Meet the Group Members!
Current Group Members
Ashley Moreno-Gongora
Ashley comes to us from Houston. She attended the University of Houston-Downtown for her undergraduate degree and is beginning her fourth year in the Casadonte group doing materials sonochemistry. Her research focuses on two main areas: 1) the effects of varying the ultrasonic frequency on nanomaterials 2) sonochemical preparation of magnetic nanomaterials with an emphasis on lanthanide ferrites.
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Lucy Kim
Seunga (Lucy) Kim is a third-year Chemistry graduate student originally from South Korea. Lucy most recently finished her Master's degree in the group of Dr. Ben W.L. Jang, where she presented "Development of novel Pd-ceria catalyst system for selective hydrogenation of acetylene” at the Orlando ACS meeting in 2019. She is working on research involving fullerenes
Hannah Harbin
Hannah is a Chemical Engineering PhD student jointly under the instruction of Dr. Khatib in her heterogenous catalysis laboratory and in the Casadonte lab. She has worked with Dr. Casadonte and his group on the research of catalyst-assisted hydrogen storage in nano materials and in the synthesis of ferrite materials for catalysis. She did her undergraduate degree in Chemistry at Lubbock Christian University (LCU) and was a member of the national champion Lady Chaps basketball team.
Meghan Reed
Meghan Reed is a Senior Chemistry major who currently hails from Phoenix, Arizona. She has been working in the Casadonte group since 2020. One of her research projects has involved the formation of mixed-metal ferrites for sequestration of CO2. She is currently working on the synthesis of novel N,N-heterocycle complexes of Cu(I) with unusual photophysical properties and which may hold promise as chemotherapeutic agents..
Jordan Chenault
Jordan Chenault is a Senior Pre-Med major from the Houston area. She has worked with Dr. Casadonte since 2020. Jordan has prepared a series of nickel mixed-metal oxides for use in heterogeneous catalysis. She is also working on the formation of group 14 perovskites that can be used to harness solar energy. Along with Jose, Jordan is also working on gypsum/ sodium polyacrylate nanomaterials for use as a smart building material. Besides her work in the lab, Jordan is an accomplished musician and a member of Mortar Board.
Jose Condé
Jose Condé is a Senior Biochemistry major from the Houston area. He has been working in the Casadonte group since 2020. He is working on the design of a second-generation power-modulated, pulsed, variable frequency heterodyne sonicator that is capable of three-wave mixing. He is also working on gypsum/ sodium polyacrylate nanomaterials for use as a smart building material. Jose is a bass trombonist, and plays in the Texas Tech trombone studio, and he is also a member of Mortar Board.
Madeline Leah
Madeline Leah is a second-year Honors student and archeology major. Madeline is a second-generation member of the Casadonte research group, with her mother Robin being a member of the group in 1998. Madeline is doing research on the effects of soil pH on bone degradation in an archaeological context.
Brenna Gregory
Brenna Gregory is a senior biochemistry major from Lubbock, Texas. She began working in Dr. Casadonte’s laboratory in May of 2022 to gain experience to prepare her to be a physician-scientist. She is developing new techniques via sonication for making superparamagnetic nanoparticles, namely Samarium Cobalt, for their potential role in magneto-hyperthermal therapy. She is studying how these materials respond in an inductive field to discover their potential for lysing tissues. Outside of the lab, she enjoys playing saxophone and marching in the Goin’ Band from Raiderland. She also enjoys spending time playing piano in her church’s worship band.
Juliette Cloutier
Juliette Cloutier is a Sophomore Biology and Honors Sciences and the Humanities double major living in Austin, Texas. Juliette joined the Casadonte group in May 2022. She is currently working on the synthesis and characterization of 5-substituted 1,10-phenanthroline compounds as well as the synthesis of copper (I) phenanthroline polyacrylate for its photocapactive uses. When she is not researching, she loves being a Bayless Mentor and a member of AMSA advocacy. She also loves learning new words and phrases in French.
Charisma Cutshall
Charisma is originally from Rio Rancho, New Mexico. She is a second-year biochemistry major with an emphasis in pre-medicine and a minor in Italian. Outside of lab, she enjoys being involved in the Delta Gamma Sorority chapter on campus and the American Medical Student Association (AMSA). Charisma will be working with Ashley Moreno-Gongora on the use of lanthanoid orthoferrites as catalysts for organic transformations.
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Former Group Members
Shahid Islam
Shahid was born in a beach town of Bangladesh named Cox’s Bazar which is well famed for its world's longest sandy sea beach. After completing his high school, he moved to the University of Dhaka and earned a BS as well as an MS degree in Applied Chemistry & Chemical Engineering. He served as a full-time faculty member of Noakhali Science & Technology University, Bangladesh from May 2013 until he joined Tennessee State University in 2015 to get another MS degree in Chemistry. He likes to travel, fish, and play with his little daughter when not working in the lab or studying. Shahid finished his Ph.D. in July of 2021 and is gainfully employed.
Lindsey Bishop
Lindsey Bishop graduated with a degree in Biochemistry in 2021, She is originally from Childress, Texas. She started working in the Casadonte Group in the summer of 2018. Lindsey served as an Arts and Sciences Ambassador for the Texas Tech College of Arts and Sciences. She also volunteered at the South Plains Food Bank and the Mahon Library as part of Eta Omicron Nu, the Honors College service organization. Lindsey is attending McGovern Medical School in Houston, TX.
Dzmitry Savitski
Dzmitry Savitski recently graduated from Texas Tech University in May of 2021 with a degree in microbiology. In the Casadonte group he worked on the synthesis of Cu(I) nonsymmetrical phenanthroline compounds for use as biocidal agents. Dzmitry has been attending the Texas Tech Medical School since the fall of 2021.
Stephanie Bliznak
Stephanie Bliznak recently graduated from Texas Tech in May of 2021 with a degree in Chemistry. In the Casadonte group she worked on the synthesis of Europium phenanthroline compounds and mixed ligand compounds containing phosphaadamantane for use as possible biocidal agents.
Kayla Henry
Kayla Henry is a graduated with a Biochemistry and Spanish dual degree major in May of 2022 and hails from Scurry, Texas. She worked with the Casadonte laboratory since the spring semester of 2019. She prepared 4,7-phenanthroline complexes of the lanthanide elements Europium, Holmium, and Terbium, along with 1,3,5-triaza-7-phosphaadamantane (PTA) in order to explore their biocidal properties.
Neeti Swami
Neeti Swami graudated from Texas Tech with a degree in Biochemistry in May of 2022. She is originally from Round Rock, Texas and was a member of the Casadonte Group since the Fall of 2019. She was a Pi2 Research Scholar and member of the Honors College. Neeti loves doing research because it helps teach her how to apply what she learns in class to real-world situations. Besides research, she was also a member of President’s Select, Co-captain of Tech Kahaani Indian dance team, and a volunteer with Lubbock Youth Outreach. In her free time, she enjoys yo-yoing, roller-blading, or reading a good fantasy book!
