Biography

Jess grew up in a rural desert town on the edge of Phoenix, Arizona before traveling up north to attend his undergraduate institution Northern Arizona University located in Flagstaff, Arizona. In the spring of 2023, they completed two bachelor’s of science; ACS certified Chemistry & Psychological Science emphasis in Neuroscience.

During their undergrad, Jess conducted two years of research that centered around the synthesis and screening of ionic liquids against biofilm-forming bacteria, notably those found in pervasive hospital-borne infections such as MRSA. Their work also extended into formulating amino acid-based ionic liquids to combat biofilms responsible for dental caries. This project was funded by an internal grant where they proposed said materials and acted as the sole principal investigator in this effort being awarded the Hooper undergraduate research award. All of their work was done in Dr.Andrew Koppisch’s lab at Northern Arizona University. 

Jess also acted as a supplemental instruction leader for semester I & II organic lectures for two years under Dr.Edgar Civitello, gaining unique teaching experience where they led large groups of students through problem-solving sessions. In the spring of 2023, they even had the opportunity to fill in and lecture on α-carbon chemistry.

As a first-year PhD student, Jess is excited to participate in the drug discovery process, applying their organic skillset to the complex medicinal chemistry problems presented in neglected tropical diseases of the group’s interest.