The Team

Principal Investigator

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Dylan Domaille

Dylan Domaille

Dylan received B.S. degrees in chemistry and molecular and cell biology from the University of Oregon and earned his PhD in chemistry in the chemical biology program from the University of California, Berkeley, where he worked with Chris Chang to develop small-molecule fluorescent sensors for tracking intracellular metal ions in living cells. He continued his studies with Jen Cha as a postdoctoral scholar in the Department of Chemical Engineering at CU Boulder, where he expanded his research to include M13 bacteriophage-based biosensors, stress-relaxing hydrogel 3D cell matrices, and biocompatible chemical processes.

Dylan joined the faculty in the Department of Chemistry at the Colorado School of Mines as an assistant professor in the fall of 2017 and was promoted to associate professor in 2023. He has been recognized with an Arnold and Mabel Beckman Young Investigator award (2022), an NSF CAREER award (2023), and a Mines Teaching Award (2025). Research in the group has been supported by the NSF, NIH, and the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade. 

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Ph.D. Students

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George Afoakwah

George Afoakwah

George was born in Agogo, Ashanti Region, Ghana. He moved to New Jersey in 2016 where he completed high school and went on to receive a B.S. in Biochemistry. As an undergraduate researcher, his research focus was the molecular and physiological dynamics of circadian rhythms and the link between circadian disruption and disease. His current research focus is the synthesis of chemical motifs that detect ROS/RNS in macrophages. His hobbies include pick-up soccer, cooking various foods from around the world and working on his indoor garden.

 

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Max Bonenberger

Max Bonenberger

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Nathan Hopkins

Gun Su Han

Gun Su was born and raised in Seoul, South Korea. He moved to Colorado in 2006 and received a BA from CU Boulder in 2014. As an undergraduate research assistant, he studied dynamic covalent chemistry. He finished his first year of graduate school at CU Boulder and transferred to the Colorado School of Mines in summer 2018, where he pursues a PhD in applied chemistry. 

His current research interests involve the synthesis of a novel drug-delivery material, chemical design of ROS-reactive materials, and dynamic covalent chemistry. He enjoys traveling, brewing coffee, taking pictures, and cooking.

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Luke Knudson

Luke Knudson

Luke was born in Ontario, Oregon and raised in Caldwell, Idaho. He earned his bachelor’s degree in chemistry with a biochemistry emphasis from Boise State University. At Boise State University, Luke studied biosensing applications of dynamic DNA networks. Luke is currently pursuing a PhD in applied chemistry at Mines. At Mines, Luke studies green and biocompatible applications of micellar catalysis in the Domaille Lab. For fun, Luke enjoys fishing, art, and movies.

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B.S/M.S. Dual Degree Students

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Kathy Boyadzhieva

B.S./M.S. Applied Chemistry

Alumni

Undergraduates

2018

Anne Clinton, Mt. Holyoke College, B.S. Chemistry '19
Current position: Medical student, Vanderbilt School of Medicine

  • REU student

Casey Harmon, B.S. Applied Chemistry ’18

Emily Hicks, B.S. Chemical Engineering ’18
Current position: Ph.D. student, CU Anschutz Medical Campus

  • 2017–2018 Mines Undergraduate Research Fellowship
  • Honorable Mention, 2018 Mines Undergraduate Research Symposium
  • Coauthor (ACS Sustain. Chem. And Eng., 2020, 8, 4114)

Angela Moser, B.S. Chemical Engineering and Chemistry ’18
Current position: Ph.D. student, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

  • 2017–2018 Mines Undergraduate Research Fellowship
  • Coauthor (Org. Biomol. Chem., 2022, 20, 995)

2019

Gabe Adriano, B.S. Chemical Engineering, '20
Current position: Automation engineer, GlaxoSmithKline

  • 2018–2019 Mines Undergraduate Research Fellowship
  • 1st Place, 2019 Mines Undergraduate Research Symposium
  • 2019 Astronaut Scholar

Ethan Coit, B.S. Chemical Engineering, '20
Current position: Research associate, CU Anschutz Medical Campus

Kendyll Hawkins, B.S. Chemistry '20
Current position: M.S. student, Quantitative Biology and Engineering, Colorado School of Mines

Megan van de Graaf, B.S. Chemical Engineering, '22
Current position: Process engineering intern, Merrick & Company

2020

Varsha Selma, B.S. Chemical Engineering, '20
Current position: M.S. student, Engineering Management, Colorado School of Mines

  • 2019–2020 Mines Undergraduate Research Fellowship

Cameron Fitzgerald, B.S. Chemical Engineering, '21

  • 2019–2020 Mines Undergraduate Research Fellowship

2021

Avery Tyndall, B.S. Chemical Engineering, '22
Current position: Engineer, Sedron Technology

  • 2020–2021 Mines Undergraduate Research Fellowship

2022

Ryan Pfeffer, Chemical Engineering

  • 2021–2022 Mines Undergraduate Research Fellowship

Kevin Huang, B.S. Chemical Engineering, '22

Lauren Kelly, Quantitative Biology and Engineering
Current position: REU student at BYU (Summer, 2022)

  • 2021–2022 Mines Undergraduate Research Fellowship

2023

2024

2025

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