsey Hyatt (Croatt Group alumnus).

Alumni

MS's

  • Elvis McFee - Terminal Masters Degree in 2021-Pursuing his PhD in Chemistry at the University of Michigan.
  • Saad Sohail - Terminal Masters Degree in 2020-Senior Research Associate at Korro Bio Inc.
  • 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

  • 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

  • Ivan Fabe Dempsey Hyatt - Assistant 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

  • 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; currently doing a postdoc at UCLA.
  • 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.