The Grover Group
Graduate Students
Aynaz Ziadkhani
Ph.D. candidate
Aynaz was born and raised in Tabriz, a Turkish-speaking city in the Northwest region of Iran, known for its hand-woven rugs. Aynaz received her B.Sc. (2017) and M.Sc. (2019) from Sharif University of Technology (SUT) in pure chemistry and organic chemistry, respectively. In her free time, Aynaz enjoys hiking, watching movies and reading. She joined the Grover group in 2022 and is co-supervised by Dr. Graham Bodwell.
Blake Chislette
Ph.D. candidate
Blake grew up in Alliston, Ontario, which is famous as the hometown of Sir Fredrick Banting. Blake joined the Grover group in 2022 while pursuing his honours degree and subsequently received his B.Sc. (Honours) from Memorial University in 2023. In his free time, Blake enjoys playing rugby and basketball.
Salman Bagherzadeh
M.Sc. candidate
Salman Bagherzadeh is originally from Birjand, Iran, a city known for its saffron, pistachios, and old educational institutions. He obtained a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from the University of Birjand. Nurturing his passion for synthesis and chemical processes, in 2022 he moved to Newfoundland to pursue his graduate studies in organic chemistry, aiming to contribute to the advancements in the field of natural product total synthesis. Beyond his academic pursuits, Salman has a distinct interest in the culinary arts. Cooking serves as a creative platform for him to experiment with diverse flavors, textures, and cultural cuisines.
Ryan Strickland
M.Sc. candidate
Ryan grew up in the surrounding communities around St. John’s, Newfoundland. He is currently pursuing his graduate degree at Memorial University in the Grover group, following the completion of his B.Sc. (Honours) in natural product total synthesis. Outside of academics, Ryan is an avid car enthusiast and enjoys exploring local and exciting cuisines. Ryan joined the Grover group in 2023.
Undergraduate Students
Alex Pelley
BSc Honours
Alex was born in Newfoundland and grew up in the town of Paradise. He is pursuing his B.Sc. at Memorial University and is enrolled in the honours program. He took a keen interest in synthetic organic chemistry during his undergraduate studies and began work in the Grover group as a volunteer in his 3rd year of study. He worked as a full-time researcher in the group over the summer of 2024, sponsored by an NSERC grant, and now continues research toward his honours’ thesis. Beyond his academic pursuits, Alex is an accomplished martial artist from Cabot Taekwondo. In his spare time, he enjoys cooking and watching movies with friends.
Interested in joining the Grover group?
Contact Dr. Grover (hgrover @ mun . ca).
Alumni
Khetal Surana – Mitacs Globalink Research Internship 2024 – subsequent position: BSc Institute of Chemical Technology, India
Rafael Goméz – Mitacs Globalink Research Internship 2023 – subsequent position: graduate student at UBC
Kenna Hynes – Undergraduate thesis 2023-2024 – subsequent position: graduate student at MUN
Sima Alavi – PhD 2023 – subsequent position: NuChem
Aabid Bhat – PhD 2023 – subsequent position: OmegaChem
Nathan Tucker – MSc 2022 – subsequent position: bachelor of education at MUN
Mitchell Fagan – Undergraduate thesis 2020-2021 – subsequent position: medical student at MUN
Kirklind Lockyer – MSc Candidate 2019-2020 – subsequent position: medical student at MUN
Daniel Kelly – SURA May-August 2019
Victoria Rose – Undergraduate thesis 2017-2018, NSERC USRA 2018 – subsequent position: graduate student at SFU