People

Dr. Amanda Stockton has been with the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the Georgia Institute of Technology since January 2015. Her research includes (1) instrument development for in situ organic analysis in the search for extraterrestrial life, (2) microfluidic approaches to experimentally evaluating hypotheses on the origin of biomolecules and the emergence of life, and (3) terrestrial applications of these technologies for environmental analysis and point-of-care diagnostics.

Chad Pozarycki is from Franklin Lakes, NJ and enjoys climbing, sailing, and surfing. He received a Bachelors in Astronomy and Astrophysics from Penn State, performing research with Dr. Chris House, and went on to work with the Curiosity Rover’s Sample Analysis at Mars team at NASA Goddard. Chad’s post-bachelors work involved mass spectrometry research and sample curation for NASA’s Laboratory for Agnostic Biosignatures and the Johnson Biosignatures Laboratory at Georgetown. Chad joined the Stockton Lab in 2021 and is presently working with the Oceans Across Space and Time team to analyze hypersaline lake systems in Western Australia.

Chloe N. LeCates is from Roswell, GA and enjoys traveling, reading, and playing video games. She has worked with the Stockton Lab since 2018 as an undergraduate student and began pursuing her Ph.D. in Chemistry in Fall 2022. She plans on pursuing research into the how the microbial primary succession pathway affects the nutrient content of Martian and lunar analogs with the goal of learning how they transform into a viable agricultural medium. Chloe plans to continue research in Astrobiology and biogeochemical cycling with the eventual goal of becoming a college professor.

Augustine Atta Debrah is currently a third-year Chemistry Ph.D. student in the Stockton Lab. He obtained a bachelor’s in Laboratory Technology under the supervision of Mr. Rex Okoto at the University of Cape Coast (UCC), Ghana. Before arriving at Georgia Tech, he worked with Prof. Zhenxia Du at the Beijing University of Chemical Technology. His research interests lie in analytical chemistry, specifically microfluidics. His primary focus is on instrument design for the rapid diagnosis of infectious diseases and environmental analysis in low-resourced environments. He aspires to become an expert in the fabrication of microfluidic devices to improve real-time analysis in the field and eventually a professor. He enjoys reading, movies, and photography.

Jessie McKenzie is a new member of the group. Her bio will be coming soon!

Sudikshaa Anandakumar is a second year undergraduate student from Suwanee, GA. She’s getting a degree in Biochemistry with a Pre-Health focus. She’s working with Chad to use CE-LIF to evaluate the biodosimetry of urine samples subject to radiation. She plans on attending medical school to pursue a career in clinical pathology. Outside the lab, she is part of Bollywood dance team and teaches Karate.

Grace Gentner is a second-year undergraduate chemistry student from Marietta, GA. She has been working with the Stockton Group since Fall 2021. Most of her time with the group has been spent on the FELDSPAR project to understand biosignature distribution. She is also currently working on method development for nutrient quantification in analog samples. Outside of labwork, her hobbies include sailing, roller derby, and reading. 

Mackenzie Eader is a fourth year undergraduate student from Warner Robins, GA. She is pursuing a degree in Chemistry with a concentration in Biochemistry and hopes to continue on to graduate school next year. She also did an internship at Huntsmen during Summer 2023. When not in the lab, she likes to crochet, knit, bake pies, and go on hikes.

Soumit Guntupalli is a second year undergraduate student pursuing a degree in biology and is from Kennesaw, GA. Some things he enjoys doing are hiking, traveling, cooking and playing tennis. He hopes to go to dental school after graduation and pursue a career in dentistry.