Anna Cristina S. Samia
Professor and Chair of the Chemistry Department
Email: anna.samia@case.edu
Dr. Anna Cristina S. Samia is the Rudolph and Susan Rense Professor and Chair of the Department of Chemistry at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. She earned her BS in Chemistry from the University of the Philippines-Diliman (magna cum laude) in 1998 and her PhD in Chemistry from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2002, where she was awarded a Molecular Design Institute Graduate Fellowship. Following her PhD, she pursued further education and training as a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Center for Nanoscale Materials at Argonne National Laboratory in Chicago, IL. She then continued her academic development as a Research Fellow at Case Western Reserve University’s School of Medicine before starting her independent career in 2010.
Dr. Samia’s research focuses on the synthesis and investigation of the magneto-opto-electronic properties of intermetallic and metal oxide nanostructures. Her work focuses on the chemical design of nanomaterials to achieve targeted functional properties, with applications spanning imaging, cancer and antimicrobial therapies, nanosensor development, and environmental nanotechnology.
Ph.D. Students
Yu-Hsin Tsai (Terence)
Email: yxt368@case.edu
Yu Hsin Tsai (Terence) is a 5th-year Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Chemistry at Case Western Reserve University. He earned his B.S. degree in Chemistry from the University of Oregon in 2018. During his undergraduate studies, he worked with Dr. David C. Johnson, focusing on the investigation of the ferecrystal mechanism in VSe2 thin films. He joined Dr. Samia lab since 2018 as a master student, then transferred to the Ph.D. program in 2020. Currently, Terence’s research is centered around the study of visible-light activated Titania nanomaterials for biomedical applications.
Md. Masud Alam
Email: mxa1032@case.edu
Md. Masud Alam is a 3rd-Year Ph.D. student in the department of Chemistry at Case Western Reserve University. He earned his B.Sc. in Chemistry from Janhangirnagar University (JU), Bangladesh. Under the guidance of Prof. Khan, he completed his MS from JU, focusing on the study of the drug-surfactants interaction. Currently, Masud’s research revolves around exploring the antimicrobial properties of nanomaterials.
Ross Clark Prado
Email: rrp92@case.edu
Ross Clark Prado is a 2nd-Year Ph.D. student in the Department of Chemistry at Case Western Reserve University. He earned his B.S. degree in Mining Engineering in 2015 and M.S. degree in Environmental Engineering in 2022 from the University of the Philippines Diliman. He worked in the cement industry for six years and is currently doing research on applied metal oxide nanoparticles that can be used on materials such as concrete and thermosets.
Nicole Bea Ponce
Email: nep41@case.edu
Nicole Ponce is a 1st-year Ph.D. student in the Department of Chemistry at Case Western Reserve University. She earned her B.S degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Santo Tomas, Philippines. Her research focuses on the study of magnetic nanoparticles in biomedical and materials application.
Anjalee Maheshika Kumarihamy
Email: amk44@case.edu
Anjalee Maheshika Kumaarihamy is a 1st-year Ph.D. student in the Department of Chemistry at Case Western Reserve University. She earned her B.S. degree in Environmental Science from the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, in 2021. During her undergraduate studies, she primarily focused on Chronic Kidney Disease of Unknown Etiology (CKDu) under the supervision of Dr. Nanda Balasooriya. She then earned her M.S. degree in Chemistry from National Sun Yat-Sen University in 2024 under the guidance of Dr. Hui-Fen Wu, with a focus on the development of 2D metal dichalcogenide thin films for various biological applications. Anjalee’s research interests focus on developing visible-light-activated 2D TiO₂ nanosheets for biomedical and water purification applications.
Master Students
Undergraduate Students
Adeeb Khan
Email: axk1634@case.edu
Adeeb Khan is a 2nd year pre-medical student and B.A. candidate in Chemical Biology at Case Western Reserve University. He is currently involved in researching metal oxide nanoparticles for cement and water purification applications.
Pheobe Vong
Email: cxv160@case.edu
Pheobe Vong is a first year undergraduate student and B.A candidate in the Chemical Biology and the at Case Western Reserve University. Currently, her research interest focuses on visible-light activated Titania nanoparticles for antibacterial biofilm applications.
Alumni
| Post-doctoral scholar | Samia lab years | Post Samia lab location | Post Samia lab position | |||||
| Michele Pablico-Lansigan | 2012-2013 | American University, Washington D.C. | Chemistry lecturer | cheliepablico@gmail.com | ||||
| PhD Students | ||||||||
| Adriana Popa | 2010-2015 | Sherwin Williams, Cleveland, OH | Senior R&D Chemist | adriana.hermann@sherwin.com | ||||
| Shu Situ | 2011-2016 | Owens Corning, Columbus, OH | Sr. Innovation Leader | shu.situloewenstein@owenscorning.com | ||||
| Eric Abenojar | 2012-2017 | Northwestern University, Evanston, IL | Research Associate | eric.abenojar@case.edu | ||||
| Monica Navarreto-Lugo | 2015-2019 | Owens Corning, Columbus, OH | R&D Horticulture Program Leader | monica.navarreto@owenscorning.com | ||||
| Sameera Wickramasinghe | 2015-2020 | Intel, Hillsborro, OR | Process Engineer | smw151@case.edu | ||||
| Minseon (Stella) Ju | 2014-2021 | QIAGEN, Germantown, MD | Quality Assurance Manager | mxj250@case.edu | ||||
| Nathalie Milbrandt | 2018-2023 | Owen Corning, Columbus, OH | Advanced Scientist | nbm33@case.edu | ||||
| Master students | ||||||||
| Shun Zhu | 2009-2011 | GuangZhou Railway Corporation, Guangzhou, China | Chemist | shun.zhu@case.edu | ||||
| Jon Flikkema | 2011-2013 | PPG, Cleveland, OH | Chemist | flikkema@ppg.com | ||||
| Shuang Qin | 2012-2013 | Avery Dennison, Cleveland, OH | Chemist | sxq22@case.edu | ||||
| Jiahua Yang | 2013-2014 | Johnson & Johnson, Beijing, China | Management trainee | yangjiahua90@163.com | ||||
| Yutthana Lakliang | 2013-2014 | University of Illinois | PhD Student | yxl476@case.edu | ||||
| Zhao Yu | 2013-2015 | University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH | PhD Student | zxy103@case.edu | ||||
| Jimmy Lee | 2014-2015 | Ohio State University, Columbus, OH | PhD Student | cxl716@case.edu | ||||
| Hyo Joo Shin | 2016-2018 | Hanwha Total, Seoul, South Korea | Researcher | hxs427@case.edu | ||||
| Haojie Chen | 2019-2020 | Shanghai, China | Researcher | hxc736@case.edu | ||||
| Dehua Jiang | 2020-2021 | CWRU, Cleveland, OH | PhD Student | dxj226@case.edu | ||||
| Yifan Yao | 2022-2022 | China | PhD Student | yxy1129@case.edu | ||||
| Kaixi Cui | 2022-2024 | CWRU, Cleveland, OH | PhD Student | kxc765@case.edu | ||||
| Undergraduate students | ||||||||
| Kara Wahlgreen | 2010-2011 | M.S. in Anesthesiology Assistant, CWRU | Graduate student | kcw15@case.edu | ||||
| Ricardo Vidot | 2010 | |||||||
| Raymond de Guzman | 2012 | University of Toledo Medical College | Medical student | rmd49@case.edu | ||||
| Hirsh Pujara | 2010-2012 | Simon Business School, University of Rochester, NY | Graduate student | Hirsh.Pujara@simon.rochester.edu | ||||
| Stephen Wu | 2010-2012 | M.S. in Chemistry, San Jose State University | Graduate student | sjw24@case.edu | ||||
| Amy Fabian (Coe) | 2011-2013 | College of Pharmacy, Ohio State University, OH | Pharmacy student | Amy.coe91@gmail.com | ||||
| Angela Crise | 2012-2013 | Hentzen Coatings, Milwaukee, WI | Developmental chemist | angelacrise@gmail.com | ||||
| Seung Yeon (Sunny) Bae | 2014 | School of Dental Medicine, CWRU, Cleveland, OH | Dental student | sxb543@case.edu | ||||
| Ava Kotvas | 2013-2014 | CWRU, Cleveland, OH | Undergraduate student | ack53@case.edu | ||||
| Aria Bredt | 2015-2016 | Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN | PhD Student | ajb231@case.edu | ||||
| Adam Vianna | 2014-2016 | UCSD, La Jolla, CA | PhD Student | acv28@case.edu | ||||
| Bueniel Kim | 2016-2017 | School of Dental Medicine, CWRU, Cleveland, OH | Dental student | bxk254@case.edu | ||||
| Sarika Uppaluri | 2015-2017 | B.A. Case Western Reserve University | Undergraduate student | sxu48@case.edu | ||||
| Celine Burias | Summer 2017 | B.S. John Carroll University | Undergraduate student | cburias19@jcu.edu | ||||
| Jae Hee Lim | 2016-2018 | Case Western Reserve University | Undergraduate student | jxl1165@case.edu | ||||
| Beoline Uwampamo | 2018-2019 | Case Western Reserve University | Undergraduate student | bxu17@case.edu | ||||
| Massado Ngompe | 2020-2021 |
MIT, Cambridge, MA |
PhD student | cxn168@case.edu | ||||
| Brian Plotkin | 2021-2022 | Midwestern University, Glendale, AZ | Graduate student | bbp15@case.edu | ||||
| Donghyun (Poe) Kim | 2021-2023 | Columbia University, New York, NY | Dental Student | dxk740@case.edu | ||||
| Wooram Kim | 2023-2024 | wxk103@case.edu | ||||||
| REU Student | ||||||||
| Pawel Kraj | Summer 2015 | Mercer University, Macon, GA | PhD Student, Indiana University | Pawel.Kraj@live.mercer.edu | ||||
| Jesbaniris Bas- Concepcion | Summer 2016 | University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus, San Juan, PR | PhD Student, University of Illinois (Chicago) | Jesbaniris@gmail.com | ||||
| Visiting high school students | ||||||||
| Christian Petersen (Shadowing) | Hawken High School, Summer 2017 | Hawken High School, Gates Mills, OH | Sophomore | 19petchr@hawken.edu | ||||
| Nickie Lam (Project ACS SEED) | John Hayes High School, Summer 2017 | John Hayes High School, Cleveland, OH | Sophomore | nickie.lam.csssm@gmail.com | ||||
| Abigail Knetig (Shadowing) | Laurel High School, Summer 2017 | Laurel High School, Beachwood, OH | Freshman | aknetig@laurelschool.org | ||||
| Maggie McConnell (Protégé) | Laurel High School, Summer 2011 | Ohio State University, Columbus, OH | Undergraduate student in EECS | mcconnell223@buckeyemail.edu | ||||
| Jessie Anderson (Protégé) | Laurel High School, Summer 2013 | Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH | Undergraduate student | jeanderson@laurelschool.org | ||||
| Sofia Yi (Protégé) | Laurel High School, Summer 2014 | Laurel High School, Beachwood, OH | Senior | syi@laurelschool.org | ||||
| Julie De La Pena (Project ACS SEED) | Max Hayes High School, Summer 2012 | Max Hayes High School, Cleveland, OH | Senior | zoepaen@yahoo.com | ||||
| Vy Lam (Project ACS SEED) | John Hayes High School, Summer 2013 & 2014 | Cleveland State University, Cleveland, OH | Undergraduate student | vy.h.lam.cssm@gmail.com | ||||
| Lilly Faulk (Shadowing) | West Geauga High School, Summer 2012 | Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH | Undergraduate student in biology | lmf70@case.edu | ||||
| Maryam Bagheri (Shadowing) | Cleveland Heights High School, Summer 2012 | Cleveland Heights High School, Cleveland Heights, OH | Senior | |||||
| Megan Zhao | Hudson High School, Summer 2013 & 2014 | Hudson High School, Hudson, OH | Senior | meganzhao0505@gmail.com | ||||
| Gani Perez (Shadowing) | Hudson High School, Summer 2013 | Hudson High School, Hudson, OH | Senior | gani.perez@gmail.com | ||||
| Rebecca Kuang (Shadowing) | Beachwood High School, Summer 2013 & 2014 | University of Chicago, Chicago, IL | Undergraduate student | rk-1996@hotmail.com | ||||
| Tim Situ (Shadowing) | Huron High School, Summer 2013 & 2014 | University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI | Undergraduate student | tsitu97@gmail.com | ||||
| Yichen Li | Andrew Osborne Academy, Summer 2014 | Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH | Undergraduate student | pamelayichenli@gmail.com | ||||
| Mia Templeman (Project ACS SEED) | John Hayes High School, Summer 2015 | Cleveland, OH | Senior | mia.a.templeman.cssm@gmail.com | ||||
| Surya Gopal (Shadowing) | Mayfield High School, Summer 2016 | Cleveland, OH | High school student | |||||
| Sierra Jones (Project ACS SEED) | John Hayes High School, Summer 2016 | Cleveland, OH | Senior | sierra.l.jones.cssm@gmail.com | ||||
| International Visiting Scholars | ||||||||
| Yajun Ji | 2009-2010 | Nanjing University, Nanjing, China | Graduate student | |||||
| Feng Lu | 2011-2013 | Nanjing University, Nanjing, China | Graduate student | fxl131@case.edu | ||||
| Czar Buenviaje | 2014 | University of Philippines, Philippines | Undergraduate student | czarbuenviaje@gmail.com |