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Auclair Group Members

Post-Doctoral Fellows, Reasearch Associates, and Visiting Professors
Dr. Ali Zaker (he/him)
Hometown: Tehran, Iran
Previous Degree(s) Earned: B.Sc. and M.Sc. Chemical Engineering; Ph.D. Civil/Environmental Engineering, Concordia University
Joined Auclair Group: September 2022
Project(s): Mechanoenzymatic depolymerization of plastics
Favourite item in the lab: A Hot Furnace!
Hobbies: Soccer, Watching movies, environmental volunterring activities
Dr. Mina Nekouei
Joined: December 2022
Project: Antibiotics
Dr. Alexandre Pierret
Hometown: Nantes, France
Previous Degree(s) Earned: M.Sc. Chemical Engineering (ENSIACET, Toulouse); M.Sc. Green Chemistry (Université Paul Sabatier, Toulouse); Ph.D. Organic Chemistry (Université de Lorraine, Nancy)
Joined: October 2023
Project: Antibiotics
Hobbies: Board/video games, reading, skiing
Graduate Students
J.P. Daniel Therien
Joined Auclair Group: January 2016
Project(s): Mechanoenzymology
Jake Pierscianowski (he/him)
Hometown: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Previous Degree(s) Earned: Honours B.Sc. in Chemical Biology, McMaster University
Joined Auclair Group: September 2018
Project(s): Itaconate
Hobbies: Rock climbing, cooking, trying new restaurants/bars, board/video games
Favourite item in the lab: Biosafety Cabinet and our Electronic Pipettes
Least favourite item in the lab: LCMS 😤
Blue (Chunling) Lan [兰春岭]
Hometown: Baishan, Jilin, China
Previous Degree(s) Earned: B.Sc. Chemistry
Joined Auclair Group: September 2019
Project(s): As long as there's synthesis, I'm a part of the project!
Hobbies: piano, cooking, hiking
Favourite item in the lab: Magic Stain aka Hanessian's Stain
Least favourite item in the lab: Round Bottom Flask
Jane Arciszewski (she/her)
Hometown: Ardrossan, Alberta, Canada
Previous Degree(s) Earned: Honours B.Sc. Biochemistry
Joined Auclair Group: September 2020
Project(s): Mechanoenzymatic depolymerization of plastics
Hobbies: Rock climbing, journaling, embroidering & sewing
Favourite item in the lab: the big centrifuge because it sings a nice song when it's done
Least favourite item in the lab: the printer
Alexia Piercey (she/her)
Hometown: Montréal, Quebec, Canada
Previous Degree(s) Earned: BSc. Pharmacology and Therapeutics
Joined Auclair Group: September 2021
Project(s): P450/CPR
Hobbies: Cooking, running, trying new restaurants, reading
Favourite item in the lab: LCMS (I ❤️ mass spec)
Least favourite item in the lab: MilliQ

Yuqin Xia (she/her)
Joined the Auclair Group: September 2022
Project(s): Mechanoenzymatic depolymerization of plastics
Hobbies: listening to music, planting vegetables and flowers, watching movies
Favourite item in the lab: Ball mill, oven, and eppendorfs!
Hannah Girard
Hometown: Ottawa, ON, Canada
Previous Degree(s): BSc. (Honours) Joint Major Chemistry and Forensic Science
Joined the Auclair Group: September 2022
Project(s): Mechanochemistry
Hobbies: Going to concerts, crochet, people-watching
Favourite item in the lab: Any tiny glassware
Least favourite item in the lab: The balances
Aracelli Chang (she/her)
Hometown: Colorado, USA
Previous Degree(s) Earned: BA Chemistry, BA Biology, Pepperdine University
Joined Auclair Group: September 2022
Project(s): Itaconate
Hobbies: Volleyball, knitting/crocheting, singing, bowling, skiing, exploring new restaurants
Ahmed Abdelaal (he/him)
Hometown: Cairo, Egypt
Previous Degree(s) Earned: B.Sc. Chemistry, M.Sc. Nanotechnology
Joined the Auclair Group: January 2023
Project(s): Synthesis/Itaconate
Hobbies: Running, cooking, climbing
Alec McAlpine (they/them)
Hometown: Verner, Ontario, Canada
Previous Degree(s): Honours B.Sc. in Medicinal Chemistry, University of Waterloo
Joined the Auclair Group: September 2023
Project(s): Pantothenamide-mimicking compounds
Hobbies: Beading, cooking, reading, playing Stardew Valley
Tarasha Sharma
Hometown: Windsor, ON
Previous Degree(s) Earned: Honours BSc. in Biopharmaceutical Science, University of Ottawa
Joined the Auclair Group: September 2023
Project(s): Itaconate
Hobbies: watercolouring painting, martial arts, cooking, and trying new restaurants!
Suzana Diaconescu-Grabari
Joined the Auclair Group: September 2023
Project(s): Itaconate
Natalia Munoz Patino
Joined the Auclair Group: September 2023
Project(s): Mechanochemistry
Ryan Olegario
Joined the Auclair Group: September 2023
Project(s): P450/CPR
Undergraduate Students

McGill is located on unceded lands which have traditionally served as a site of meeting and exchange amongst diverse indigenous peoples. The Kanien’kehà:ka/People of the Flint (Mohawk) who are a founding nation of the Haudenosaunee/People of the Longhouse (Iroquois) Confederacy are recognized as the traditional stewards of the lands and waters.

McGill Land Acknowledgement

We are all treaty people.