Dr. Robert Comito:

A native New Jersean, Rob attended college at Rutgers University, where he performed undergraduate research in the laboratory of Professor Spencer Knapp. For his PhD, Rob studied asymmetric catalysis and organic synthesis in the laboratory of Professor David MacMillan at Princeton University. His doctoral studies focused on stereoselective carbon-carbon bond forming reactions using organocatalysis and copper catalysis. After his PhD, Rob joined the laboratory of Professor Mircea Dincă at MIT, to study organometallic catalysis in metal-organic frameworks. Through this work, Rob prepared single-site heterogeneous catalysts for selective olefin oligomerization and polymerization. For his independent career, Rob applies catalysis toward problems in organic and polymer synthesis.

Postdoctoral Scholars:

Liton Seikh: Liton was born in Murshidabad, West Bengal, India. He earned his Master’s in Chemistry in 2019 from University of Hyderabad, and Ph.D. degree in inorganic chemistry in 2024 from Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai. His doctoral thesis title was ‘Electronic Form and Reactivity Profile of Ruthenium/Osmium Derivatives Involving Azoheteroarenes and Bis(β-diketiminate)’. He worked as Institute postdoctoral research scholar in the same lab for six months. In May 2025, he joined Comito’s research group at the University of Houston as a postdoctoral research scholar. In his free time, he likes to see movie, listening music.

Fourth-Year Graduate Students:

Simran Simran: Simran was born and raised in Kurukshetra, Haryana, India. Simran did her Bachelors in science and masters in chemistry from Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra. During her masters, Simran worked on liquid crystals displays, polymer composites and computational and statistical analysis under the supervision of Professor Sanjiv Arora, Dr. Hardeep Anand and Dr. Sohan Lal. Then, she did a project at Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR-NEIST) where she took the opportunity to learn about data assimilation. Simran enjoys cooking and listening to music in my free time.

Qingqing Dong: Qingqing majored in biochemistry and received my bachelor's degree at Central Michigan University where she worked at Dr. Choon Lee's lab. She worked on synthesis of building blocks that will be used for powerful antioxidant dendrimer synthesis. Then she went to the department of chemistry for my Master's degree and worked for Dr. Benjamin Swarts on chemoenzymatic synthesis of trehalose-6-phosphate analogous at Central Michigan University. After recieving her Master's degree, Qingqing worked at Shanghai Henlius Biotech as an upstream engineer for monoclonal antibody production. In my free time, Qingqing enjoy traveling and hiking.

Oshani Wijesinghe: Oshani was born and raised in Gampaha, Sri Lanka. She did her Bachelor of Science Honours degree in Chemistry from University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka. During her undergraduate research she worked with "Investigation of Heavy metals and environmental samples using analytical instruments." During the leisure time she enjoys traveling and listening to songs.

Third-Year Graduate Students:

Gurleen Kaur: Gurleen kaur was born in Amritsar India. She earned her Bachelor’s in Chemistry in 2020 from Khalsa college Amritsar, and the Master's degree in chemistry in 2022 from Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, where she worked on organic synthesis, "Synthesis of Spiro-Epoxy Isatin Utilizing the Corey-Chaykovysky Reaction." In August 2023, she joined Comito’s research group at the University of Houston as a graduate student. In her free time, she likes to read books and play badminton.

Maryam Tashi: Maryam was born in Shiraz and brought up in Isfahan, Iran. She completed her bachelor's degree in applied chemistry and master's degree in organic chemistry from the University of Isfahan, Iran. During her master's degree, she worked on flow synthesis of plasticizers and allylamines under the supervision of Prof. Ahmad R. Khosropour. In her free time, Maryam enjoys listening to music, reading books, watching movies, and drawing.

Second-Year Graduate Students:

Ravneet Kaur: (coming soon).

Undergraduate Students:

Tri Nguyen: Born in Ho Chi Minh and raised in Houston, Tri graduated from Cy-Ranch High School in Cypress, TX. Currently an undergraduate at the University of Houston, he is pursuing a degree in Biochemistry, B.S. In addition to his academic pursuits, Tri enjoys an active lifestyle. He believes in the significance of physical fitness and spends time working out regularly to maintain a healthy body and mind. Tri values the time he spends with his family, cherishing moments of togetherness and support. One of Tri's greatest joys in hanging out with his beloved pet, Sweet Potato, who has become an important member of his family. Looking towards the future, Tri has ambitious goals and aspirations. He is eager to make a positive impact through his research work, aiming to contribute to advancements.

Tayann Cobo: Born and raised in Houston, Tayann graduated from Cypress Lakes High School in Katy, Texas, with her associate degree. She is now pursuing her undergraduate degree in Public Health, B.S. With her knowledge she hopes to obtain doing research, she wants to expand it into her dreams of being a physician. She plays volleyball, board games, and reads in her free time.

Adam Czader: Adam, a native of Houston, Texas, graduated from Glenda Dawson High School in 2021 and is currently pursuing a degree in chemistry at the University of Houston. His primary academic interest is synthetic organic chemistry, particularly its applications in enhancing polymers. Outside of his studies, Adam spends his free time exercising, practicing the trumpet, and playing soccer.

Komathi Sivakumar: Komathi was born in Coimbatore, India and graduated from Seven Lakes High School in Katy, Texas. As an undergraduate at the University of Houston, she is pursuing a degree in Chemistry, B.S. With an avid interest in research, she hopes to gain valuable knowledge and skills as she works toward her goal of becoming a physician. In her free time, she enjoys reading novels and poetry.

Alumni:

Postdoctoral:

Dr. Subrata Ghosh. Member 2018-2022. Currently a postdoc with Corey Stephenson at the University of Michigan. (as of June 2023)

Graduate:

Dr. Maxym Tansky. Member 2018-2023. Currently a JSPS postdoc with Professor Kotaro Sato at Tokyo Institute of Technology. (as of June 2023)
Dr. Zilu Tang. Member 2018-2023. Currently a postdoc with Dr. Jeffrey Lipshultz at Stony Brook University. (as of June 2023)
Dr. Zipeng Gu. Member 2018-2023. Currently a Research Scientist in Bioconjugation Chemistry at Proteogenomics Research Institute for Systems Medicine (PRISM) (as of August 2023).
Dr. Mengnan Hu. Member 2018-2023. Currently a Research Scientist at Affinity Chemistry. (as of Ausust 2023).
Dr. Jin Qian. Member 2018-2023. Postdoctoral scholar with Zhe Qiang at the University of Southern Mississippi. (As of October 2025)
Dr. Pratyush Naik. Member 2020-2025.
Dr. Lizhe He. Member 2020-2025.

Undergraduate:

Christina Nnabuife. Class of 2021. UH Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship. Supervised by Dr. Subrata Ghosh. Currently a Research Technician in the Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology at Baylor College of Medicine. (as of June 2023)
Thomas Cao. Class of 2021. Supervised by Maxym Tansky. Currently a graduate student in Chemical Engineering at the University of Houston. Thomas's advisor is Prof. Alamgir Karim. (as of June 2023)
Ryan Bujnoch. Class of 2023. Supervised by Dr. Subrata Ghosh. Commissioned as a second lieutenant in the US Air Force. (as of June 2023)
Nicholas Nguyen. Class of 2023. UH Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship. Supervised by Zilu Tang, and then by Lizhe He. Currently a medical student at the Joe R. & Teresa Lozano Long School of Medicine in San Antonio. (as of June 2023)
Nathan Seto. Class of 2023. UH Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship. Provost Undergraduate Research Scholarship. Supervised by Zipeng Gu. Applying to medical school. (as of June 2023)
Samiksha Chandran. Class of 2025. Provost Undergraduate Research Scholarship. Supervised by Pratyush Naik.

High School:

Xirui Peng. Welch Summer Scholar, 2019. Supervised by Maxym Tansky. Currently attending college at UT Austin, class of 2024, majoring in mathematics. (as of June 2021)
Alvina Shaik. Welch Summer Scholar, 2024. Supervised by Oshani Wijesinghe. Currently a BS/MD student at the University of Tulsa/OU College of Medicine (as of October 2025)
Advaith Nair. Supervised by Lizhe He.