Group Members

The PI

Stephanie Zaleski, Ph.D.

Stephanie joined the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry at CSU East Bay in Fall 2020.
She obtained her BA in Biochemistry from Barnard College in 2011, where she also conducted research at the Metropolitan Museum of Art with Julie Arslanoglu. She then obtained her Ph.D. in Chemistry from Northwestern University in 2016 working in the lab of Richard P. Van Duyne. Her thesis work focused on the combination of surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy with electrochemistry to study single molecule electron transfer and develop new sensors for drug analysis. Between 2016-2020, Stephanie held postdoctoral research positions at multiple cultural institutions across the US, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Library of Congress, and Northwestern University – Art Institute of Chicago Center for Scientific Studies in the Arts.
Outside of lab, she can usually be found cooking, knitting, playing board games and video games, or doing the NY Times crossword puzzle.
Email | Google Scholar | LinkedIn

Graduate Students

Klavdija Bukovec

[Email]

Research Project: investigation of zinc soap formation and degradation mechanisms in oil paintings

John Juanitas

[Email]
He received his BS in Chemistry from San Francisco State University in 2015 and held jobs doingtrace metal analysis using ICP-MS in nutraceutical and semiconductor industries. In Fall 2021,he started to pursue a MS in Chemistry at CSU East Bay while working at Lam Research as an analytical chemist. Outside of his busy schedule, he likes to go hiking, biking, cooking, and spending time withfamily and his two feisty cats.
Research Project: investigating Plasmon-mediated electron transfer mechanisms by SERS

Undergraduate Students

Jordan Barragan

[Email]
[bio]

Research Project: investigating competitive adsorption of analytes on Ag nanoparticles for SERS analysis

Garrett Fisher

[Email]

Research Project: developing Au nanoparticle-based separation and detection methods by SERS

Ingrid Vargas

[Email]
Ingrid is in the process of earning her BS at CSUEB, she is majoring in Biology with a concentration in Microbiology and Biomedical Lab Sciences. She has a passion for science and is set to graduate spring of 2024. Outside of the lab you can find her being a foodie, enjoying a walk, or hanging out with friends.

Research Project: analysis of polyphenolic compounds by SERS

Lab Alumni

Kiara Mitlin

[Email]
M.S. Chemistry - 2023
Research Project: analysis of polyphenolic compounds by SERS

Shawntel Del Rosario

[Email]
M.S. Chemistry - 2023
Research Project: Multi-analytical technique investigation of PVC degradation

Edvin Husic

[Email]
B.S. Chemistry - 2023
Research Project: synthesis of gold nanoparticles for SERS applications

Abril Diaz

[Email]B.S. Biological Sciences - 2023
Research Project: analysis of polyphenolic compounds by SERS

Shaneil Prasad

[Email]
B.S. Chemistry - 2022
Research Project: developing a quantitative model for studying analyte mixutres by SERS
About Shaneil: Shaneil transfered from Chabot Community College where he obtained his associate's degree in liberal arts with an emphasis in mathematics and sciences. He graduated from CSU East Bay in 2022 with his B.S. in chemistry, performing undergraduate thesis research under Dr. Zaleski constructing a quantitative model to detect dyes in binary mixtures of dyes, and working in the chemistry stockroom. After graduating from CSU East Bay, he took a gap year where he worked as a SULI intern for Argonne National Laboratory and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
Shaneil's hobbies include watching sports, movies, and anime. He like playing video games and board games and likes volunteering his time to spread the love of chemistry to underrepresented groups like himself.
Shaneil is currently advancing his love for analytical and physical chemistry at UC Berkeley, performing solid-state high harmonic generation spectroscopy and terahertz spectroscopy.

Manezhah Asir

B.S. Chemistry - 2021

Research Project: ICP-OES analysis of early 20th -century silk dress linings

Colton Jones

[Email]M.S. Chemistry - 2021

Colton obtained his BS in Chemistry from San Jose State University in 2018. After graduating, he worked as a wine chemist at a local winery in his hometown of Livermore, CA for a year. In early 2020, Colton began pursuing a MS in Chemistry at CSU East Bay while performing research as an intern at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in the Materials Science Division where he further developed an interest in physical chemistry and materials science.

Off campus, Colton likes to spend his time reading, biking, playing video games, and endlessly making movie references.

Colton is currently a chemistry PhD student at UC Santa Cruz (go banana slugs!)

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