Team

(top to bottom; left to right): Vinny (PI), Nirmal (postdoc), Vidya (grad),  Mujeeb (grad), Grace (grad), Paul (grad), Ramon (grad), Ashley (undergrad), Beeta (undergrad), Sophia (undergrad)

Vinayak Agarwal
Vinny is an Associate Professor at Georgia Tech. Vinny likes to tinker in the lab.


Nirmal Saha, postdoc. 2022 – 
Nirmal received his PhD in Science (Chemistry) 2021 from the University of Kalyani, working with Dr. Syed Masood Husain at Centre of Biomedical Research, India. During his Ph.D., he worked on the total synthesis of PKS derived natural products and biocatalysis.  Currently, he is working on the synthesis of organic molecules that act as covalent mechanistic inhibitors of bacterial enzymes that synthesize natural products. 

• Nirmal’s 2024 JACS paper
• Nirmal and Vidya’s 2025 Org Lett paper​
• Nirmal and Paul (co-first) and Sophia’s 2025 J Org Chem paper
• Nirmal’s 2025 Methods Enzymol paper

Vidya, graduate student. 2022 –
Vidya completed her Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in chemistry from Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Bhopal India in 2021. During her undergrad she worked on synthesis of small molecule agonists for GLP-1 Receptors. Currently she is working on RiPP biosynthesis.

• Vidya and Luna’s (joint first) 2024 Nat Commun paper
• Nirmal and Vidya’s 2024 JACS paper
• Vidya and Nirmal’s (joint first) 2025 Org Lett paper

Mujeeb Wakeel, graduate student. 2023 –
Mujeeb received his Bachelor of Science in Chemistry in 2019 from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. In August 2023, he graduated with a Master of Science in Chemistry from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Mujeeb currently works on RiPP biosynthesis.

• Dongqi and Mujeeb’s 2024 Biochemistry paper
• Mujeeb’s 2025 ACS Chem Biol paper

Yifan (Grace) Tang, graduate student. 2023 –
Grace received her Bachelors in Biochemistry at the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2023. During her undergrad, she interned at Mary Kay as a Product Integrity Analytical Intern and worked as an Electroanalytical Chemist at Ringcrush. Grace is now finding new natural products in marine bacteria.

• Grace’s 2025 ACS Chem Biol paper (coming soon)

Paul Branham, graduate student. 2023 –
Paul Branham graduated with a bachelor’s degree in biology from Kenesaw state in 2017. Since then he has worked at several prestigious research institutes such as Emory and the CDC. Paul currently works on RiPP biosynthesis.

• Paul and Nirmal (co-first) and Sophia’s 2025 J Org Chem paper

Ramon Xie, graduate student. 2024 –
Ramon obtained his Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry at the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2024. He worked on a variety of projects during his undergrad, including DFT simulation of surface catalysis, quantification of specific secondary metabolite production in marine algae, and exploration of bio-orthogonal reactions compatible with RiPP modification. Ramon is now continuing to examine RiPP modification.

Joseph Hane, graduate student. 2025 –

Ashley Track, undergraduate student. 2024 –
Ashley is pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry with a minor in Spanish. She is investigating Natural Products in marine bacteria, focusing on their morphological characteristics.

Beeta Enfaradi, undergraduate student. 2024 –
Beeta is an undergraduate student at the Georgia Institute of Technology studying Biochemistry. She is currently working on RiPP biosynthesis and is planning to pursue a Ph.D. in Cancer Biology after graduation.

​Sophia Oyelere, undergraduate student. 2024 –
Sophia Oyelere is a current undergraduate student pursuing a degree in Chemistry. She has worked with natural products, organic reaction sequences, separation and purification techniques, and has experiece with various analytical instruments. In the future, she would like to pursue a PharmD and work in the pharmaceutical research industry.

• Paul and Nirmal and Sophia’s 2025 J Org Chem paper

Lab Alumni