Group Members

Alex Allweil

Alex Allweil was born and raised in Bay City, Michigan. He completed his B.S in Biochemistry at the University of Michigan, while performing independent research under Dr. Hollis Showalter. After graduating, he moved to Nashville where he started working in the Vanderbilt University Medical Center Synthesis Core. After three years of working in the synthesis core he was accepted into the graduate program at Vanderbilt University and joined Dr. Sulikowski’s lab in the fall of 2016.

Zach R Austin

Zach Austin (or Squatting Llama to his friends) was born and raised in the great state of Tennessee and continues to further his education here. After several questionable judgement calls, he excelled in his studies and graduated from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville with a major in Chemistry and a minor in Italian Silent Film (his personal favorite is Cabiria, just a wonderful work by Pastrone). Zach joined the Sulikowski lab in 2015 and endured shameless humiliation regarding the Vol’s football inferiority. Working on the total synthesis of the 256 isofurans (metabolites of arachidonic acid), Zach was granted a degree of vindication when, in September to 2016, the Vol’s ended a decade long streak of suffering. He now holds his head high as he works with enthusiasm towards his qualifying exam.

Jennifer R Benoy

Jennifer Benoy grew up in St. Croix Falls, WI (contrary to the circulating rumors that she's Canadian) where she first developed an interest in chemistry. She received a BA in Biochemistry from Augustana College (SD) while playing collegiate golf and developing a caffeine addiction. Jenny enjoys traveling, red wine and short par 5s. Her current research involves the synthesis of an important prostaglandin metabolite.

Quinn A Bumpers

Quinn Bumpers was raised along the waters of Cocoa Beach, Florida, where he left to complete a B.S. in Chemistry at the University of Central Florida. Before he arrived at graduate school, Quinn worked in industry at a small pharmaceutical company. Since beginning his career at Vanderbilt in the Fall of 2015, Quinn still actively looks for bodies of water in the summer and a nicely heated lab in the winter. His current research involves the total synthesis of a marine alkaloid with an isoquinuclidine core, and yes the entire lab is onto him.

Chris Fullenkamp

Chris was born and raised in Indianapolis, IN. He received a B.S. in chemistry from Ball State University in Muncie, IN. During his undergraduate career he briefly worked in two biology labs before switching full time to chemistry research, synthesizing small molecule inhibitors of CDC42. His current efforts are directed towards the total synthesis of an antimicrobial natural product. The rumors around lab are true, all of his compounds are U.V. active.

Jason Hudlicky

Jason grew up all over the East Coast from Blacksburg, VA to Gainesville, FL, and, most recently, in St. Catharines, ON (about 15 miles from Niagara Falls). Having grown up surrounded by chemistry and running columns since the ripe age of 14, it seemed almost predestined that he would continue to study chemistry. Indeed, in 2008 he switched coasts to attend college at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, BC. Try as he might to break the mold, it proved quite futile as Jason graduated in 2013 with a B.A. in Art History and a B.Sc. in Chemistry. After spending several months working in a lab at Charles University in Prague, he began graduate school at Vanderbilt in 2014, working toward the total synthesis of Bielschowskysin. Outside of chemistry, Jason enjoys playing hockey, going to art museums around the world, and thinking about crazy, mind-blowing stuff. Did you know the strongest known acid is helium hydride, with an estimated pKa of -65?

Calvin Larson

Bio coming soon!

Danielle Penk