Meet Our Lab
Postdoctoral Associates
Emily Kerr, PhD
- efkerr@bu.edu
Emily gew up in Shirley, Massachusetts before moving to Cincinnati, Ohio to get her bachelors degree in Chemistry from Xavier University. Dr. Emily Kerr joined the PAL program in Fall 2022. Dr. Kerr is currently teaching a lecture section for Chem 203 along with Dr. Loy and Dr. Courtney and conducting research in the lab of Dr. Jeffries-El. She received her Ph.D. in Chemistry from Harvard University in 2022 studying redox flow batteries in the lab of Dr. Roy Gordon. In her free time see enjoys skiing, sailing, and visiting the local alpaca farms.
Shambhavi Tannir, PhD
- stannir4@bu.edu
Dr. Shambhavi Tannir grew up in India where she got her BS in chemistry, zoology, and biotechnology and an MS in chemistry. She went on to get her Ph.D. at the University of Wyoming in 2019 where her research focussed on chiral nano-materials, such as quantum dots, and chiral supramolecular assemblies. She followed this up with a postdoctoral appointment under Prof. Edward Clennan where she synthesized and computationally studied chiral organic LED materials. She is currently a postdoctoral associate in the Jeffries-EL group. Her work is focused on the design of pi-conjugated materials and their devices. In her free time, Shama enjoys traveling, concerts, cooking, learning languages and getting together with friends.
Graduate Students
Annie Beckett
- becketta@bu.edu
Annie grew up in New Haven, CT, and started her B.S. in chemistry at CUNY Brooklyn College before ultimately finishing at Southern CT State University. Her undergraduate research was in synthetic organic chemistry. She is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in organic chemistry at Boston University with a research emphasis on pi-conjugated materials. In her free time, Annie enjoys biking, hanging out with friends, or reading a good book.
Nicole Berry
- naberry@bu.edu
Amy Brown
- aebrwn11@bu.edu
Amy E. Brown was born in the small town of Hamburg, Iowa. She went on to attend Northwest Missouri State University, where she completed her bachelor of arts degree in chemistry in 2007. At the University of Maryland, she furthered her education with a master’s degree in Chemical and Life Sciences in 2012, with a final paper over the role of sensors in breast cancer detection. She is currently pursuing her doctoral degree in synthetic organic chemistry at Boston University with a research emphasis in pi-conjugated materials and was awarded the very prestigious NSF Graduate Research Fellowship (2016). When not making new molecules you can usually catch her watching Kansas City Royals baseball, following NWMSU Bearcat football, playing with her two kitties, or just getting lost in a good book.
Chris Cunningham
- ccunnin1@bu.edu
Chris grew up in Fort Walton Beach, FL, and graduated from the University of West Florida with B.S in chemistry and biochemistry. During his undergraduate studies, he conducted research in the area of electrophilic cyclization for pharmaceutical applications. Chris currently pursuing his doctoral degree in organic chemistry at Boston University with a research emphasis on pi-conjugated materials. In his free time, you can find Chris eating Chinese food, hanging out with friends, and laughing anywhere he goes.
De’Zhanae McCall-Butler
- dmm76@bu.edu
De’Zhanae was born in Philadelphia, PA and moved to Pensacola, FL in the 5th grade. She conducted her undergraduate studies at the University of West Florida and received her Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry in 2019 while researching in the area of non-toxic quantum dots for biological applications. She is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry at Boston University with a research emphasis in the development of novel pi-conjugated materials for organic photovoltaic applications. In her free time, Dez enjoys exploring Boston, finding good places to eat, and getting used to the big city lifestyle.
Aidan Murphy
- almurph@bu.edu
Aidan grew up outside of Portland, ME and graduated from the University of Richmond in 2019 with a B.S. in biochemistry and molecular biology. As an undergrad, he conducted research in the area of mechanistic agricultural pathogenesis. Aidan is currently pursuing his Ph.D. in organic chemistry at Boston University with an emphasis on synthesizing novel organic semiconductors for photovoltaic application. In his free time, you can find him back up north hitting the slopes, catching a Red Sox game, or hanging out at a brewery with friends.
Moises Ramirez
Moises grew up in Lynn, MA, and graduated from Salem State University in 2018 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry. After his undergraduate studies, he joined BU PREP. During the program, he investigated DNA library preparation techniques and novel synthetic methodologies for asymmetric catalysis. Moises is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry at Boston University with an emphasis on synthesizing novel organic semiconductors. In his free time, you can find him watching movies, playing basketball, practicing piano, or enjoying food.
Zhuoyan (Oscar) Xu
Oscar grew up in Shenzhen, China, and finished middle school there. He moved to the U.S. and started a four-year high school in Florida. He completed his B.S. degree in Chemistry at UIUC in 2021. His undergrad research concentrated on the applications of bio-nanomaterials in sensing. Oscar is currently pursuing his Master’s degree in MSE at Boston University, researching the synthetic methods using a microreactor in flow to synthesize organic semiconductor materials. Oscar enjoys singing (although the process he practices singing skills is somewhat annoying) and playing P.C. games (mainly League of Legends, but sometimes the Triple-A games) after working and studying.
Undergraduate Students
Ryan de Kock
- ryandk@bu.edu
Ryan (he/him) grew up in Arroyo Grande, California, and is a senior at BU majoring in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (BMB) and minoring in Spanish. He is currently working on the synthesis of NFA end-capping units for BBO and developing a project for Honors Research in BMB. In his free time, Ryan likes wandering around Boston, snowboarding, and looking for new music recommendations.
Anthony Avila
- aavila@bu.edu
Tony was born and raised in Hightstown, NJ and is currently a senior at BU majoring in Chemistry and minoring in Biology. Currently, he is working towards the synthesis of pi-conjugated materials. In his free time, Tony enjoys exercising, drawing, playing video games, or cracking jokes with his friends.