Carlos A. Sanhueza
Assistant Professor - Medicinal Chemistry
Carlos grew up in Talcahuano (Chile). He earned his B.Sc. in Chemistry from the Universidad de Concepcion (Chile) in 2004. Then, he moved to the Universidad de La Laguna (Spain) to pursue his Ph.D. in synthesis and conformational analysis of bioactive glycomimetics. In 2009, he moved to the University of Alberta (Canada) as a postdoctoral fellow, where he worked in the chemo-enzymatic synthesis of carbohydrate-based neutralizing ligands for bacterial toxins. After completing his postdoctoral research, he joined The Scripps Research Institute (La Jolla) as a research associate and started working on the synthesis of glycomimetic-based drug delivery systems. After a year at TSRI, he moved to the Georgia Institute of Technology, where he continued working in drug delivery systems and started a line centered on the synthesis of parasite-associated carbohydrate antigens. In 2018, he joined St. John's University as an Assistant Professor and continues working on synthesizing carbohydrates and glycomimetics with biomedical applications. Carlos is fondly grateful to all his mentors: Prof. Miguel Zarraga Olavarria (undergraduate research); Prof. Jesus T. Vazquez and Prof. Rosa L. Dorta (Ph.D. mentors); Prof. David R. Bundle and Dr. Pavel Kitov (postdoctoral mentors) and Prof. M. G. Finn (postdoctoral mentor).
Students
Dhwani Mehta
Ph.D. Student - Pharmaceutical Sciences - Medicinal Chemistry
Dhwani was born and raised in Mumbai, India. She graduated in 2018 with a Bachelor in Pharmacy from Dr. Bhanuber Nanavati College of Pharmacy - University of Mumbai and joined our group in September of the same year. In July 2020, Dhwani obtained her MSc degree at St. John's University. She is currently working on synthesizing analogs of the carbohydrate antigen aGal for improving the efficacy of vaccines, developing anti-parasitic vaccine candidates, and designing small-molecule-based therapies for aGal syndrome (red meat allergy). In addition to her research, Dhwani also enjoys drawing, sketching, and dancing.
Joseph Ocando
Ph.D. Student. Pharmaceutical Sciences - Medicinal Chemistry
Joseph was born and raised in New York City. Joe holds a B.Sc. and M.Sc. Chemistry degrees from New York University, and before joining St. John's University, he worked in quality operations and technical services at Pfizer. His current research is centered on the development of electrochemical glycosylation methods. In his free time, Joe enjoys playing piano.
Sharmila Mary Pinaro
Ph.D. Student. Pharmaceutical Sciences - Medicinal Chemistry
Sharmila was born in West Bengal, India, and raised in West Bengal and Mumbai. She graduated with a B.Sc. in Chemistry from the C.K.T. College - University of Mumbai and holds a M.Sc. in Chemistry from St. John's University. Sharmila's research focuses on electrochemical glycosylation and the design of pertussis toxin PTX glycomimetic inhibitors. Besides research, she loves traveling and writing.
Robbie Akleh
MS Biotechnology
Robbie joined our laboratory in Fall 2024. His project focuses on synthesizing alpha-Gal derivatives to ameliorate alpha-Gal syndrome symptoms.
Vasili Koutouratsas
Pharm. D. Student
Vasili was born and raised in Queens, New York City. He is a PharmD student at SJU, and his research focuses on electrochemical glycosylation. When not studying or working in the lab, Vasili invests his free time in weightlifting.
Victor Xu
Pharm. D. Student
Victor was born in Buffalo, NY, on a freezing day but soon moved and raised in New York City. His research centers in the chemical reactivity of glycosyl donors and spends his free time reading books. Additionally, Victor is an accomplished aquaculturist raising fish and shrimps.
Former group members
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Graduate Students
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Dhwani Mehta, MSc. Pharmaceutical Sciences - Medicinal Chemistry. Now Ph.D. Student (MedChem) St. John's University.
Bhavesh Deore, Ph.D. Pharmaceutical Sciences - Medicinal Chemistry - Now postdoctoral fellow in the FDA
Dipesh Budhathoki, Ph.D. Pharmaceutical Sciences - Medicinal Chemistry
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Undergraduate Students
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Lan Pham, B.Sc. in Chemistry, St. John's University 2020. Now Ph.D. Student (Chemistry) at the University of California - Riverside
Desiree Sukhram, B.Sc. in Biology, St. John's University 2020. Now Ph.D. Student (Biology) at St. John's University.
Christine Hodelin, B.Sc. in Biology, St. John's University 2020. Now MD student, Yale University School of Medicine.
Priyanshi Chandiwala, B.Sc. in Biology, St. John's University 2020. Now PA student, Touro University.
Valeria Miranda, B.Sc. in Biology, St. John's University 2020.
William Hong, Pharm.D., St. John's University 2022.
Amy Liu, Pharm.D., St. John's University 2022.
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