Welcome Kudzai!

We are excited to announce that Kudzai Nyamkondiwa has joined the Chan Lab!

Brief bio: Kudzai is from Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. She graduated with a B.S. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Rhodes College in 2022. As an undergraduate, she synthesized 6-substituted L-DOPA analogues to expand the substrate library of L-DOPA dioxygenase (Prof. Larryn Peterson) and designed COVID-19 antiviral peptides using in-silico protein mutagenesis and molecular docking techniques (Prof. Shana Stoddard). She also investigated the role of ubiquitin-conjugating enzymes in proteostasis at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital (Prof. Fabio Demontis). After graduation, Kudzai worked as a research associate at the Sanofi mRNA Center of Excellence, where she designed and synthesized novel ionizable lipids for mRNA-LNP vaccines.

Kudzai is currently a chemical biology student pursuing her Ph.D. in Chemistry. She is incredibly excited to have joined the Chan lab! Outside the lab, Kudzai is often hanging out with friends, trying different coffee shops, and exploring new cities.