Spring 2022 (Photo credit: Dylan Hale)
Current Coworkers:
Emily Burke 2019, 2021–present
PhD Candidate
PhD Candidate
Emily was a summer student in 2019 and 2021 in the Speed Group, and a BSc Honours student in 2021/2022. Emily started as an MSc student in Fall 2022, and transferred to the PhD program in September 2024. Emily works on our project on sulfur hexafluoride functionalization.
Emily Muise 2024–present
BSc Student
Emily is an honours student. She was also a summer undergraduate student in 2024, funded by a Sobey Award. Emily is working on ways to improve radical catalysis.
Ryan Warren 2022–present
PhD Candidate
Ryan did his BSc and an MSc at Memorial University, working on cyclophane chemistry. He joined the Speed group for PhD studies in the fall of 2022, working on forming new chemical bonds using diazaphospholenes.
Owen Yoshida 2024–present
BSc Student
Owen is an Honours student. Owen is working on ways to improve diastereoselectivity in a reaction we use to make some of our catalysts.
Past Coworkers:
Matt Adams 2015–2018BSc Honours and MSc Graduate
Matt is from the South Shore of Nova Scotia, and completed his fourth year undergraduate honours project in the Speed group in 2015–2016, developing diazaphospholene precatalysts, and showing their use in imine reductions and conjugate reductions. Matt continued in the Speed group as an MSc student, and developed the first examples of asymmetric reductions using chiral diazaphospholenes. After defending his MSc in March 2018 Matt moved to Montreal to work at IntelliSyn RD.
Adam Beckett 2018–2020
MSc Graduate
Adam is from New Brunswick, and completed his BSc at Mount Allison University, working in the Briand group. Adam completed his MSc in the Speed group studying some applications of diazaphospholenes in natural product synthesis, and the synthesis of diazaphospholenes that are not accessible through existing technologies. Adam was part of the Bioactives CREATE program.
Jessica Bosso 2020
ICE Exchange student
Jessica was an undergraduate at the University of Western Ontario, and was a participant in the Inorganic Chemistry Exchange (ICE) Program. While the pre-COVID plan was for her to spend the summer in Halifax working on new diazaphospholene architectures, she instead learned the basics of computational chemistry to help rationalize some aspects of diazaphospholene selectivity and explore new catalysts in-silico.
Soleil Campbell 2023
Experiential Learning Student
Soleil was an experiential learning student, working on the synthesis of chiral amines for asymmetric catalysis.
Michael Charlton 2016–2017
BSc Honours Student
Michael was a summer volunteer in the Speed group, fittingly examining the chemistry of Michael acceptors. Michael stayed on in the Speed group for a fourth year undergraduate honours project, and studied halogenation and haloalkylation reactions. Michael continued at Dalhousie, in the MSc program in the Obrovac group.
Cheyenne Christopherson 2016–2017
BSc Honours Student
Cheyenne was an experiential learning student in her third year of undergraduate studies. Cheyenne stayed on in the Speed group for a fourth year undergraduate honours project, and studied the addition of carbenes to boron centres containing fluorinated or sp2 hybridized ligands. After her graduation, Cheyenne entered the PhD program at the University of British Columbia, working in the Hudson group.
Alex Gatien 2016–2018
Joint MSc Graduate
Alex is from the west coast of Canada, and obtained his BSc from UBC. He was a joint student working with the Stradiotto group and our group. Alex engaged in a collaborative project between our two groups developing ligands for nickel catalyzed cross-coupling based on the diazaphospholene scaffold. After graduation, Alex moved to Montreal to begin a position at Paraza Pharma.
Kristen Giffen 2016–2017
BSc Honours Student
Kristen studied activation of phosphorus-phosphorus bonds with diboranes with the goal of developing catalytic borylation reactions for her fourth year undergraduate honours project. She also studied the catalytic cleavage of phosphorus carbon bonds. After graduating Kristen entered the pharmacy program at the University of Toronto.
Mostafa Hagar 2017
BSc Student
Mostafa studied transition metal complexes for photochemically induced fluorine and alkyl fluoride transfer reactions during a summer research project following obtaining his BSc from Dalhousie. After his graduation, Mostafa entered the PhD program at the University of British Columbia working in the Ryan Group.
Shannon Heans 2019, 2020-2021
Blake Huchenski 2015–2021
PhD Graduate
Blake is from Sudbury Ontario/Dartmouth Nova Scotia, and graduated with a BSc from Dalhousie University in 2015. He was a research associate in the Speed group for a year before continuing in the Speed group as an MSc student. Blake developed the first examples of BAC carbene borane adducts. Blake transferred into the PhD program in 2018 as the Speed Group's first PhD student. Dr. Huchenski defended in August of 2021. The later parts of his thesis involved study of phosphorus-radical chemistry, and the reactivity of sulfur hexafluoride.
Toren Hynes 2017, 2018
BSc Student
Toren was a USRA summer student in 2017 who studied applications of diazaphospholene catalysts and discovered that our diazaphospholene catalysts dearomatize certain pyridines. Toren returned in 2018 supported by a Sobey scholarship, studying asymmetric catalytic reduction reactions.
John Robinson 2018
BSc Student
John was a summer student who worked on applications of diazaphospholene catalysis to total synthesis of bioactive molecules as part of the Bioactives CREATE program.
Lani Roy 2017
BSc Student
Lani was an experiential learning student in the final semester of her undergraduate degree. She explored hydride transfer reactions from carbon and silicon to phosphenium cations, and catalytic dehydrogenation reactions using phosphenium catalysis. Lani subsequently joined the MSc program in food sciences at Dalhousie University.
Olexiy (Alex) Rusalovs'ky 2015
BSc Student
Alex was a visiting summer student from the University of Ottawa, who studied the synthesis of modified Grignard reagents by manipulating Schlenk equilibria of pseudohalide salts during a summer research project. After his graduation from UOttawa, Alex entered the pharmacy program at Dalhousie University.
Chieh Hung Tien 2015–2018
BSc Honours and MSc Graduate
Tien is from Taiwan, and completed his fourth year undergraduate honours project in the Speed research group in 2015–2016 studying catalysis of magnesium insertion into "impossible" substrates. Tien continued in the Speed group as an MSc student, both making contributions to our diazaphospholene chemistry, and pioneering the development of triazaphospholenes, including the first examples of phosphenium catalyzed imine hydroboration. Tien defended his MSc in March 2018, and moved to the University of Toronto to pursue a PhD in the Yudin Group.
Scott Young 2019
BSc Student
Scott was an experiential learning student in the Speed group during the summer of 2019. Scott synthesized conjugate acceptors, a boronic acid, and an imine. Scott continued at Dalhousie as a member of the Obrovac group.
BSc Honours Student
Michael was a summer volunteer in the Speed group, fittingly examining the chemistry of Michael acceptors. Michael stayed on in the Speed group for a fourth year undergraduate honours project, and studied halogenation and haloalkylation reactions. Michael continued at Dalhousie, in the MSc program in the Obrovac group.
Cheyenne Christopherson 2016–2017
BSc Honours Student
Cheyenne was an experiential learning student in her third year of undergraduate studies. Cheyenne stayed on in the Speed group for a fourth year undergraduate honours project, and studied the addition of carbenes to boron centres containing fluorinated or sp2 hybridized ligands. After her graduation, Cheyenne entered the PhD program at the University of British Columbia, working in the Hudson group.
Alex Gatien 2016–2018
Joint MSc Graduate
Alex is from the west coast of Canada, and obtained his BSc from UBC. He was a joint student working with the Stradiotto group and our group. Alex engaged in a collaborative project between our two groups developing ligands for nickel catalyzed cross-coupling based on the diazaphospholene scaffold. After graduation, Alex moved to Montreal to begin a position at Paraza Pharma.
BSc Honours Student
Kristen studied activation of phosphorus-phosphorus bonds with diboranes with the goal of developing catalytic borylation reactions for her fourth year undergraduate honours project. She also studied the catalytic cleavage of phosphorus carbon bonds. After graduating Kristen entered the pharmacy program at the University of Toronto.
Mostafa Hagar 2017
BSc Student
Mostafa studied transition metal complexes for photochemically induced fluorine and alkyl fluoride transfer reactions during a summer research project following obtaining his BSc from Dalhousie. After his graduation, Mostafa entered the PhD program at the University of British Columbia working in the Ryan Group.
Shannon Heans 2019, 2020-2021
BSc Honours Student
Shay is from New Brunswick and Lima, Peru, and was an experiential learning student in the Speed group, studying ways to streamline the synthesis of diimines. Shay continued in the Speed group in 2020 as an honours project student, working on the synthesis of chiral amines with restricted bond rotation.
PhD Graduate
Blake is from Sudbury Ontario/Dartmouth Nova Scotia, and graduated with a BSc from Dalhousie University in 2015. He was a research associate in the Speed group for a year before continuing in the Speed group as an MSc student. Blake developed the first examples of BAC carbene borane adducts. Blake transferred into the PhD program in 2018 as the Speed Group's first PhD student. Dr. Huchenski defended in August of 2021. The later parts of his thesis involved study of phosphorus-radical chemistry, and the reactivity of sulfur hexafluoride.
BSc Student
Toren was a USRA summer student in 2017 who studied applications of diazaphospholene catalysts and discovered that our diazaphospholene catalysts dearomatize certain pyridines. Toren returned in 2018 supported by a Sobey scholarship, studying asymmetric catalytic reduction reactions.
Izabella Krug 2021–2022
BSc Honours Exchange Student
Izabella was an exchange student from the University of Bath. She developed routes for various amines that she used to study the effect of dispersive interactions in enantioselective diazaphospholene catalysis.
Dianne Lee 2016–2017
BSc Honours Student
Dianne studied the use of chiral counterions for borenium cation catalysis for her fourth year undergraduate honours project. After her graduation, Dianne entered graduate studies in the Crudden group at Queen's University.
Travis Lundrigan 2018–2020
Postdoctoral Associate
Travis is from northern Nova Scotia, and obtained a PhD at Dalhousie University in 2017, working in the Thompson group on boron and pyrrole chemistry. In the Speed group Travis studied asymmetric reactions with phosphenium cations that primarily target substrates rich in sulfur or nitrogen that poison traditional transition-metal reduction catalysts. After finishing his post-doctoral position, Travis began a second post-doctoral position 2 floors down in the Stradiotto lab.
BSc Honours Student
Dianne studied the use of chiral counterions for borenium cation catalysis for her fourth year undergraduate honours project. After her graduation, Dianne entered graduate studies in the Crudden group at Queen's University.
Travis Lundrigan 2018–2020
Postdoctoral Associate
Travis is from northern Nova Scotia, and obtained a PhD at Dalhousie University in 2017, working in the Thompson group on boron and pyrrole chemistry. In the Speed group Travis studied asymmetric reactions with phosphenium cations that primarily target substrates rich in sulfur or nitrogen that poison traditional transition-metal reduction catalysts. After finishing his post-doctoral position, Travis began a second post-doctoral position 2 floors down in the Stradiotto lab.
Jack MacBeath 2022
Summer Student (NSERC USRA)
Jack was a summer USRA student, and Dalhousie undergrad. Jack explored the use of diazaphospholenes and new terminal reductants in polar reduction reactions of carbonyl and carbonyl-derived compounds.
Damián Moreno Alba 2022
Damián was an experiential learning student who explored the synthesis of a few sulfur-containing compounds for radical reactions.
Matthew Murphy 2024
BSc Student
Matthew was a 1 semester Honours (Chem 4801) student. Matthew worked on ways to make a new type of diazaphospholene, containing sulfur.
Victoria Pham-Tran 2022
ICE Exchange Student (NSERC USRA)
Victoria was a summer exchange student from the University of Guelph in the ICE program. She studied the use of diazaphospholenes as radical shuttles for addition to alkenes.
Robert Riley 2020–2021
MSc Graduate
Rob is from Cherrybrook in Nova Scotia, and did his honours BSc at Saint Mary's University. He worked in the Clyburne lab working on catenated bismuth compounds. Rob started his MSc in the Speed group in the summer of 2020, working on the use of diazaphospholenes in radical chemistry, and defended in December 2021. Rob was part of the Bioactives CREATE program.
BSc Student
John was a summer student who worked on applications of diazaphospholene catalysis to total synthesis of bioactive molecules as part of the Bioactives CREATE program.
Lani Roy 2017
BSc Student
Lani was an experiential learning student in the final semester of her undergraduate degree. She explored hydride transfer reactions from carbon and silicon to phosphenium cations, and catalytic dehydrogenation reactions using phosphenium catalysis. Lani subsequently joined the MSc program in food sciences at Dalhousie University.
BSc Student
Alex was a visiting summer student from the University of Ottawa, who studied the synthesis of modified Grignard reagents by manipulating Schlenk equilibria of pseudohalide salts during a summer research project. After his graduation from UOttawa, Alex entered the pharmacy program at Dalhousie University.
Chieh Hung Tien 2015–2018
BSc Honours and MSc Graduate
Tien is from Taiwan, and completed his fourth year undergraduate honours project in the Speed research group in 2015–2016 studying catalysis of magnesium insertion into "impossible" substrates. Tien continued in the Speed group as an MSc student, both making contributions to our diazaphospholene chemistry, and pioneering the development of triazaphospholenes, including the first examples of phosphenium catalyzed imine hydroboration. Tien defended his MSc in March 2018, and moved to the University of Toronto to pursue a PhD in the Yudin Group.
Erin Welsh 2017–2023
PhD Graduate
Erin is from Goose Bay in Labrador, and spent her summer and honours project working on the synthesis of new types of chiral amines for chiral ligand synthesis. Erin continued in the Speed group as an MSc student studying the synthesis of bulky chiral amines based on sulfur heterocycles. Erin transferred into the PhD program in 2020 as the Speed Group's second PhD student, and studied new chemistries to access distinct diazaphospholenes. Dr. Welsh defended in August 2023.
Erin is from Goose Bay in Labrador, and spent her summer and honours project working on the synthesis of new types of chiral amines for chiral ligand synthesis. Erin continued in the Speed group as an MSc student studying the synthesis of bulky chiral amines based on sulfur heterocycles. Erin transferred into the PhD program in 2020 as the Speed Group's second PhD student, and studied new chemistries to access distinct diazaphospholenes. Dr. Welsh defended in August 2023.
BSc Student
Scott was an experiential learning student in the Speed group during the summer of 2019. Scott synthesized conjugate acceptors, a boronic acid, and an imine. Scott continued at Dalhousie as a member of the Obrovac group.