Meet the Team
Dr. Sarah Tasker
Dr. Sarah Tasker was born in Ohio but grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She received her B.Sc. in Chemistry with a double major in Spanish from Calvin College (now called Calvin University) in 2010. She did undergraduate research with Professors Chad Tatko and Carolyn Anderson at Calvin, before moving on to do her Ph.D. with Tim Jamison at MIT, working to develop new nickel–catalyzed reactions. In 2015, Dr. Tasker moved to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) as a Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation Postdoctoral Scholar with Paul Hergenrother. She investigated chemical diversification of natural products for high-throughput screening libraries, and small molecule transport at the blood–brain barrier. In 2018, Dr. Tasker started as an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where she teaches Organic and General Chemistry. She also does research in the fields of gas-releasing molecules, photochemical reaction methodology, and antibacterial natural products with a talented team of undergraduate research students. Outside the lab, Dr. Tasker loves to travel, knits constantly, listens to way too many podcasts, and hosts lots of game nights.
Zarine Gidwaney
F&M '25
Major: Chemistry
Hometown: Winnetka, IL
Outside the Lab: Zarine plays squash at F&M (ranked #21 in the nation in the D3 '22/'23 season!). She also likes to sew, play video games, and spend time with family.
Sabrina Doria
F&M '25
Major: Chemistry and Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Minor: French
Hometown: Guilford, CT
Outside the Lab: Sabrina enjoys playing the French horn and the piano. She also enjoys crocheting and spending time with friends!
Abby Bachman
F&M '26
Major: Chemistry
Minors: French and Applied Math
Hometown: Herndon, VA
Outside the Lab: Abby is on the F&M Track and Field team, and enjoys going on walks and hanging out with friends.
Henry Tavens
F&M '26
Major: Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Hometown: Cleveland, OH
Outside the Lab: Henry swims at F&M and is the F&M Climbing Club secretary. He also enjoys motion graphic editing, playing video games, and spending time with friends.
Sachin Balasubramanian
F&M '27
Intended Majors: Chemistry and French
Hometown: Dublin, CA
Outside the Lab: Sachin enjoys playing Cello. He also likes to travel and eat good food! He is also a part of F&M American Chemical Society Student Affiliates and Asian American Alliance.
Taylor Weiss
F&M '27
Intended Majors: Chemistry and Economics
Hometown: Blue Bell, PA
Outside the Lab: Taylor plays on the soccer team and is a sports photographer at F&M. She also enjoys music, travelling, and spending time with friends.
Former lab members
Nina Nsereko F&M '24 [Summer 2022-Spring 2024]
Sydney Sheetz F&M '24 [Summer 2022-Spring 2024]; current position: research technician at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Katie DeSimone F&M '23 [Summer 2021-Spring 2023]; current position: research chemist at Adesis
Lyla Naqvi F&M '23 [Summer 2021-Fall 2022]; current position: IVF Technologist, Penn State Health
David Broughton F&M '24 [Fall 2022]; current position: NIH postbaccalaureate researcher
Zoe Strachan F&M '24 [Summer 2022]
Nghia (Andy) Hoang F&M '23 [Summer 2021-Spring 2022]; current position: PhD program in Chemical Biology, Columbia
Hailan Yu F&M '22 [Summer 2021-Spring 2022]; current position: PhD program in Chemical Biology, Caltech
Vincent Pecora F&M '22 [Spring 2020-Summer 2020*]; current position: MD program at George Washington School of Medicine
Aryana Kavuri F&M '22 [Spring 2020-Summer 2020*]; current position: MD program at George Washington School of Medicine
Dzenis Alagic F&M '21 [Spring 2019-Spring 2021]; current position: paramedic at Lancaster EMS
Olivia Mautone F&M '21 [Spring 2019-Summer 2020*]; current position: Clinical Coordinator at The Dermatology and Laser Group, NYC
Katherine (Kat) Campbell F&M '20 [Spring 2019-Summer 2019]; current position: Associate in Healthcare and Life Sciences at TrueSearch, MBA student at Boston College Carroll School of Management
James Fahey F&M '20 [Spring 2019-Summer 2019]; current position: MD program at Loyola University
*Summer 2020 research canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
Lab Group Pictures
Summer Research 2024
Summer Research 2023
Summer Research 2022
Summer Research 2021
Summer Research 2019