Bio Sketch

Anna was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and spent a lot of her childhood mixing household chemicals together in the bathtub. When asked what she wanted to be when she grew up, she oscillated between a scientist, a writer, and a teacher. Upon realizing that being a professor would combine all three jobs and allow her to mix chemicals together without getting in trouble, she set her sights on academia and never changed her mind. She pursued BS degrees in chemistry and mathematics at the University of Louisville and joined Prof. Craig Grapperhaus’ research group her freshman year, asking to do synthesis in a heavily electrochemistry-focused inorganic group. She carved out her role over the next four years as the “ligand lady,” synthesizing a library of specialized bis-thiosemicarbazone ligands for the group’s work to develop transition metal complexes with applications in energy, catalysis, and medicine. Despite an upbringing in interdisciplinary research, she decided to focus on pure organic synthesis in Prof. Mike Hilinski’s group at the University of Virginia for her PhD. During her time in the Hilinski lab, she developed multiple cycloaddition reactions for the synthesis and functionalization of N-heterocycles. However, she also remained true to her inorganic roots by collaborating with Prof. Charlie Machan’s group to study the behavior and selectivity of the Hilinski group’s organocatalyst in the electrochemical oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). After completing her dissertation, she pursued a postdoc with Prof. Gabriel Lovinger in hopes of combining her interests across chemical subfields and participating in the formation of a brand-new research group. Outside of the lab, Anna competes in equestrian events with her horse Violet and enjoys drawing, writing, playing the piano, spending time with loved ones, and watching sitcoms with her cat Marcy.​