John Georgiades

Department: Chemistry
Faculty Adviser: Mohammad Seyedsayamdost (Temporary Adviser)
Year of Study: G1
Undergraduate School: Washington University in St. Louis
Undergraduate Major: Chemistry with a Concentration in Biochemistry

Personal Bio

Hi! My name is John, and I am a first-year graduate student in the Department of Chemistry. I grew up in Springfield, MO (in the Ozark mountains) and did my undergraduate degree in Chemistry at Washington University in St. Louis. As an undergraduate, I bounced around between a few research areas before finding my niche in chemical biology. My undergraduate work focused on developing new antibiotics that evade troublesome resistance mechanisms. Outside the lab, I enjoy rock climbing both at Rockville in the Princeton area and outdoors.

Fun Fact

Since I did my undergraduate studies in the Midwest, I had easy access to see the total solar eclipse this past spring!

Research Pitch

I am currently trying to choose which lab group to join for my thesis work (and thus the project to pursue) but am broadly interested in natural product biosynthesis and enzymology. Essentially, using the diverse chemistry inherent in specialized microbial metabolism to discover new enzymes and then probe the mechanisms of how these enzymes operate. Enzymes are nature's catalysts and coordinate chemistry in the most elegant manner. By studying the chemistry done by nature, maybe we can learn something that can influence how human chemists design reactions or discover new molecules with medicinal properties that can be adapted as drugs to be used in the clinic.

Upcoming Programs That I Am Attending:

Plans for Summer 2025

Interested in participating in Summer 2025 ReMatch+ program.