{"id":755,"date":"2020-01-27T17:21:08","date_gmt":"2020-01-27T22:21:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/research.cbc.osu.edu\/turro.1\/?page_id=755"},"modified":"2026-02-12T08:03:00","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T13:03:00","slug":"current-members-2","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/research.cbc.osu.edu\/turro.1\/current-members-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Current Members"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Postdoctoral Researchers<\/h2>\n \n\n\n\n\n
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Rajani Thapa Magar<\/span><\/strong><\/h5>\n \n

I earned my PhD in Chemistry from the University of New Mexico in 2022. During my graduate studies, I specialized in examining the photophysical and photochemical properties of a new class of photo isomerizing Ruthenium polypyridyl sulfoxide complexes tethered with carbene moiety, as well as Iron polypyridyl complexes. I currently hold a postdoctoral position in Turro laboratory, at The Ohio State University where I investigate first row transition metals.
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\nEmail: thapamagar.3@osu.edu<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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Graduate Students<\/h2>\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Postdoctoral Researchers   Rajani Thapa Magar   I earned my PhD in Chemistry from the University of New Mexico in 2022. During my graduate studies, I specialized in examining the photophysical and photochemical properties of a new class of photo isomerizing Ruthenium polypyridyl sulfoxide complexes tethered with carbene moiety, as well as Iron polypyridyl complexes. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-755","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/research.cbc.osu.edu\/turro.1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/755","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/research.cbc.osu.edu\/turro.1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/research.cbc.osu.edu\/turro.1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.cbc.osu.edu\/turro.1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.cbc.osu.edu\/turro.1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=755"}],"version-history":[{"count":95,"href":"https:\/\/research.cbc.osu.edu\/turro.1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/755\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1217,"href":"https:\/\/research.cbc.osu.edu\/turro.1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/755\/revisions\/1217"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/research.cbc.osu.edu\/turro.1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=755"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}

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Spencer Burton<\/span><\/strong><\/h5>\n \n

I graduated from the University of Indianapolis in the spring of 2021, with a B.S. in chemistry. My undergraduate research dealt with phylogenetic and biogeographic studies of the cave dwelling arachnid genus Liocranoides<\/i>. I joined the Turro group in January of 2022, where I have developed and characterized new Co(III) based photosensitizers.
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\nEmail: burton.640@osu.edu<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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Piyush Gupta<\/span><\/strong><\/h5>\n \n

I graduated from University of Delhi, India with BSc (H) in Chemistry in 2018 followed by a M.S. in chemistry from IIT Roorkee, India in 2020. At IITR, I worked on synthesizing and studying the photophysical properties of porphyrins. I joined the Turro group in spring of 2022 to study and learn more about photochemistry. I am a part of the energy sub-group and am presently working on dirhodium paddlewheel complexes for proton reduction.
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\nEmail: gupta.1163@osu.edu<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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Alexia Silva<\/span><\/strong><\/h5>\n \n

I graduated from the University of S\u00e3o Paulo (USP) – Brazil with a B.S. in Chemistry and Biotechnology in 2016. During my Masters (2017-2019) I worked on ruthenium phthalocyanines attached to lanthanide-doped up-conversion nanoparticles to perform activation of the metallic complex after absorption in near infra-red region to further application in Photodynamic Therapy. I joined the Turro group in the Fall of 2021 and my current research focus is on ruthenium complexes with pi-extended ligands and its photochemical properties regarding DNA interaction.
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\nEmail: silva.242@osu.edu<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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Santana P. Garcia<\/span><\/strong><\/h5>\n \n

I graduated from Regis University in the spring of 2022, where I received by B.S. with Honors in Biochemistry, and completed the Honors Program. In my undergraduate research I studied the mechanism of cell death by photodynamic therapies by investigating the binding mode of therapies. I joined the Turro lab in January 2023 and look forward to studying photophysical processes.
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\nEmail: garcia.1175@osu.edu<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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Taylor Matthews<\/span><\/strong><\/h5>\n \n

I graduated from Eastern Kentucky University with a B.S. in Chemistry in 2019, followed by a M.S. in Chemistry in 2022. My previous graduate research focused on determining structure-property relationships in novel redox-active small molecules for use in redox flow batteries. I joined the Turro group in the spring of 2023, where my research focuses on studying molybdenum sulfide photocathodes coupled to H2 evolution catalysts.
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\nEmail: matthews.733@osu.edu<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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Erin Ramey<\/span><\/strong><\/h5>\n \n

I graduated from Hope College in the spring of 2022 with a B.S in chemistry. At Hope I worked on Polymer-Supported Oxygen Atom Transfer Reagents. I joined the Turro group in the spring of 2023. My current research involves the synthesis of earth abundant metal complexes for hydrogen evolution.
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\nEmail: ramey.185@osu.edu<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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Brian Ferguson<\/span><\/strong><\/h5>\n \n

I graduated from Colorado School of Mines in the winter of 2022 with a B.S. in Chemistry. My undergraduate research focused on computational studies of functionalized biomolecules for photocatalytic use in two electron reduction processes. I joined the Turro group in the spring of 2024 and am currently working on dirhodium complexes for proton reduction.
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\nEmail: ferguson.1200@osu.edu<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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Ivy Li<\/span><\/strong><\/h5>\n \n

I graduated from the University of Mississippi in the spring of 2022 with a B.S. in chemistry. My undergraduate research was in the synthesis, application, and characterization of organic strong photooxidants for applications in water oxidation. I joined the Turro Group in January 2024 where I will be working on single molecule photocatalyzed proton reduction via dirhodium paddlewheel complexes.
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\nEmail: li.13534@buckeyemail.osu.edu<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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Sukh Singh<\/span><\/strong><\/h5>\n \n

I graduated from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) in the spring of 2023 with a B.S. in Chemistry. My undergraduate research focused on studying the photophysical properties of functionalized NU-1000 MOFs for the decontamination of chemical warfare agents. I joined the Turro group in January of 2023 and look forward to studying ruthenium complexes toward photochemotherapeutic applications.
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\nEmail: singh.1991@buckeyemail.osu.edu<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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Rebeca Poveda Rojas<\/span><\/strong><\/h5>\n \n

I graduated from the University of Costa Rica in 2019 with a B.S. in Chemistry. At the UCR I worked under the supervision of Dr. Jorge Cabezas on developing new synthetic methodologies using organometallics and its application to the synthesis of enynes, some natural products and synthetic analogs with antibacterial and antitumor properties. I then worked as a synthetic chemist in the agrochemical industry for 4 years where I designed and executed syntheses of pheromones for biological control of pests. I joined the Turro group in spring 2024 and my research here involves the study of ruthenium complexes with phototherapeutic properties.
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\nEmail: povedarojas.1@buckeyemail.osu.edu<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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Brent Peterson<\/span><\/strong><\/h5>\n \n

I graduated from Wright State University in 2024 with a B.S. in Chemistry. My undergraduate research focused on analyzing the nucleation pathway of fluorite crystals in dilute solutions. I joined the Turro lab in the spring of 2025 and I am currently working on Fe\/Co clusters that are analogues to the photoswitching Prussian blue compounds.
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\nEmail: peterson.1405@buckeyemail.osu.edu<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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Kerri Julevich<\/span><\/strong><\/h5>\n \n

I graduated from Florida State University with a B.S. with honors in biochemistry in spring of 2024. In my undergraduate research I was a member of two labs, in the field of inorganic materials chemistry. I joined the Turro group in January of 2025 and will be working on ruthenium complexes with applications in photodynamic therapy.
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\nEmail: julevich.1@osu.edu<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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Sarah Jones<\/span><\/strong><\/h5>\n \n

I graduated from The Ohio State University in 2025 with a B.A. in chemistry. My undergraduate research experience involved the investigation of ruthenium hydride complexes for C-H functionalization. I joined the Turro group in January of 2026 where my research involves studying ruthenium complexes with phototherapeutic applications.
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\nEmail: jones.7478@osu.edu<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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Megan Sosalla<\/span><\/strong><\/h5>\n \n

I graduated from the University of Minnesota in the Fall of 2024 with a B.S. in Chemistry. My undergraduate research investigated the mechanisms of copper- and nickel- mediated decarboxylative coupling reactions. I joined the Turro group in January of 2026, where I work on cobalt based photosensitizers.
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\nEmail: sosalla.1@osu.edu<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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