Sebastian Flieger earned his B.S. in Biochemistry at North Central College in Naperville, and his M.S. in Chemistry, with Distinction, at DePaul University in Chicago where he focused his research on polymer chemistries under the guidance of Professor Gregory B. Kharas. He has been employed since 2015 as a Senior Product Development Chemist at Stepan Company in Northfield, where he has worked on laundry detergents, fabric softeners and liquid dish chemistries, as well as their industrial applications. At Loyola with Professor Becker, he is currently designing and synthesizing novel carborane-containing drugs for Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) with the aid of computational docking through Molecular Operating Environment (MOE) software. In addition to his efforts on BNCT, Sebastian is also working on synthesizing novel class of antibiotics that specifically target the sodium-dependent NADH: ubiquinone oxidoreductase (NaNQR) complex and new inhibitors of bacterial enzyme N-succinyl-L,L-diaminopimelic acid desuccinylase (DapE). Sebastian will be earning his Ph.D alongside his work at Stepan.

TJ DiPuma earned his B.S. in Biochemistry at Loyola University Chicago and has joined the Becker Lab to complete his M.S. in Medicinal Chemistry. With Professor Becker, he is currently designing & synthesizing small molecule inhibitors towards the bacterial enzyme DapE. Alongside earning his Master’s degree, TJ also owns and operates two small businesses located in the Northwest suburbs with a client base that stretches from Mchenry County to the Chicagoland area.

Zach Liveris earned his B.S. in Biochemistry at Northern Illinois University where he studied gas phased carbon-carbon coupling reactions and analysis using mass spectrometric techniques under Dr. Victor Ryzhov. He then moved on to join the Becker Lab to complete his Ph.D at Loyola. He is currently designing and synthesizing mono-phenyl triazacyclononane (TACN) ligands and their derivatives for the use in transition metal host-guest chemistry in addition to designing inhibitors for sodium-dependent NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase (Na+-NQR) as potential new antibiotics.

Emma Kelley earned her B.S. in Chemistry at Saint Mary's College in Notre Dame, IN where she studied the effects of reactive oxidative species on mitochondrial protease ClpXP. She joined the Becker Lab in the fall of 2020 to complete her Ph.D.

Xhulio Arolli earned his B.S. in Biochemistry at Loyola University Chicago and is currently earning his Master’s degree under the guidance of Professor Becker and will eventually pursue Medical School.

Oliwia Ozog earned her B.S. in Biochemistry at Loyola University Chicago and has joined the Becker Lab to earn her Master’s degree.

Cameron Forst earned his B.S. in Chemistry at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Post-graduation, Cameron worked in industry at a toxicology lab as well as a regulations testing facility before joining Dr. Becker’s lab to pursue his Ph.D. As a member of the toxicology lab, Cameron analyzed patient samples to ensure medication adherence to physician’s protocols. As a chemist at the regulations resting facility, he conducted heavy metal analysis on a variety of retail products ensuring regulatory compliance. Under the guidance of Dr. Becker, Cameron is designing and synthesizing cyclobutanone derivatives that result in inhibition of the bacterial enzyme DapE.