LEITCH LAB

Gilian joined the Leitch group in April 2023. She obtained her B.Sc. in Biochemistry & Biotechnology, and M.Sc. in Analytical Chemistry at Carleton University. She then moved on to the University of Victoria in 2018 to complete her Ph.D. with Professor Scott McIndoe, studying reaction mechanisms using mass spectrometry. In 2021 she went on to complete a postdoctoral fellowship with Professor Stephen Newman at the University of Ottawa, pursuing catalysis and reaction discovery using high-throughput experimentation (HTE). Her research at UVic focuses on Ni catalyst development for HTE, as well as Ni catalyzed C–N coupling for target APIs.
Outside of chemistry, Gilian primarily enjoys skiing, cycling, squash, climbing, games and puzzles.

Jingru joined the Leitch lab in September 2019, she is working on mapping chemical reactivity by using a combination of high-throughput experimentation and computational chemistry. Her research focuses on quantitative reaction predictions and mechanistic studies for SNAr and organopalladium chemistry. In her free time she plays Guzheng (a Chinese plucked string instrument), travels occasionally, and enjoys just being relaxed at home.

Nahiane joined the lab in September of 2019 as a PhD student. Her research focuses on palladium catalyzed C-H activation reactions, a project in partnership with GlaxoSmithKline. She is applying high-throughput techniques and kinetic analysis to enable the optimized synthesis of pharmaceutically relevant molecules. Nahia enjoys salsa dancing with her friends and trying Spanish food restaurants.

Jingjun started in the Leitch group in September 2019. Her research focuses on the development of palladium precatalysts that are compatible with high-throughput experimentation. Jingjun likes swimming and cooking delicious recipes.

Kushal joined the Leitch lab in September 2019 and is exploring the reactivity of bicyclobutanes to build new heteroatom-containing multicyclic rings. Outside the lab, he enjoys watching football, sitcoms, stand-up comedy and travelling.

Greg joined the Leitch group in January 2020. His research focuses on strong C-O bond activation, the discovery and optimization of new reactions with carboxylate derivatives using high-throughput experimentation and iterative reaction design. Greg likes skiing, biking, playing board games and painting Warhammer.

Kyla joined the Leitch group in January 2021. Her research focuses on developing methods to access densely-functionalized multicyclic ring systems from bicyclobutanes. She enjoys playing soccer and getting exercise as a hobby outside of the lab.

Austin is an MSc candidate researching molecules with strong visible absorbances and interesting oxidative and fluorescent properties. His project is focused on symmetric squaraine dyes with donor-acceptor tails capable of being oxidized to stable free radicals for use in optoelectronics.  Austin is a printmaker in his free time and can be found in his studio underneath Working Culture, or at Topaz skate park.

Bennett is an MSc candidate, researching how the addition of open shell domains effect intramolecular charge transfer. His hobbies include living-in and working-on his school bus, reading fantasy novels such as LOTR, wheel of time, and the Witcher, hiking in Strathcona Provincial Park and playing D&D and MTG.