Meet the Meanwell Lab Members

The Meanwell Lab welcomes students from across the world. We value hard work and creativity and teamwork. Check out current and past members below and see just some of the fun activities we get up to. We don't just work hard, we play hard too!

Photo: (From left to right) Emjay, Donya, Dinithi, Gautam, Jason, Subhojit, Sudip, Soumik, Thirupathi, Rohit and Hariprasad

Ping Pong Tournament

Rohit, Sudip, and Jit win the lab ping-pong tournament.

Postdoctoral Fellows and Research Assistants

Dr. Sudip Mandal

Postdoctoral Fellow

Sudip Mandal hails from India, where he was born and raised. He earned his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Berhampur, India, with a research focus on the total synthesis of bioactive natural products. In the summer of 2025, he joined the Meanwell Research Group as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow. His current research centers on reinventing nucleoside synthesis and contributing to drug discovery initiatives in this domain. Outside the lab, Sudip enjoys watching movies, reading books, and playing badminton.

Dr. Thirupathi Nuligonda

Research Associate

Thirupathi is from India, where he was born and raised. He completed his Ph.D. from Central Drug Research Institute Lucknow, India, where he worked on the synthesis of medicinally interesting heterocycles via electrophilic cyclization of functionalized alkynes. Before joining the Meanwell research group, he worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Toronto, on the design and synthesis of metalloporphyrin catalysts and their applications for the electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide. His current research focuses development of practical and concise synthetic routes for the synthesis of nucleoside analogs. Outside of chemistry, he is fond of listening to music and playing badminton.

Jason Wang

Lab Manager

Jason comes from Vancouver, British Columbia, where he conducted research in Biochemistry at SFU, UBC, and UVic. His work spans a range of topics, including the characterization of histone variants and their impact on gene expression, the development of chimeric antigen receptors for HIV targeting, lipid membrane systems for drug delivery, immunotherapy for breast cancer, and key pathways in Chronic Myeloid Leukemia. After recovering from a life-changing cycling accident, Jason joined the Meanwell Lab in January 2023. His current research focuses on developing efficient synthetic routes for nucleoside analogs. Outside of work, Jason enjoys community involvement and spending time with his fiancée.

Graduate and Undergraduate Students

Subhojit Mondal

PhD Student

Subhojit was born and raised in Belur, West Bengal, India. In 2020, he received his B.Sc. in Chemistry from Jadavpur University, Kolkata, where he worked with Prof. Sujoy Baitalik and explored the field of ligand synthesis. He then joined Prof. Samaresh Bhattacharya's group at the same university for his Master's Dissertation Project, which focused on Ru-based catalyst synthesis and its application. Following this, he began his Ph.D. studies at the University of Alberta in the Meanwell lab in Fall 2022, where he is concentrating on electrochemical organic synthesis via C-F activation. He has a passion for photography, so you might just happen to see him around town searching for the perfect picture. Outside of the lab, his hobbies include playing cricket, football (soccer), and table tennis. He is also an excellent chef, and you may just be lucky enough to try one of his many delicious, authentic Indian dishes.

Soumik Sarkar

PhD Student

Soumik hails from Kolkata, India. He completed his B.Sc. with Honours in Chemistry from the University of Calcutta and then pursued his Masters in organic chemistry at Savitribai Phule Pune University. Later, he joined the University of Calcutta as a Junior Research Fellow, where he worked on the design and synthesis of Photoswitchable Antibiotics under Dr. Subhas Samanta. Soumik joined the Meanwell lab in the Fall of 2022 as a Ph.D. student and is currently focused on the electrochemical reduction of organic molecules. Outside the lab, you may find Soumik enjoying the views from atop mountain peaks.

Dinithi Rajapaksha

PhD Student

Dinithi Rajapaksha was born and raised in Sri Lanka. She completed her BSc at the University of Peradeniya, where she conducted her undergraduate research on the biological activity evaluation of Exacum trinervium under the supervision of Dr. Dimanthi Uduwela. Upon joining the Meanwell lab in the Fall of 2022, she began working on the de novo synthesis of nucleoside analogues for her PhD project. Dinithi enjoys traveling and nature photography in her spare time. She is particularly captivated by Edmonton's Aurora Chasing!

Emjay Koller

PhD Student

Emjay is from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan where she completed her B.Sc. in Chemistry. During her undergrad, she did work in both organic and inorganic research labs. The projects she has been involved with have focused on synthesizing [12]-annulenes, Quebecol derivatives, and the characterization and functionalization of gold-copper nanoparticles for the semi-hydrogenation of alkynols. Emjay joined the Meanwell lab group in 2025 as a Ph.D student. Outside of the lab, she enjoys playing volleyball, going to the gym, and reading.

Jiaqi Huang

MSc Student

Jiaqi Huang was born and raised in Guangdong, China. She completed her B.Sc. in Chemistry with a Specialization at the University of Alberta. During her undergraduate studies, she worked on Rh-catalyzed enantioselective arylation as a Chem 401/403 student under the supervision of Dr. Rylan Lundgren. Jiaqi joined Dr. Meanwell’s group in May 2025, where her research focuses on photochemical organic synthesis. Outside the lab, she enjoys watching TV shows, hiking and playing badminton.

Rohit Malik

PhD Student

Rohit was born and raised in Haryana, India. In 2021, he received his B.Sc. in Chemistry from University of Delhi, New Delhi and then pursued his Masters in chemistry at Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. Rohit was working with Prof. Baskaran, S. for his Master's Dissertation Project, which focused on Stereoselective synthesis of Nitro-cyclopropane. Following this, he began his Ph.D. studies at the University of Alberta in the Meanwell lab in Fall 2023. Outside of the lab, his hobbies include playing cricket, Reading books and Cooking.

Donya Mottaghi Amlashi

PhD Student

Donya was born and raised in Tehran, Iran. She completed her B.Sc. in Chemistry in 2020 at Shahid Beheshti University, where she later pursued her M.Sc., graduating in 2023. During her Master's studies, her research focused on the biocatalytic synthesis of aryl thioethers. Donya joined the Meanwell Lab in Fall 2025 to begin her Ph.D. journey. Her current research focuses on photochemical rearrangements. Outside of the lab, Donya enjoys spending time in nature, going on picnics, practicing Pilates, and listening to music.

Hariprasad R

PhD Student

Born and raised in Bengaluru, Karnataka, India, Hariprasad earned a B.Sc. in Chemistry from Bangalore University (2017–2020) and a Master’s in Applied Chemistry from the National Institute of Technology (NIT) Trichy (2021–2023), where his research under Prof. Ganesh Chandra Nandi. To gain industrial experience, he joined Pragen International Pvt. Ltd. (2023–2024), contributing to the synthesis of nucleosides and scale-up reactions, before returning to academia as a Project Associate in the Department of Organic Chemistry at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore (2024–2025) under the guidance of Dr. Sharvan Kumar, where his work centered on the synthesis of molecular organic materials. In Fall 2025, Hariprasad began his Ph.D. studies in the Meanwell Lab at the University of Alberta, focusing on the application of electrochemical reduction in organic synthesis pathways. Outside of academics, he enjoys trekking and exploring new places.

Evan Chan

Undergraduate Student

Evan was born and raised in Edmonton and is currently a third-year undergraduate student pursuing a BSc in Chemistry. He has a strong interest in organic molecular structures, particularly as they relate to common pharmaceuticals. In the Meanwell Lab, Evan’s research focuses on the synthesis of nucleotide analogs. Outside of the lab, he enjoys volunteering at a meal-prep kitchen and staying active through running and playing sports such as hockey, basketball, and golf.

Past Members

Postdoctoral Fellows

Gautam Kumar PDF (2023 - 2025). Now: Associate Scientist at Aragen Life Sciences (India)

Graduate Students

Jacinth Frederick - MSc (2022 - 2025)

Undergraduate Students

Boris Stevanovic - BSc Student, CHEM 401 Honours Project. Now: PhD student in the Stryker Lab (UAlberta Chemistry)

Eric Butler - BSc Student, CHEM 399. Now: PhD student in the Stephenson Lab (UBC Chemistry)

Ryan Qiu - BSc Student, CHEM 401/403. Now: PhD student in the Stephenson Lab (UBC Chemistry)

Joseph Erdei - BSc Student, Chem 401/403, NSERC URA. Now: PhD in the Schindler Lab (UBC Chemistry)

High School Students

Bailey Anderson - WISEST Program

Elizabeth Chen - HYRS Program