Group Members

Principal Investigator

Prof. Sijia Dong

  • Ph.D. in Chemistry, California Institute of Technology

  • More details can be found here.

Postdoctoral Scholars

Dr. Gustavo Mondragón-Solórzano

  • Ph.D. in Chemical Sciences, National Autonomous University of Mexico (with Prof. Joaquín Barroso-Flores)

  • Research interests: excited states of molecular systems using multiconfigurational and multireference methods

  • Hobbies: Biking (mostly mountain biking). Also all animal friendly.

Dr. Alyssa Kranc

  • Ph.D. in Chemistry from Boston University (with Prof. Ksenia Bravaya), BA in Chemical Physics from Wellesley College

  • Research Interests: I am interested in modeling excited state and electron transfer phenomena in biological systems to better understand the underlying process.

  • Outside of lab, I enjoy spending time cuddling with my cats, Miso and Mouse, exploring local coffee shops, and being part of a competitive adult tap team.

Dr. Duc Anh Lai

  • Ph.D. in Theoretical and Computational Chemistry, Southern Methodist University (with Prof. Devin Matthews)

  • Research interest: I am interested in developing large-scale quantum chemistry techniques to study the molecular properties of biomolecules in response to external stimuli.

  • Hobbies: Reading comics.

PhD Students

Zheyu Zhang

  • PhD student in Chemistry

  • M.S. in Bioinformatics, Northeastern University

  • Aim to use modeling and simulation methods to solve all biological problems on different scales.

  • Fun fact: I really like to build PCs for my friends.

Emma Stevens

  • PhD Student in Chemistry

  • B.S. in Chemistry, Emmanuel College, Boston

  • Research Interests: Modeling the enzyme-like catalytic nature of molecularly imprinted polymers using multiscale simulations

  • Fun Fact: I love spending time on the esplanade and even sailing on the Charles!

Namish Kokkula

  • PhD student in Chemical Engineering

  • B.S. in Chemical Engineering, UMass Amherst

  • I aim to use computational methods to understand the intricacies of enzymatic reactions and to develop tools that accelerate the exploration of these reactions.

  • Fun fact: I once solved a Rubik's cube in under 20 seconds

Master's Students

Angie McGraw

  • M.S. Student in Computer Science

  • M.S. in Bioinformatics and Computational Biomedicine, Oregon Health & Science University

  • Research Interest: Interested in developing and applying quantum computing methods to address challenges in medicine and biomedical research.

  • Hobbies: Outside of research, I enjoy strength training, playing sports, and exploring Boston.

Undergraduate Students

Marlon Jost

  • Beckman Scholar

  • Major in Computer Science and Physics, Minor in Mathematics

  • Research Interest: My passion lies in quantum computing and its applications in chemistry, physics, and beyond.

  • Hobbies: I am an avid skier, backpacker, and martial artist.

Daniel (Minseok) Kim

  • Major in PharmD

  • Research Interest: I'm interested in discovering novel protein structure candidates and using simulation tools to narrow down therapeutic possibilities.

  • Hobbies: I love playing classical/jazz piano and enjoy composing music.

Alumni

Miscellaneous Group Photos

Graduation celebration! April 2026

Celebrating Ben's successful PhD Thesis Defense! December 2025

Group photo after the Solar Eclipse party! April 2024

Viewing the Solar Eclipse together! April 2024

Group photo after the ACS Northeast Regional Meeting! June 2023

Group celebration! August 2022