{"id":29,"date":"2022-07-01T14:57:56","date_gmt":"2022-07-01T18:57:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/cueny-group\/?page_id=29"},"modified":"2026-08-14T08:49:13","modified_gmt":"2026-08-14T12:49:13","slug":"current-group-members","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/cueny-group\/people\/current-group-members\/","title":{"rendered":"Current Group Members"},"content":{"rendered":"

Postdoctoral Researchers<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Dr. Samuel Bhutto (PhD, Yale University)<\/h3>\n

\"\"\"\"\"\"Hi, I\u2019m Sam!<\/p>\n

Graduate Students<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Katelynn (Katie) Farmer (G5)<\/h3>\n

\"\"Hi, I\u2019m Katie. I completed my B.S. in Chemistry at Harding University in 2018, and I received my M.S. in Chemistry from Middle Tennessee State University in 2022. I\u2019m currently involved in starting and expanding the Cueny Group\u2019s Transmetalation Project. My chemical interests focus on pushing the boundaries of green energy and green chemistry for a cleaner future. In my free time, I love attending live theatre performances, hiking, and trying out new recipes.<\/p>\n

Kristina Gusty (G5)<\/h3>\n

\"\"Hey there! My name\u2019s Kristina<\/span> Gusty and I am one of the three amazing graduate students starting the Cueny group. I am a first-generation college student and Czech American, so I was born in Chicago, IL, but my family immigrated to the US from the Czech Republic. I lived in Czechia throughout elementary school, after which we moved back to America. I completed my B.S. in Chemistry at Florida Gulf Coast University, where I was a research student in an inorganic lab focusing on building Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs). I\u2019m always looking to do something outside of the box, so I\u2019m excited to see where this PhD takes me! As much as I love being in the lab, I also love my free time when I get to swim, ice skate with friends, watch some hockey, read, and go thrift shopping. I\u2019m also always down to explore a new bakery and eat something scrumptious. When I have more time on my hands, I love learning new languages! So far, I\u2019ve studied Russian and would say I\u2019m at a solid intermediate proficiency, but plan to continue with it and add a couple more languages in the mix<\/span>\u00a0:)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Rana Marghalani\"\" (G5)<\/h3>\n

\"\"\"\"\"\"My name is Rana Marghalani. I\u2019m from Saudi Arabia. I got my degree in chemistry with a minor in astronomy from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2021. I did my undergrad research in the Wang Organic and Biochemistry group 2019-2021, I worked on the asymmetric methods of synthesizing of chiral piperidines. I am interested in using transmetalation chemistry to synthesize carboxylic acids from carbon dioxide. I like to spend my free time painting, sketching, randomly googling things I dont understand, and exploring the city. If you love dogs I happen to have a tri-colored corgi named Archer, who\u2019s has a degree in chaos with a minor in destroying his toys 5 mins after I buy them for him.<\/span><\/p>\n

Emma Salati\"\" (G4)<\/h3>\n

\"\"\"\"\"\"Hi, I\u2019m Emma! I was born and raised in Modena, Italy, but spent the second half of my childhood in Florida. I graduated in May 2023 from the University of Florida with a triple major in Chemistry, Spanish, and Italian. I am interested in organometallic catalysts and polymers, but with a broader emphasis on sustainable chemistry. In my free time, I love to read, craft, and cook\/bake.<\/p>\n

Brianna Pecourt (G3)<\/h3>\n

\"\"\"\"\"\"Hi, I’m Brianna! I am originally from Columbus, Ohio, but did my undergraduate degree at the University of South Florida. I graduated in 2024 with a B.S. in Chemistry with a minor in Linguistics. I did my undergraduate research in the Spanopoulos Group focused on the synthesis of hybrid perovskite materials for solar cell applications. I also worked with the Witanachchi Group in the application of these solar cell materials in the development of solar ovens for use in sub-Saharan Africa. I am very passionate about sustainable chemistry, especially that towards environmental applications. Outside of the lab, I enjoy listening to music, reading, baking, and exploring new restaurants\/coffee shops around the city.<\/p>\n

Michael Corbett (G3)<\/h3>\n

\"\"\"\"\"\"Hi, I\u2019m Michael!<\/p>\n

Melissa Sebold (G2)<\/h3>\n

\"\"\"\"\"\"Hi, I\u2019m Melissa! I’m originally from New Jersey but spent the last several years living in Philadelphia (Go Birds!). I\u2019m interested in mechanistic elucidation and organometallic synthesis. I like to bake, eat probably too much ice cream, and play with my two cocker spaniels (pictures available upon request).<\/p>\n

Kelsey Wong (G2)<\/h3>\n

\"\"\"\"\"\"Hi! My name is Kelsey and I am from New York City. I graduated with a B.S. in Chemistry and A.B. in Spanish from Lafayatte College in 2025. There, I joined the Nataro Lab and I worked on the synthesis and study of complexes containing bis(phosphino)ferrocene ligands. I am interested in the luminescence properties of organometallic complexes and in general, I enjoy learning different synthetic and analytical techniques for my research. During my free time, you can find me cooking for friends and family, playing co-op games like Overcooked and any Mario platformer game on my Switch, and attempting random craft projects.<\/p>\n

Undergraduate Students<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Myah Cortez (Senior)<\/h3>\n

\"\"\"\"\"\"Hi, I’m Myah! I’m currently a senior at Boston University majoring in Chemistry. I’m excited to be part of the Cueny group to learn more about organometallic chemistry, catalysis, and sustainable chemistry through research. I grew up moving around a lot and lived in Hawaii, Japan, South Korea, and all over the United States. In my free time, you’ll usually find me at the gym, running, trying new coffee shops, or watching How I Met Your Mother for the hundredth time.<\/p>\n

Trevor Jones (Junior)<\/h3>\n

\"\"\"\"\"\"Hi, I\u2019m Trevor! I will be joining the Cueny group in Fall of 2026.<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"<\/p>\n

<\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Postdoctoral Researchers Dr. Samuel Bhutto (PhD, Yale University) Hi, I\u2019m Sam! Graduate Students Katelynn (Katie) Farmer (G5) Hi, I\u2019m Katie. I completed my B.S. in Chemistry at Harding University in 2018, and I received my M.S. in Chemistry from Middle Tennessee State University in 2022. I\u2019m currently involved in starting and expanding the Cueny Group\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21105,"featured_media":0,"parent":17,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-templates\/no-sidebars.php","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/cueny-group\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/29"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/cueny-group\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/cueny-group\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/cueny-group\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21105"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/cueny-group\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/cueny-group\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/29\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":146,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/cueny-group\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/29\/revisions\/146"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/cueny-group\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/17"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/cueny-group\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}