From MHC chemistry major to PhD candidate at Princeton

One skill I found very valuable from my time at MHC was my time spent teaching in PLUMS. The skill of teaching is very important when I TA a class or when I'm explaining my project to my lab mates.

Major: Chemistry

Research Group: Megan Núñez Lab

Graduate School: Princeton University

As a third year graduate student in the Seyedsayamdost Lab in the Princeton University chemistry department, I work on elucidating the mechanisms of tailoring metalloenzymes that catalyze unusual modifications on small molecules.

What I really enjoy about my work is that it uses all areas of chemistry and allows me to learn a wide variety of techniques. I concomitantly do organic synthesis, microbiology, enzymology, spectroscopy and even use unusual techniques such as electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy!

One skill I found very valuable from my time at MHC was my time spent teaching in PLUMS. The skill of teaching is very important when I TA a class or when I'm explaining my project to my lab mates.

Funnily enough, I never actually took biochemistry at MHC (I went to Germany for my junior year), but Professor Hamilton's Organic Synthesis of Biological Pathways class inspired my interest in enzymology and the complexities of inorganic chemistry taught by Professor Cotter keeps me fascinated by my enzymes. 

Kelsey is the lead author in a recent article in Nature Chemistry.