2025 News

On November 17th, 2025

A big welcome to the newest graduate student in the Reineke Group! Audrey is pursuing a Ph.D. in Chemistry. She is passionate about designing materials that address pressing societal needs and fostering a positive environment for impactful research. After completing her Ph.D., she hopes to continue her research through a career in academia, where she will help teach the next generation of scientists. 

On October 20th, 2025, Kaylee successfully defended her dissertation, "Designing Bottlebrush Polymer Excipients for Amorphous Solid Dispersions" Congratulations to Dr. Barr!

On October 14th, 2025, Nathan successfully defended his dissertation, "Green Chemical Strategies for the Synthesis of Water-Soluble Cellulose Ethers" Congratulations to Dr. Rackstraw!

A paper written by Sidharth et al. was nominated by the JACS Au Early Career Advisory Board and selected by the JACS Au editorial board for its high-quality research in a multidisciplinary area. Congratulations to Sidharth and all the authors!

On June 3rd, 2025, Nick successfully defended his dissertation, "Quinine-Based Polymers as a Versatile Platform for Nucleic Acid Delivery" Congratulations to Dr. Kreofsky!

On May 6, 2025

On May 3, Sidharth was awarded a 2025 LayChoo Tan International Graduate Student Fellowship! The fellowship recognizes and provides a monetary scholarship for outstanding international Ph.D. candidates in Chemistry or Chemical Physics. Applicants were evaluated on research productivity, leadership, and service to the community as demonstrated in their CV and letter of support, and on the impact of the applicant’s results communicated in their research description. Congratulations to Sidharth!

On May 6, 2025

Welcome to Andrew Droske! Andrew joined the Reineke Group at the beginning of spring semester 2025. He is a freshman, majoring in Biology, and on a Pre-Med track. Andrew selected this major because he has always been very interested in the inner workings of living things. After he obtains his undergraduate degree, Andrew plans to continue on to medical school.

On April 21st, 2025, Chris successfully defended his dissertation, "Modular mRNA Delivery Vehicles via Renewable Polyol Carbonates" Congratulations to Dr. LaSalle!

On January 14, 2025

A big welcome to the three newest Reineke Group members! From left to right: Janey Sowada, Sofiya Ismagilova, and John Hutchinson. Sofiya is a sophomore and joined the group in September. Janey and John are first-year graduate students and have been group members since December.

Sofiya is pursuing a double-major in Biochemistry and Neuroscience. She selected a double major due to her interest in drug design and cell biology. After completing her undergraduate degree, Sofiya is planning on completing an M.D./Ph.D. degree.

Given that the world is ever-changing, and science needs to adapt and grow to meet our evolving needs, Janey’s aspirations for earning a Ph.D. in Chemistry is to use her knowledge and experience to enrich the world of industry. An additional goal of Janey’s is to leave a positive impact on society through her research and collaborations.

John is pursuing a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering. He has always been someone who wants to understand more about the world around him, and the lenses of chemical engineering provide to him an excellent framework to analyze phenomena. Upon the completion of his Ph.D., John hopes to continue his research pursuits through a career in academia.