Dr. Oaikhena Zekeri Esezobor was born in Ihievbe, a village in Edo State, Nigeria. He had his undergraduate studies at the Ambrose Alli University in Ekpoma, Nigeria and graduated in 2012. In 2015, he moved to the University of Agriculture in Makurdi, Nigeria for MSc studies, where he worked with Prof. J.O. Igoli.  In 2017, he moved to the University of Regensburg, Germany for a second MSc degree in Synthesis and Catalysis. During this time, he visited the Institute of Chemical Research of Catalonia in Tarragona, Spain, for a short research stay in the group of Prof. Kilian Muniz. On his return to Regensburg, Germany, he joined the group of Burkhard König where he worked on copper and photoredox catalyzed decarboxylative reactions. In 2019, Oaikhena moved to the Technical University of Munich, Germany and joined the group of Prof. Corinna Hess for his PhD studies. During his time in Munich, he developed photoinduced and cobalt catalyzed C-C and C-N coupling reactions in which the cobalt catalysts play the role of the photocatalyst and metal center for catalysis. He further developed photoredox catalyzed reactions with nickel and zinc complexes of the macrocyclic biquinazoline ligand. After his PhD studies in Munich, Oaikhena moved to the Ohio State University in Columbus, USA, for a one-year Postdoctoral fellowship in the group of Shiyu Zhang where he contributed to the development of copper and iron catalyzed reactions. For leisure, he likes to travel, watch and play soccer, and table tennis. He watches MMA and boxing, and enjoys playing soccer on Playstation and listening to music.

Justin is a Master’s student in Pharmacology at the Zheng Lab, holding an Honours B.Sc in Pharmacology from the University of Toronto, where he graduated with high distinction. He has gained extensive and diverse research experience in both industrial and academic settings, working on induced pluripotent stem cell applications at Hong Kong Science Park and investigating the role of interferon-gamma in cardiac inflammatory diseases under the supervision of Dr. Warren Lee at St. Michael’s Hospital as a research student. During his final year in undergrad, Justin completed two independent thesis/research projects: one under the supervision of Dr. Basil Hubbard, focusing on enhancing mRNA therapeutics, and another student-led project, where he served as the research team leader, focused on modulating the placental barrier. Justin is eager to leverage this diverse research background to contribute to his current work on developing novel radiotracers for early diagnosis and monitoring of neurological diseases, with a particular focus on Multiple Sclerosis.

Hannah joined the Zheng Lab as a M.Sc student in Pharmacology. Prior to joining the University of Toronto, she earned her B.Sc in Biochemistry at York University where she worked on the synthesis of novel NIR/FR-emissive fluorescent probes. At the Zheng lab, Hannah's projects vary from developing new radiolabeling methodologies to conducting in vitro assays to assess new biomarkers in Alzheimer's Disease and related dementias (ADRD). She has been awarded a CGS-M award (CIHR) to help fund her first year and was awarded the Radiopharmaceutical Sciences Council Young Investigator Award at the 2025 Society of Nuclear Medicine & Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) annual meeting.

Erica is currently pursuing her Master’s degree in Chemistry in the Zheng Laboratory after completing her Honours B.Sc in Chemical Biology (Co-op) at McMaster University. For her undergraduate thesis, she developed [89Zr]-radioimmunoconjugates for metastatic melanoma diagnosis in the McMaster Radiochemistry and Radiopharmaceuticals Laboratory under Dr. Saman Sadeghi. She also worked in the Todd Hoare Laboratory, developing intranasal hydrogels for antipsychotic drug delivery, and conducted behavioral testing in rat models for depression and schizophrenia with the Ram Mishra Neurology Group. In industry, she worked in the flow cytometry core at STEMCELL Technologies in Vancouver. At the Zheng Lab, Erica’s current research involves developing novel PET tracers for the early detection of Alzheimer’s disease.

Victor is pursuing his Master’s degree in Chemistry at the Zheng Lab. He completed his Honours B.Sc in Biological Chemistry at the University of Toronto Mississauga, graduating with high distinction. During his fourth undergraduate year, he joined Vive Crop Protection as a microbiology laboratory technician intern. There, he focused on formulating bacteria with different chemical reagents to maintain viability and have desirable physical properties, gaining valuable experience in the industry. At the Zheng Lab, Victor’s current work is focused on synthesizing novel radiotracers and applying them for the early detection and monitoring of neurological disorders, while further developing his research skills and contributing to advances in disease diagnosis and treatment.