Matthew Nodwell 🇨🇦

Matt is a BC native from Penticton. Before joining the Britton group, he did his Ph.D. with Dr. Raymond Andersen at UBC, then worked as a Humboldt postdoctoral fellow with Dr. Stephan Sieber at the Technical University of Munich. He is happy to be back home, where he can pursue outdoor activities such as mountain biking, skiing, and camping. 

Matthew Anketell 🇬🇧

Matthew grew up in the south east of England. He studied for his undergrad at the University of Cambridge, doing his masters project on the total synthesis of patellazole B in the lab of Professor Ian Paterson. He continued to do his Ph.D. in the Paterson lab, completing the first total synthesis of the actinoallolide family of antiparasitic polyketide natural products. He has many hobbies including reading literature, hiking, birdwatching, cooking and programming.  

Bara Singh 🇮🇳

Bara is an Indian native who hails from Punjab. He received his Ph.D. from the Indian Institute of Science and Educational Research in Mohali, Punjab, in November 2022, working under the guidance of Dr. Sripada S. V. Ramasastry. His Ph.D. research focused on developing new strategies for synthesizing small and medium-sized rings with an all-carbon quaternary/spiro center based on sulfur ylide and π-allylpalladium chemistry. In October 2023, Bara joined the Britton lab as a postdoctoral fellow and is currently working on synthesizing bicyclic nucleoside analogues. He enjoys studying literature, going to the gym, and playing cricket.

Darryl Wilson 🇨🇦  

Darryl was born and raised in Abbotsford, BC. In 2017 Darryl received his B.Sc. in chemistry from the University of the Fraser Valley, working with Drs. Noham Weinberg and Cory Beshara where he was able to explore both synthetic and computational chemistry. He joined the Britton and Linington groups at SFU to combine data mining and synthetic chemistry for the development of novel natural product-like compounds. Outside of class his hobbies include: curling (yes the sport!), fountain pens, fantasy novels, and anything science fiction.

Himangshu Sharma 🇮🇳

Himangshu is from West Bengal, India. For his chemistry studies, he completed his bachelor's degree at Ranaghat College in 2016. During his master's studies, he joined the University of Kalyani in 2016 (supervised by Prof. Shital Kumar Chattopadhyay). He then joined the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science (IACS) in 2018 under the supervision of Prof. Rajib Kumar Goswami. During his doctoral studies, he completed the first total synthesis of the polyketide Thailandamide Lactone and Tailandamide A; studies directed towards total synthesis of Nemamide A, Neaumycin B. After defending his PhD thesis in August 2024, he moved to SFU to join the Britton group and gain new insights into the improved synthesis of [18F]-fluorohomoleucin in October 2024. In his free time, Himangshu enjoys reading books on ancient history, scientist biography, and traveling.

Marzieh Ahangarpour 🇮🇷

Marzieh completed her PhD at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, where she focused on bioconjugation techniques for the chemical, site-selective modification of peptides and proteins, with applications in drug discovery. She then continued as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Auckland, exploring a novel peptide synthesis platform for the efficient production of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), an emerging class of cancer treatment. Marzieh later moved to Vancouver and joined the Britton Lab, where she now works on radiochemistry for cancer imaging. Outside of her work in chemistry, Marzieh enjoys hiking, exploring nature, and listening to podcasts.

Daniel Driedger 🇨🇦

Daniel was born and raised in Abbotsford, BC, where he completed his B.Sc. in chemistry at the University of the Fraser Valley. During his degree, he worked under the supervision of Dr. Chadron Friesen (TWU) on the development of a difluoroalkyl ether synthesis. He joined the Britton lab in the summer of 2019 and is excited to be pursuing a Ph.D. focused on the development of new synthetic methodology. Apart from lab work, he enjoys playing sports (hockey, volleyball, squash, tennis), cycling, board games, guitar, and listening to worship music. 

Cohan Huxley 🇦🇺

Cohan completed his Bachelors of Biomolecular Sci. (Hons) at Griffith University in 2018 with Queensland Health Forensic and Scientific Services under Dr. Urs Wermuth and Dr. Mark Coster. After completing his degree Cohan worked with Griffith University in technical support and nature products research under Dr. Rohan Davis before starting with the Britton Lab in late 2019. Cohan enjoys listening to music and podcasts and playing guitar.

Tommi Muilu 🇫🇮

Tommi was born and raised in the Capital Region of Helsinki, Finland. After finishing the International Baccalaureate (IB) program in Finland, Tommi moved to Scotland where he completed his undergraduate and masters in Chemistry with Medicinal Chemistry at the University of St Andrews. After graduating in 2021, Tommi started his PhD degree at SFU and is now working on the synthesis of novel, locked nucleosides. Outside the lab, Tommi enjoys hiking, playing tennis and throwing a frisbee around.

Carolyn 🇨🇦

Carolyn was born and raised in Waterloo, Ontario. She later completed her undergrad at the University of Western Ontario where she looked at the effects of corrosion on nuclear fuel waste containers under the supervision of Dr. Samantha Gateman. Carolyn joined the Britton Lab in May 2022, working on synthesizing carbafucose prodrugs. Outside of chemistry, she enjoys spending time outside hiking, scuba diving, or playing sports.

Alan Brooke 🇨🇦🇬🇧

Alan completed his B.Sc. in chemistry at Trinity Western University (Langley, BC) in 2022, where under the supervision of Chadron Friesen he helped develop novel methods for the synthesis of fluorine-containing small molecules. As an undergraduate researcher, he worked with the Britton lab in the summers of 2021 and 2022 developing a novel method for the synthesis of α-haloaldehydes. In Fall 2022 he began his Ph.D. degree as a graduate member of the Britton group focusing on the same method and its applications. Outside of the lab, Alan enjoys playing soccer and ultimate frisbee, working out at the gym, watching movies, and listening to music. 

Huyen (Minh) Tran 🇻🇳

Huyen (Minh) Tran, from Hanoi, Vietnam, completed her Combined Chemistry and Biochemistry (BSc.) degree at the University of Victoria in 2022. During her undergraduate degree, she had a chance to work on photoaffinity labeling chemistry under the supervision of Dr. Jeremy Wulff. She joined the Britton lab at SFU in the Fall of 2022 in pursuit of a M.Sc. Her project focuses on improving both the diastereo- and enantioselectivity of the synthesis of nucleoside analogs. Outside of work, she enjoys drawing, writing, and movies.

Ethan Fung 🇨🇦

Ethan was born and raised in Vancouver, B.C where he graduated with a B.Sc. (combined honours biochemistry and chemistry) from UBC. At UBC he discovered a passion for organic chemistry working under professor David Perrin for two years. During his time at UBC, Ethan worked on synthesizing unnatural amino acids for incorporation into potential peptide therapeutics. Afterwards, Ethan joined the Britton lab in 2023 as a Ph.D. student working on the synthesis of carbocyclic nucleosides analogues. Outside of the lab he enjoys playing sports, reading about physics and finance, and is striving to learn the piano.

William Yang 🇨🇦

William completed his B.Sc. in Chemistry, Life Science, and Environmental Science at UBC in 2023. During his time at UBC, he had the opportunity to work with several distinguished organic chemistry researchers. He discovered his passion for organic chemistry in the classroom and in the research lab from Dr. Glenn Sammis, where he utilized thionyl fluoride as a reagent for synthesizing pharmaceutically relevant sulfur-based compounds. William joined the Britton Lab in 2023 in pursuit of an M.Sc. working on the total synthesis of Dragocin. Outside of the lab, he can be found hiking, playing video games, and wandering around the far depths of yonder (exploring).

Megan Schroeder 🇨🇦

Megan was born and raised Elm Creek, Manitoba. She later moved to Kelowna, where she completed her Honour's BSc in biochemistry and molecular biology at UBC Okanagan. During this time, she developed a passion for organic synthesis under the supervision of Dr. Frederic Menard, where she worked to synthesize a fluorescent chemical probe for labelling calcium channels in neurons. She joined the lab in September 2024 and is excited to pursue a Ph.D. focused on natural product synthesis. Her work in the Britton lab focuses on the derivatization of the anti-cancer drug candidate, eleutherobin. Outside of the lab, she enjoys playing sports, reading and hiking.

Breanna Taylor 🇨🇦

Breanna was raised in Amherst, Nova Scotia, and later moved to Halifax, Nova Scotia to attend Dalhousie University. At Dalhousie, Breanna received her BSc Honours in Chemistry while under the supervision of Dr. Alison Thompson where she synthesized molecules with pyrrolic frameworks, such as BODIPY dyes. At SFU, Breanna is involved with the total synthesis and derivatization of natural products. Outside of the lab, Breanna enjoys spending her time painting, reading historical fiction and working out.