Meet our research labs! 

Information about participating labs is included here. You can also check out our department and our 17 research groups on our department website: https://sjsu.edu/chemistry/.

Arhar Research Group

Led by: Dr. Arhar (she/her/hers)

Lab website: https://www.arharlab.org

Lab room number: ISB 434

General area of research: Biochemistry

Current research questions or summary: In the Arhar Lab, we study a group of proteins called molecular chaperones. These proteins help cells respond to stress! Our bodies have molecular chaperones, and bacteria have them too. We're focused on learning more about molecular chaperones in bacteria, with the goal of identifying features that are important and unique to bacteria. Eventually, we hope to use what we've learned to find new therapeutic strategies to treat bacterial infections.

Students in the lab learn fundamental skills in protein biochemistry, such as protein purification and binding assays, as well as techniques in molecular biology. Coursework in biochemistry is not a prerequisite for joining the lab--all students are welcome!

Recruiting students to start in Fall 2025, Spring 2026, and Summer 2026

Brook research group 

Led by: Dr. David Brook (he/him/his)

Lab website: https://www.sjsu.edu/brook/ 

Lab room number: ISB 360

General area of research: Organic/Inorganic/Physical Chemistry of Open shell compounds (free radicals, transition metals, lanthanides, actinides)

Current research questions or summary: We are studying the synthesis, properties and applications of stable free radicals and their coordination compounds. Current areas are 

1. The coordination compounds of free radicals with transition metals, lanthanides and actinides; these compounds often have bistable magnetic and electronic structures and have potential application in quantum computing and molecular level information storage.

2. Synthesis and properties of conducting organic materials with pendant free radicals; we would like to assess if free radicals can be used to manipulate the spin state of conduction electrons. Potential applications are in electronic materials and spintronics.

3. Synthesis of stable organic radicals with potential as spin probes of biological and polymeric systems.

Research involves organic and inorganic synthesis as well as a broad variety of characterization techniques including NMR, IR, UV-vis, electrochemistry, X-ray crystallography, EPR, magnetometry (all on SJSU campus) and high field EPR and X-ray spectroscopy (at collaborating sites and national laboratories).

Recruiting students to start in Fall 2025, Spring 2026, and Summer 2026

Carroll Lab

Led by: Dr. Carroll (she/her)

Lab website: https://www.ecarrolllab.com/

Lab room number: ISB 434

General area of research: Biochemistry

Current research questions or summary: The Carroll lab studies the effects of the cellular environment on protein misfolding, aggregation, and amyloid formation. We are especially interested in what factors lead to functional versus disease-associated amyloids and how the cellular protein homeostasis network responds to different amyloids. We love all things protein biochemistry!

Recruiting students to start in Spring 2026 and Summer 2026

Dirlam Research Group

Led by: Dr. Dirlam (he/him/his)

Lab website: https://www.sjsu.edu/chemistry/about-us/faculty/philip-dirlam.php

Lab room number: ISB 260-3

General area of research: Polymer and Materials Chemistry

Current research questions or summary: Our research in the Dirlam Group is focused on the synthesis of redox active materials and their application for electrochemical energy storage in novel battery technology.  Students in the Dirlam Lab pursue projects involving a variety of experimental laboratory work including small molecule synthesis, polymer synthesis, materials characterization, electrochemistry, and battery fabrication and testing.

We have opportunities for students at all stages of their academic career in the chemical sciences (from first-year to master's students) to join the group and get in to the research lab! 

Recruiting students to start in Fall 2025, Spring 2026, and Summer 2026

Grazioli Research Group

Led by: Dr. G, Dr. Grazioli, Prof. G, Prof. Grazioli (he/him)

Lab website: https://gianmarc.com/

Students interested in the Grazioli Research Group should please email Prof. Grazioli at gianmarc.grazioli@sjsu.edu, and he'll be more than happy to schedule a meeting with you to chat about his group.

Lab room number: DH 513

General area of research: Computational Chemistry and Biophysics

Current research questions or summary: We develop AI-guided computer simulation methods for studying complex molecular interactions and motions in chemistry and biophysics. Application areas range from amyloid fibril formation network statistical simulations optimized using a genetic algorithm we built (a type of AI), which are relevant to diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease, to AI-guided analysis of chaotic trajectories produced by quantum simulations of small molecule photodissociation. 

Recruiting students to start in Fall 2025 and Spring 2026

The Kelly Group 

Led by: Dr. Resa Kelly (she/her)

Lab website: www.sjsu.edu/people/resa.kelly/index.html

Lab room number: DH 417B

Our open house will be in ISB 130/132

General area of research: Chemistry Education

Current research questions or summary: How do students learn and modify their understanding of chemistry concepts and mechanisms after viewing and reflecting on molecular visualizations. We are also interested in how faculty modify their pedagogy when working with learning assistants or participating in faculty learning communities. 

Recruiting students to start in Fall 2025 and Spring 2026

Lustig Group 

Led by: Dr. Lustig (he/him/his)

Lab website: sjsu.edu/people/brooke.lustig/

Lab room number: DH 007 / DH 606

Our open house will be in ISB 130/132

General area of research: Computational Biochemistry

Current research questions or summary: Computational/theoretical methods to characterize entropy and related effects in proteins and RNA; drug design that includes potential anti-HIV agents.

Recruiting students to start in Fall 2025, Spring 2026, and Summer 2026

Miller Conrad Lab

Led by: Prof. Miller Conrad (she/her/hers)

Lab website: https://www.sjsu.edu/miller

Lab room number: ISB 367

General area of research: Organic chemistry, biochemistry, chemical biology

Current research questions or summary: The Miller Conrad lab uses organic chemistry, biochemistry and microbiology to develop and understand new antibacterial treatment strategies for human pathogens like Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Recruiting students to start in Spring 2026 and Summer 2026

Muller Research Group

Led by: Dr. Muller

Lab website: http://www.sjsu.edu/people/gilles.muller/

Lab room number: DH-14

Our open house will be in ISB 130/132

General area of research: Chemical Biology - Analytical chemistry - Biochemical Analysis - Titration Analysis - Spectroscopy - Molecular Interactions - Chirality - Lanthanide Chemistry

Current research questions or summary: How can the utilization of spectroscopic techniques such as fluorescence enhance our understanding of molecular recognition processes, particularly in differentiating between amino acids, for applications in drug development and biomedical research.

Recruiting students to start at any time, including Fall 2025, Spring 2026, and Summer 2026

Okuda Research Group

Led by: Roy Okuda

Lab website: n/a 

Lab room number: DH 9

Our open house will be in ISB 130/132

General area of research: Natural Products Chemistry

Current research questions or summary: Our lab is involved in to discovery and structure determination of novel organic natural products from California Native Plants.  Our work involves a blend of biology, organic chemistry and analytical chemistry.   

Recruiting students to start in Fall 2025 and Spring 2026

Radlauer Research Group

Led by: Dr. Radlauer (she/her/hers)

Lab website: https://www.sjsu.edu/radlauer/

Lab room number: ISB 260

General area of research: Catalysis, Inorganic, Polymer, and Synthetic Chemistry

Current research questions or summary: We are interested in learning how being confined within a synthetic polymer can affect a catalyst's reactivity and selectivity. We are using structured polymers in the design of new inorganic and organometallic complexes that will be able to facilitate challenging chemical reactions. In the lab we do a lot of synthesis (including work in air- and water-free environments), characterization of molecules, and catalysis.

Recruiting students to start in Fall 2025. Students get to know the lab in fall and spring so that they can really dig into their research by summer.

SJSU Astrobiology Research Group

Led by: Dr. Rios

Lab website: https://www.sjsuastrobiology.com

Lab room number: ISB 360

General area of research: Organic Chemistry/Analytical Chemistry

Current research questions or summary: How did life on this planet start?  Does Life exist elsewhere in our solar system and beyond? These are two fundamental questions that are actively being addressed in the interdisciplinary field of science known as Astrobiology. Here in the Department of Chemistry, Dr. Rios is building an Astrobiology Research Group and students will learn how the tools and techniques of organic and analytical chemistry can be directly applied to these fundamental questions. Interested in learning more? Please reach out to Dr. Rios. 

Recruiting students to start in Fall 2025, Spring 2026, and Summer 2026

SJSU Targetry Lab

Led by: Dr. Nick Esker (he/him)

Lab website: https://www.sjsu.edu/esker

Lab room number: DH 608 / 609B

Our open house will be in ISB 130/132

General area of research: Nuclear science, thin film synthesis, instrument development

Current research questions or summary: The SJSU Targetry Lab is interested in collaborating on experimental nuclear science at particle accelerator facilities by synthesizing thin film materials (known as "targets") for these reactions here at SJSU. Please reach out if you answer "yes!" to one or more of the following:  Have you ever wanted to see how the elements of the periodic table are synthesized?  Do you have an interest in the material science around thin films?  Have you ever wanted to see the big science of particle accelerators?  Do you enjoy building / testing new equipment or instruments?  We have projects for all these!!  

Recruiting students to start in Fall 2025, Spring 2026, and Summer 2026

Van Wyngarden Atmospheric Chemistry Research Group

Led by: Dr. Van Wyngarden (she/her)

Lab website: https://www.sjsu.edu/chemistry/about-us/faculty/annalise-van-wyngarden.php

Lab room number: ISB 360

General area of research: Atmospheric and Physical Chemistry 

Current research questions or summary: Research in my Atmospheric Chemistry Lab focuses on experimentally examining the complex chemistry that occurs in atmospheric aerosol particles in order to understand how that chemistry affects the ways in which these aerosols impact Earth’s climate. Aerosols can impact climate by absorbing and scattering radiation (radiative effect) and by serving as the nuclei for cloud formation (cloud effect), both of which depend on the aerosol chemical composition. Our aerosol research is currently focused on the chemistry of two different processes that aerosols may undergo in the atmosphere:  1) the formation of colored organic species (especially surface films) in or on highly acidic sulfuric acid aerosols (present in the upper troposphere/lower stratosphere (UT/LS)) and 2) organic reactions that occur when cloud droplets form on aerosols and subsequently evaporate (cloud processing).

1. Reactions of organics in sulfuric acid to form films at upper troposphere/lower stratosphere (UTLS) acidities:

Experiments in our lab have shown that surface films are formed by mixtures of propanal and sulfuric acid designed to mimic the highly acidic (40-80 wt% H2SO4) aerosols in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere. The combination of NMR and Attenuated Total Reflectance FTIR analyses allows us to identify reaction products for different chemical processes that are responsible for film formation, optical properties and chemical composition. 

2. Cloud processing of organics in aerosols:

As aerosols are coated with water during cloud formation, their organic fraction may undergo reactions such as hydration, hydrolysis and/or polymerization due to the rapid changes in water content and acidity. Our group is examining the kinetics of these reactions for methylglyoxal and glyoxal upon dilution (simulating cloud droplet formation on an aerosol particle) via high resolution quadrupole mass spectrometry. We have already found that speciation reactions are on the order of cloud droplet lifetimes, and therefore must be considered in aerosol chemistry models used for predicting impacts on climate.

Recruiting students to start in Summer 2026

Wang Research Group

Led by: Dr. Wang (she/her/hers)

Lab website: https://www.sjsu.edu/wang/

Lab room number: ISB 460

General area of research: Protein Biochemistry

Current research questions or summary: In our lab we focus on understanding how enzymes are regulated through structural movement and shape-shifting. Our enzyme of the hour is SIRT1, a lysine deacetylase that plays an essential role in cellular functions involved in diseases such as Type II diabetes and Alzheimer's disease. Students in the lab will learn to carry out and troubleshoot biochemistry techniques such as cloning, protein purification, enzyme activity assays, and protein binding assays. 

Recruiting students to start in Summer 2026

Any questions? Email taylor.arhar@sjsu.edu