Our Team
Shabnam Hematian, Ph.D.
Associate Professor and Bernard-Glickman Dean’s Professor
Phone: 336.334.5867
Fax: 336.334.5402
Room: 405 Sullivan Science Bldg.
Email: s_hemati@uncg.edu
Shabnam was born and grew up in Tehran, Iran and found her love for chemistry as a high school student. She received her B.S. degree in chemistry from the National University of Iran and M.S. degree in inorganic chemistry from Sharif University of Technology. In 2010, she joined the research group of Professor Ken Karlin at Johns Hopkins University and studied the biologically inspired coordination chemistry of heme/Cu synthetic systems with nitrogen oxides such as nitric oxide, nitrite, and hyponitrite.
After finishing her Ph.D. dissertation, in the Fall of 2015, she began a postdoctoral position in the Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), where she worked with Professor Jonas Peters on the electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) to carbon-based fuels. Shabnam then joined the research group of Professor Harry Gray as a postdoctoral fellow in the Spring of 2017. There, her research has focused on a mechanistic study of O2 reactivity of blue Thermus thermophilus laccase.
In the Fall of 2018, Shabnam started her independent academic career at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG). Her research group is interested in biological and energy sciences from an inorganic chemistry perspective. Their research is targeted toward manipulation of a broad range of unique redox processes that take place within homogeneous photocatalysts, protein scaffolds, and electrochemical systems. In 2022, Shabnam received the Bernard Glickman Bernard-Glickman Dean’s Professorship at UNCG and was awarded the Arthur E. Martell Early Career Researcher Prize from the Journal of Coordination Chemistry. In her independent career, Shabnam has been recognized with an NSF Launching Early-Career Academic Pathways in the Mathematical and Physical Sciences (LEAPS-MPS) Award, an NIH Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award (MIRA), a 2023 DOE Early Career Award, and a 2024 UNC Research Opportunities Initiative (ROI) award.
Shabnam enjoys spending time with her husband and their 18-month-old son, Parsa. She also enjoys face-timing with family back home in Iran, sampling coffee and tea, and traveling. Shabnam loves cooking and eating Persian food. Food is a big part of the Iranian culture, and it serves as a catalyst that brings people together, while also giving her a little taste of home.
Current Members
Shyam Pahari
Postdoctoral Scholar
Ph.D. (Inorganic Chemistry)
University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
M.S. (Chemistry)
Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu
B.S. (Chemistry)
Tribhuvan University, Pokhara
Sandip Das
Postdoctoral Scholar
Ph.D. (Inorganic Chemistry)
Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Tirupati
M.S. (Organic Chemistry)
The University of Burdwan
B.S. (Chemistry)
The University of Burdwan
Courtney Petersen
Postdoctoral Scholar
Ph.D. (Chemistry)
The University of Alabama
B.S. (Chemistry with a Minor in Biology)
Salisbury University
Winston Pitts
Postdoctoral Scholar
Ph.D. (Chemistry)
University of Michigan
M.S. (Chemistry with Concentration in Biochemistry)
University of Mississippi
Rezoanul Islam
Postdoctoral Scholar
Ph.D. (Inorganic Chemistry)
Auburn University
M.S. (Chemistry)
University of Dhaka
B.S. (Chemistry)
University of Dhaka
Rafiul Noyon
Graduate Student
M.Sc. (Inorganic Chemistry)
University of Chittagong
B.S. (Chemistry)
University of Chittagong
Alexa Kerkan
Graduate Student
B.S. (Biochemistry)
East Carolina University
Chris Olawoyin
Graduate Student
M.Sc. (Inorganic Chemistry)
Novosibirsk State University
B.S. (Biochemistry)
University of Ilorin
Benjamin Masters
Research Assistant
M.S. (Chemistry)
University of Chicago
B.S. (Chemistry with a Minor in Environmental Science)
North Carolina State University
Marcos Tapia
Undergraduate Student
U-RISE Fellow & Goldwater Scholar
B.S. (Chemistry) Class of 2025
University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Learn more about Marcos’ research experience!
Kymberlee Harbin
Undergraduate Student
U-RISE Fellow
B.S. (Chemistry) Class of 2026
University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Sophie Rocco
High School Student
2024 Draelos Scholar
The Early College at Guilford
Ella Schwanke
High School Student
The Middle College at UNCG
Former Members
Sameer Nasir – Visiting Researcher (2022) – B.S. in Biology from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Firoz Khan – Postdoctoral Scholar (2019-2024) – Ph.D. in Inorganic Chemistry from Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur and B.S. and M.S. in Chemistry from Banaras Hindu UniversityCurrently a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Zadrozny Research Group at Ohio State University
Zeinab AlSubeh – Graduate Student joint with the Oberlies Lab – Ph.D. in Medicinal Biochemistry (2019-2021) – Pharm.D. from Jordan University of Science and TechnologyCurrently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacognosy at Jordan University of Science and Technology (JUST)
Dahlia Porter – Graduate Student – M.S. in Chemistry (2022-2024) – B.S. in Chemistry from University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Maria Carrasco – Graduate Student – M.S. in Chemistry (2019-2021) & Undergraduate Student – B.S. in Biochemistry (2018-2019) – B.S. in Biology from the University of North Carolina at GreensboroCurrently a Medical Student at the Ohio State University College of Medicine
Amy Waldbusser – Graduate Student – M.S. in Chemistry (2019-2021) – B.S. in Chemistry with a concentration in Forensic Chemistry from Appalachian State UniversityCurrently a Senior Chemist at Eurofins Lancaster Laboratories
Hadi Pourhadi – Graduate Student – M.S. in Chemistry and Biochemistry (2019-2021) – B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Mazandaran & M.S. in Chemistry from Sharif University of TechnologyCurrently a Research Assistant at Wake Forest Proteomics and Metabolomics Shared Resource (PMSR)
Han Kang – Post-baccalaureate Student – Biochemistry (2023-2024) – B.S. in Biology from North Carolina State UniversityCurrently a Medical Student at Liberty University College of Osteopathic Medicine
Jordan Lech – Undergraduate Student – B.S. (Chemistry) Class of 2024
Kiara Gonzales – Undergraduate Student – B.S. (Biochemistry) Class of 2026
Runzi Li – Undergraduate Student – B.S. (Chemistry) Class of 2022Currently a PhD student in the Chirik Research Group at Princeton
Michael Mungaray – Undergraduate Student – B.S. (Computer Science) Class of 2023Currently a Software Developer at Fastenal
Mingli Yang – Undergraduate Student – B.S. (Biochemistry) Class of 2021
Katie Dezarn – Undergraduate Student – B.S. (Chemistry) Class of 2021
Kevin Doheny – Undergraduate Student – B.S. (Chemistry) Class of 2020Currently a Purification Scientist at Eurofins Scientific
John Leary – Homeschooled High School Student – 2024 NSF LEAPS Researcher
Alia Wang – Community College Student (Forsyth Technical Community College) – 2023 NSF LEAPS ResearcherCurrently an undergraduate student at Pitzer College – B.S. (Chemistry) – Class of 2025
Alayna Elliott – High School Student (Atkins Academic & Technology High School) – 2023 NSF LEAPS ResearcherCurrently an undergraduate student at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Della Spencer – Community College Student (Guilford Technical Community College) – 2022 NSF LEAPS ResearcherCurrently an undergraduate student at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro – B.A. (English) – Class of 2024
Markia Miller – Community College Student (Guilford Technical Community College) – 2021Currently an undergraduate student at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro – B.S. (Biology) Class of 2024
Prathamesh Jadhav – High School Student (Grimsley High School) – 2024 Draelos Scholar
Faheem Alam – High School Student (The Early College at Guilford) – 2023 Draelos Scholar
Jonathan Gregory – High School Student (The Early College at Guilford) – 2023 Draelos Scholar
Azhaan Buttar – High School Student (Northern Guilford High School) – 2022-2023Currently an undergraduate student at North Carolina State University
Eugenia Shirley – High School Student (Page High School) – 2022-2023 NSF LEAPS ResearcherCurrently an undergraduate student at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Nicholas Alejandro – High School Student (The North Carolina Leadership Academy) – 2022 Draelos ScholarRead about our 2022 Draelos Scholars here!
Fully Porter – High School Student (Grimsley High School) – 2022 Draelos Scholar Read about our 2022 Draelos Scholars here!
Brenna Johnson – High School Student (Ledford High School) – 2021 Draelos ScholarCurrently an undergraduate student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Alex Seo – High School Student (Western Guilford High School) – 2020-2021Currently an undergraduate student at Columbia University
Joshua Park – High School Student (The Early College at Guilford) – 2020 Draelos ScholarCurrently an undergraduate student at Vanderbilt University
Sarah Ali – High School Student (The Early College at Guilford) – 2020 Draelos ScholarCurrently a Park Scholar at North Carolina State University
Alex Miroshnichenko – High School Student (The Early College at Guilford) – 2020 Draelos Scholar – 2020-2021Currently an undergraduate student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Erik Peterson – High School Student (Cornerstone Charter Academy) – 2020 Draelos ScholarCurrently an undergraduate student at High Point University
Logan Weist – High School Student (Wesleyan Christian Academy) – 2019 Draelos ScholarCurrently an undergraduate student at North Carolina State University
Aidan Hunt – High School Student (The Early College at Guilford) – 2019 Draelos ScholarB.A. in Computer Science & Linguistics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (2023)
Boluwaji (Beejay) Odufuwa – High School Student (Western Guilford High School) – 2019-2020Currently an undergraduate student at Harvard University
Advika Kumar – High School Student (The Early College at Guilford) – 2018-2019Currently an undergraduate student at Duke University