Seda Kelestemur, Ph.D.

Email: demirseda85@gmail.com

Seda Kelestemur completed her B.S. and M.S. degree in Chemistry from Istanbul Technical University, Turkey and received her Ph.D. in Biotechnology from the prestigious Yeditepe University, Istanbul, in 2017. Her graduate research on Safe-by-Design approach of nanomaterials and on biological applications of surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) were supported by the European Commission and by the European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST), respectively. Since 2018, Dr. Kelestemur holds a faculty position as an Assistant Professor of Biotechnology at the University of Health Sciences in Istanbul, Turkey, where she participated in securing research grants equivalent to over $1.3MM. Furthermore, she has a registered patent on designing antimicrobial medical devices. In 2021, she was awarded with a Research-leave Permit in order to pursue her research at CCNY. Since 2022, Dr. Kelestemur is conducting her research as a Postdoctoral Associate at CCNY’s CREST IDEALS on light–matter interactions in self-assembled nanostructures with the research groups of Professors Swapan Gayen, Dorthe Eisele, John Lombardi and Gustavo Lopez. At CCNY, she established new collaborations with groups at MIT, UC Santa Barbara, Columbia University’s Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center, and Padova University, Italy. Beyond her research, Dr. Kelestemur is working as a company consultant with a focus on nanomaterials used in medical devices for Kiwa Company.

Joshua Pagan

Email: joshdpagan@gmail.com

Joshua was born and raised in Queens, NY. He completed his B.S. in Chemistry at the City College of New York in 2024. During his undergraduate years, he worked with Professor Glen Kowach on synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles. Currently, Joshua is working on light matter interactions in self-assembled nanostructures.

UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS

Nazifa Meher

Email: nmeher50@stuy.edu

Nazifa was born in and raised in Queens, New York. She currently attends Stuyvesant High School. At school she is the president of her school's pediatric club, member of the research club, the NASA MAA program, the Junior Academy, and the Stevens Initiative Alumni Network. Nazifa likes to express her creative art skills through making jewelry in her free time. Nazifa volunteers at PS 3 charrette school with autistic/neurodivergent children. She is a high school researcher in the Eisele group working on impact of pH on hierarchical supramolecular self-assembly of Frenkel Excitonic Nanomaterials.

Aeneas Merchant

Email: amerchant50@stuy.edu

Aeneas was born and raised in Manhattan, New York. He currently attends Stuyvesant High School. At school he is a member of the research club, debate club, history club, and is the presidents of the biological Fungai club. He volunteers at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Aeneas likes to play chess, piano and soccer in his free time. He is a high school researcher in the Eisele group and is utilizing redox- chemistry to reveal excitonic transitions in supramolecular nanotubes.

Saad Ahmed

Email: saahmed101997(at)gmail.com

Saad grew up in Queens, NYC. Saad began his undergraduate career at the City College of New York in September 2015 pursuing a major in Biochemistry. Saad joined the Eisele group in April 2016. In Fall of 2015, Saad joined the CCNY chapter of Engineers without Borders and contributed to the adoption of their new project in Nicaragua. In Spring 2016, Saad was elected Event Coordinator of the CCNY chapter of Engineers without Borders.         

Giancarlo Zirpolo

Email: gzzunie(at)gmail.com

Giancarlo was born and raised in Bronx, New York.  In 2015, he started his undergraduate studies at the Grove School of Engineering at The City College of New York as a chemical engineering major. In January 2018, he joined the Eisele research group, where he assists the researchers with lab work.     

 Joe McManus

Email: josephrmcmanus(at)gmail.com

Joe McManus is pursuing a B.E. in Chemical Engineering at the City College of New York. He grew up in Denver, Colorado and received a B.S. from the School of Communication at Northwestern University. He previously worked in politics and public policy with the Roosevelt Institute and Obama for America. His concentration is chemical solutions for energy storage. He is excited to help the Eisele Group study self-assembling light-harvesting nanotubes.

Joy Kim

Email: Jtk1802(at)gmail.com

Although she has spent the majority of her life in Fairfax, Virginia, Joy still has a soft spot for past homes in Kentucky and South Korea. She attends the Gallatin School at New York University in the class of 2021, where she plans to form a concentration based on nanotechnology and neuroethics. Joy joined the Eisele Group in early 2018 and works under the kind tutelage of Kara Ng.

Matthew Padunan

Email: padunanmatthew(at)gmail.com

Matthew was raised in Queens, New York. An undergraduate student at City College of New York, he intends to pursue a combined B.S./M.S. degree in Chemistry. In April 2018, he joined the Eisele group and is currently working with Dr. Nikunj.

Firdaus Khatoon

Email: firdaus722(at)gmail.com

Firdaus was born in India and moved to the United States in 2008. She is currently an undergraduate engineering student at the City College of New York. She joined the Eisele group in June 2018 and has recently been assigned her own project to discover the bio-functionalization of metal nanoparticles. With a background in DNA Barcoding she hopes to find a consensus between two disciplines.

Noah Hovde

Email: noahallenhovde(at)gmail.com

Noah A. Hovde born and raised in Piermont, NY began his undergraduate education at Manhattan College as a Chemical Engineering Major. He transferred after just one semester to the City College of New York and switched his major to Physics. Hovde intends to complete his B.S. in Physics and, upon graduating, pursue a Ph.D. in a related field to Applied Physics. Here at the Eisele group, he assists Dr. Leishman with research using the femtosecond laser system in the spectroscopy and photonics laboratory.

Nermin Mostafa

Email: nermin.mos(at)gmail.com

Nermin was born and raised in Alexandria, Egypt. Currently, she is a senior undergraduate student pursuing a Biology major and Chemistry minor at The City College of New York (CCNY). She is always interested in discovering and getting valuable experience in the field of science. Apart from her academics, she tutors General Chemistry at CCNY.

Nermin is pleased that she will be extending and summarizing her knowledge in a field relative to her study at the Eisele Group. In November 2018, Nermin joined the Eisele Group. She is now working with graduate student, Pooja Gaikwad.

Danielle R. Monroe B.B.A.

Email: drmonroe07(at)gmail.com

In January 2019, Danielle has been accepted to the ERG as an undergraduate researcher. She was born in Brooklyn, NY. Previously, she studied at Baruch College to obtain a B.B.A. in Accountancy with a minor concentration in Communications. Danielle has worked as an accountant and project manager in the alternative asset management industry for over a decade, at international banks, hedge funds, and private equity funds. Danielle dedicates her spare time to homeless outreach with The Bowery Mission and Don’t Walk By in New York City. She also has mentored young girls in various mentorship groups in Brooklyn, NY and served as a leader with the kid’s ministry at her church. Currently, Danielle is further exploring her passion for numbers and ‘how things work’ in her pursuit of a second degree in applied mathematics and engineering. She aims to develop solutions to issues dear to her, such as awareness of educational and financial resources in economically challenged communities, and research for renewable energy resources.

Karisma McCoy

Email: karisma.mccoy(at)gmail.com

In November 2019, Karisma has been accepted in the ERG as an undergraduate researcher. Karisma was born in New York and raised in East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. She began her undergraduate career at New York Institute of Technology, majoring in computer science. Upon discovering her passion for chemistry, she transferred to the rigorous science program at The City College of New York. As an undergraduate student at CCNY, she aspires to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry, and to apply for a Ph.D in a chemistry‐related field. After completing her studies, Karisma plans to do research alongside passionate scientists in different countries. In the ERG, she is working in the team of the doctoral researcher Kara Ng. Partaking in research has helped her develop skills such as working in a lab setting, utilizing advanced tools, and applying her knowledge to practice.

Kelvin Leo

Email: kleo000(at)citymail.cuny.edu

Kelvin was born in New York, grew up in Malaysia. He came back to continue his education at Grove School of Engineering at The City College of New York. He is majoring in Chemical Engineering, particularly interested in enhancing smart drug delivery and solar energy harvesting. He aspires to live by the quote “Be part of something bigger than yourself.”  He joined Dr Eisele’s team to be a part of the development of fundamental understanding of nanoparticles which is the foundation for the fields that he is going to be focusing on in the future as a chemical engineer. By being a part of the fundamental research of nanoparticles, he aims to have an intensive understanding in nanoparticles as well as be a part of this elite team in filling the void in current nanotechnology for the greater good.

Janel J. Rivera

Email: janelriveracancel(at)gmail.com

Janel was born in Orlando, Florida and raised in Ponce, Puerto Rico.  In 2017, she started her undergraduate studies at the Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico in Ponce as a Chemistry major, adding Biomedical Sciences as a second major in 2018. There she started research in quantum dots synthesis under the guidance of Dr. Luis Alamo Nole.  In June 2019, she joined the Eisele research group as an intern from the IDEALS CREST REU program.

Michelle Chen 

Email: m.starbear(at)yahoo.com

Michelle Chen was born in Singapore and grew up in Queens, NY. She began her undergraduate education at the University of Massachusetts Amherst pursuing a B.A. in English, and is currently a junior at SUNY Stony Brook. Her writing has appeared online and in literary publications, and has been previously recognized by the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, YoungArts, Ploughshares Emerging Writers, and the City College of New York, among others. She is an alumna of the Juniper Institute for Young Writers and the Iowa Young Writers' Studio with the support of the National Society of Arts and Letters, and has read her work at venues across NYC. She joined Professor Eisele's lab as a volunteer writing consultant to broaden her horizons in a supportive community, contribute to scientific communication, and help others develop a passion for writing. In her spare time, she enjoys new experiences such as background acting, researching situations for her stories, and being pleasantly surprised by songs on Spotify.

Matthew Greenberg

Email: mgreenb002(at)citymail.cuny.edu

Matthew Greenberg grew up in Manhattan, New York. In the fall of 2018 Matthew started his undergraduate studies at the City College of New York pursuing a degree in biology. At the end of the fall semester of 2019 Matthew joined the Eisele research group, working together with the researchers to synthesis gold and silver nanoparticles for biomedical and energy harvesting purposes.

 Ali Khalil

Email: akhalil002(at)citymail.cuny.edu

 Ali Khalil grew up in Egypt and currently resides in Queens, NY.  Ali began his undergraduate career at the City College of New York in the fall semester of 2018 pursuing a major in Biology.  Due to his interest in community services, he joined City tutors, helping students with Calculus.  Ali joined Eisele research Group at the end of fall semester of 2019.  He is working in the nano field with other researchers to synthesis gold and silver nanoparticles for drug delivery and light harvesting purposes.  

Sadiyah Parveen

Email: sadiyahparveen7(at)gmail.com

Sadiyah was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. She is currently pursuing a major in biomedical engineering, and a minor in art at the City College of New York. After completing her undergraduate studies, she plans to enter a PhD program, so she can conduct her own research in the future. Sadiyah is interested in researching safer and more effective ways to treat diseases, by using nanotechnology for targeted drug delivery. She joined the Eisele Group in December 2019, and is currently assisting on a research project.

Lauren St. Peter

Email: laurenstpeter(at)hotmail.com

Lauren was born in Kansas City, MO, but was raised in Saratoga Springs, NY. She attended Hobart and William Smith Colleges and studied Chemistry and Public Health. While there, she also studied in Guatemala and Denmark and considers international experience to be crucial for personal growth and cultural understanding. After graduating in 2018, Lauren spent a year in Taiwan serving as an English Teaching Assistant through the Fulbright Foundation. She now lives in Brooklyn, NY and enjoys the potential biological applications of her work at the Eisele Group as she is interested in attending an MD/Ph.D graduate program.

Genesis Fermin

Email: gtfermin836@gmail.com

Genesis was born and raised in Manhattan, New York. She currently attends CUNY Lehman College and is pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry. At Lehman she is a member of the chemistry club. Genesis joined the Eisele group in June 2023 and is working on light harvesting systems found in photosynthetic purple bacteria bacteriochlorophyll.

Bavly Soliman

Email: bavlynedved(at)yahoo.com

Bavly Soliman is a Film Director, Cinematographer and Pharmacist who grew up in Alexandria, Egypt. In 2014, he received his Bachelor of Science in Pharmaceutical Science (BSPS) from Alexandria University, Egypt. Bavly is one of the Co-founders of Arwah For Films Inc. In Egypt, he worked as a Film Director and Assistant Director for shorts films, documentaries, commercials. Bavly also participated at major festivals such as the Cannes Film Festival 2016. In 2017, he moved to NYC and is currently a graduate student of the Feirstein Graduate School of Cinema – Directing Program, Brooklyn College at CUNY. In 2019, Bavly became a member the Eisele Group where his project is focused on educational outreach to promote science beyond academia.

Michael Chin

Email: michael.gg(at)gmail.com

Michael Chin was born and raised in New York City, where he graduated from The City College of New York with a Bachelors in Political Science.

Michael joined CCNY’s The City Tutors, which is a community organization focused on training volunteer tutors who support talented students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Partners of The City Tutors are educational programs from all over New York. Currently, The City Tutors trains their tutors to support students from partner organizations from across four of the five boroughs of New York City. In general, with their organization, The City Tutors create a unique opportunity to support both the students and their volunteer tutors, the latter of which receive hands-on career development opportunities through the diverse tutoring programs. The City Tutors are based at CCNY’s Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership.

Currently, Michael serves as the Educational Assistant as well as the Tutor & Training Coordinator of The City Tutors.

In the Summer of 2017, The Eisele Group had the chance to begin a fruitful and long-term collaboration with The City Tutors. Michael became an important part of the Eisele Group’s educational outreach projects and at the beginning of 2018, the Eisele Group was able to strengthen the successful collaboration with The City Tutors by providing partial funding for Michael’s position.

The City Tutors

Alexia Aguilar (aga310(at)nyu.edu): I graduated from NYU Steinhardt in the Spring of 2017 with a B.S. in Nutrition and Food Studies and a minor in Studio Art. After graduation, I completed a Postbaccalaureate Program at NYU. I am currently taking a gap year while I apply to medical school!

Philip Meade (pmeade.citytutors(at)gmail.com): I’m a microbiology PhD student at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and I’m interested in pursuing a career in education. In college, I was a TA in my Organic Chemistry class.

Lauren St. Peter (laurenstpeter(at)hotmail.com): I graduated from Hobart and William Smith Colleges in 2018 with a B.S. in Chemistry and a minor in Public Health. After graduation, I spent a year teaching elementary school English in Taiwan through the Fulbright Foundation. Now, I am building up my application for MD/Ph.D school. 

Stacy Portillo (sportil000(at)citymail.cuny.edu): Stacy grew up in Long Island and moved to Harlem to start school at CCNY in 2018. She is a sophomore who is pursuing a degree in biology. She is excited for the opportunity to tutor this semester, and hopes to create a fun learning experience for the students.

Ashni Kapadia

Ashni was born and raised in Marlboro, New Jersey, where she is currently a rising senior at Manalapan High School’s Science and Engineering Magnet Program. At school, she is the president of Manalapan’s Technology Student Association, TED-ED club, and tutors students after school. Currently, she’s a high school researcher in the Eisele Group and hopes to learn while working under Dr. Eisele and her team. In her free time, Ashni is a cadet at Morganville’s First and And Rescue Squad and loves to help out in her community.

Keylin Escobar

Email: kescobar1410(at)bths.edu

Keylin was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, where she is currently a rising junior at Brooklyn Technical High School. Since being introduced to physics in her freshman year, Keylin has decided to pursue a career in physics. Currently, she’s a high school student researcher in the Eisele Group and mentored by our doctoral researcher Pooja Gaikwad. For her research project, Keylin is learning to synthesize porphyrin nanotubes, self-assembled under different solution conditions. Her 2018 summer research project is kindly supported by CCNY’s NSF-CREST Center for Interface Design and Engineered Assembly of Low-dimensional Systems (IDEALS),.

Whenever she’s not in the lab, Keylin loves to spend her time reading or playing the violin.