Members

Post-doctoral Scholars  

Preeti Yadav

 
2021 Ph.D. CSIR-National Physical Laboratory, India
2015 M.Sc. University of Delhi, India
2013 B.Sc. University of Delhi, India
 
The field of organic electronics has come a long way in the past two decades with development of OLED, smartphone displays, colored light sources and portable solar cells which have become an integral part of our daily lives. These technological advancements are enabled by innovation in materials design along with device engineering. Since the future of organic electronics relies heavily on novel materials, there is urgent need to develop high performing organic materials by low-cost synthetic approaches. My research work focuses on molecular design and synthesis of conjugated polymers, and study of their structure-property relationships for organic electronic applications. 
 
 
E-mail: preeti.yadav [at] oist.jp

 

Samantha Phan

 
2021 Ph.D. Department of Chemistry, University of Washington
2017 MSci Department of Chemistry, University of Washington
2014 B.S. University of Florida
 
Samantha received her Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from the University of Florida while studying with Prof. Kirk Schanze on water soluble conjugated polymer synthesis and materials characterization. During a brief time for her Master’s she worked with Prof. Joshua Vaughan on developing super absorbent polymer hydrogels for expansion microscopy. In 2017, she joined Prof. Christine Luscombe’s group for her PhD and focused on (1) synthesizing environmentally benign semiconducting polymers with direct arylation and (2) studying microplastics in marine organisms with Raman spectroscopy and computer vision techniques. 
 
 
E-mail: samantha.phan [at] oist.jp

 

Isha Sanskriti

 

Isha has a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Banaras Hindu University, India. Her research focuses on synthesis, characterization and application of metal nanoparticles as colorimetric probes for environmentally/biologically relevant analytes such as, sulphide, cysteine, homocysteine and glutathione. She studied the sensing mechanism, phenomenon of self-assembly as well as various factors affecting the optical properties of these materials. At OIST, she started with fabricating/synthesizing materials and later joined as a postdoc to work at the interface of Chemistry and Physics on Magnetic levitation of organic liquids. Following her passion for synthesizing smart materials, she is starting as a postdoc in pi-Conjugated Polymers Unit from February 2022.

 
Email: isha.sanskriti1[at] oist.jp 

 

Wissem Khelifi

 
2019 Ph.D University of Pau et Pays de l’Adour, France
2012 M.Sc University of Claude Bernard, INSA, Ecole Centrale Lyon, France
2010 B.Sc, University of Claude Bernard Lyon 1, France
 
Wissem received his bachelor’s degree in chemistry in 2010, his master’s degree in material Science from University Claude Bernard Lyon 1, INSA, Ecole Centrale Lyon in 2012, respectively. Then, he worked as a research engineer at the Laboratory of Photopolymerization and photophysical characterization, Group Skene at University of Montreal, Canada where he was developing a new range of small-conjugated molecules for electrochromic application.
Then, he obtained his Ph.D. degree in polymer chemistry from the University of Pau in 2019. After graduation, he worked as an engineer in development and technology transfer at SATT Aquitaine at Pau where he was in charge for the development of new method for monomers and polymers semiconductor synthesis aiming an industrial production.
He has joined the group of Prof. Christine Luscombe at OIST as postdoctoral fellow. His current research activities aim to investigate the synthesis and design of stretchable Conjugated polymers for next generation wearable and implantable electronics. He will also be working on the study and the analysis of microplastic marine organisms using spectroscopy technics.

He loves Hiking, workout and cooking.

 
E-mail: wissem.khelifi [at] oist.jp

 

Baitan Chakraborty

 
2021 Ph.D. Department of Chemistry, Jadavpur University, India
2014 M.Sc. Department of Chemistry, Jadavpur University, India
2012 B.Sc. Department of Chemistry, Jadavpur University, India
 
During his Ph.D., Baitan worked on the development of new cyclization strategies to access fused heterocyclic compounds containing nitrogen and oxygen. Most of his works focused on the exploitation of eco-friendly and cheap iron-catalysis. Earlier he had worked briefly on glycosylation reactions as part of his M.Sc. dissertation. He has joined OIST as a postdoctoral researcher in August 2022. His current research interest revolves around cross-dehydrogenative coupling (CDC) reactions for the syntheses of semiconducting pi-conjugated polymers. He is also motivated in achieving the target with successful application of iron-catalysis, avoiding the use of expensive and toxic transition metals. Music, literature and travelling are as integral parts of his life as is his research.
 
 
E-mail: baitan.chakraborty [at] oist.jp
 

Technician 

Nadege Bonnet

 
2003 M. Sc, ENSIL Limoges, France
 
After completing her master’s degree in material science, Nadège worked as an engineer in the research and development department at HEF Group. Her work ranged from studying/developing vacuum deposited diamond -like coating to installing vacuum deposition equipment for mass production in Japan.  
She then joined Byon IRU at RIKEN/Wako, as a technical staff in charge of different research projects related to the understanding of electrochemical processes involved in metal-air batteries. Later, she moved to Bio-functional catalyst research team at Riken/Wako working on several collaborative research projects for the development of new bio-inspired manganese-based catalyst for water splitting in PEM (Polymer Electrolyte Membrane) electrolyzers. 
Then, she joined Prof. Christine Luscombe unit at OIST as a technician. Her research focuses on developing needle-type organic electrochemical transistor (OECT) devices for nanoscale bioelectronic applications.
 
 
E-mail: nadege.bonnet [at] oist.jp
 

PhD Student

Nivedha Velmurugan

 
2019 M.Sc. Stella Maris College, Chennai, India
2017 B.Sc. Women's Christian College, Chennai, India
 

I received my MSc degree in 2019 from Stella Maris College, Chennai, India. My dissertation work was centred on the preparation of a Ru-based catalyst for the dehydrogenation of formic acid and bimetallic nanocatalysts in different compositions for the biomass conversion of furfural.

I joined OIST in Jan 2022, and my first lab rotation was with Prof. Christine Luscombe. Later, in Jan 2023, I joined the lab as a PhD student, and my thesis work will focus on the synthesis of a voltage-sensitive dye, ANNINE-6. A multi-step synthetic process that it is, C-H Arylation is my initial and immediate challenge, and I am tackling it One Step At A Time!

I read for academia, a little less than I read for pleasure. I am a natural at singing off-key and dancing off-beat. Please talk to me in Bollywood/Kollywood movie references.

E-mail: nivedha.velmurugan [at] oist.jp

Tom Tassilo Wilfling

 

E-mail: tom.wilfling [at] oist.jp

Rotation Student 

Abdulrahman Bakry

 
February 2021: M. Sc. (Applied Organic Chemistry), Kafrelsheikh University, Egypt. 
June 2015: B. Sc. (Chemistry). Faculty of Science,  Kafrelsheikh University, Egypt.
 
After graduation from Faculty of  Science, Kafrelsheikh University, Egypt, I worked as a member of research project for synthesis and characterization of organic and polymeric materials and its applications in electronic fields  and optical cells, then I performed pre-master studies in 2017-2018 and finallyI obtained my M. Sc. degree in applied organic chemistry with thesis entitled "Synthesis and Spectroscopic Studies of Some π-Conjugated Organic and Polymeric Materials" in February 2021. During my master research, I worked on synthesis of several monomeric and oligomeric organic materials, based on  the donor-acceptor (D-A) system, photophysical, electrochemical, and morphological investigations of the  synthesized polymers for optoelectronic applications.
 
I joined OIST as a Ph.D. student in September 2022 and finished my first rotation. Then, I joined Prof. Christine research group for the second rotation, and I hope I could continue as a Ph.D. student. My rotation research will focus on synthesis of polymeric mixed ionic-electronic conductors (MIECs) that combine properties of conjugated polymers, polyelectrolytes , and polymer electrolytes to transport and couple ionic and electronic charges concurrently. In these mixed conductors, ionic transport depends on chain motion, while electronic transport depends on intermolecular interactions and macroscopic percolation that opens exciting novel applications in bioelectronics, energy storage and conversion, and display technologies.
 
Beside academia, I like watching historical series, documentaries, visiting historical places, playing football, and watching both football and handball matches.
 
E-mail: abdulrahman-bakry [at] oist.jp
 

Visiting Research Student

Lorenzo Guio

 
2023 PhD MSE, University of Washington
2018 B.S. Molecular Engineering, University of Chicago
 
Lorenzo obtained his bachelor's degree from the University of Chicago in the first cohort of molecular engineering majors under the tutelage of Professor Mark Stoykovich. In 2018, he joined Prof. Christine Luscombe’s group for his master’s degree focusing on precise synthesis of conjugated block copolymers for controllable morphology. He stayed in the group for his PhD as well as becoming a part of Prof. Lilo Pozzo's group in the department of chemical engineering at the University of Washington. His current research focuses on unraveling novel conjugated polymer's morphology and properties utilizing a variety of characterization techniques including neutron scattering and electronic device testing.
 
E-mail: lorenzo.guio [at] oist.jp
 

Research Intern

Gilda Quezada Correa

 
Gilda is in the final year of her Bachelor's degree in Nanotechnology at Yachay Tech University, Ecuador. She conducted her research in hydrothermal synthesis and characterization of CQDs from bioprecursors such as the pseudostem of banana controlling its structure and its surface chemistry, among other properties. She experienced a summer research internship in the Physics of Nanostructured Material Research Group at University of Vienna, Austria. There, she received complex training in the use of TEM and STEM microscopes for the characterization of 2D materials (graphene and HBN). She joined Pi-Conjugated Polymers unit at OIST as a research intern in August, 2022. Here, Gilda desires to work on organic electrochemical transistors for the completion of her thesis project. 
 
E-mail: gilda.quezada [at] oist.jp

Makiko Emori 

 

E-mail: makiko.emori [at] oist.jp

Research Unit Administrator

Midori Tanahara

 
Midori was born in Okinawa, studied in Tokyo and Vancouver and joined OIST in 2008.  She provides an administrative support to the Christine Luscombe Group for daily lab operation.  She loves to travel, swim and cook.
 
E-mail: midori.tanahara [at] oist.jp