The Team
I am currently looking for motivated scientists who are interested in performing research at the interface between chemistry, materials science and electron microscopy. During my career I have been fortunate to work in three different countries and experience diverse academic research environments. As a PI I want to bring all these experiences to my laboratory and create an environment that will stimulate my team to reach their maximum potential.
PI
professor joe patterson
Joe was born in Nottingham, England. He obtained his undergraduate degree in Chemistry from the University of York, UK, and conducted his masters research project with Cytec Engineered Materials at the Wilton Centre. He completed his PhD in radical polymer chemistry and self-assembly at the University of Warwick, UK, in 2013, working under the supervision of Professor Rachel O’Reilly. He went on to work for Professor Nathan C. Gianneschi and Professor Kimberly Prather at the University of California San Diego, USA, and the Centre for Aerosol Impacts on Climate and Environment (CAICE) as a postdoctoral scholar. In 2016 he joined the Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands, working in the Laboratory of Materials and Interface Chemistry led by Professor Nico Sommerdijk.
In July 2018, Joe became a member of the Department of Chemistry at the University of California, Irvine. His lab is dedicated to advancing the fundamental understanding of molecular self-assembly by developing and applying cutting-edge electron microscopy techniques.
Awards and honors:
2023, Microscopy Society of America – Burton Medal
2023, NSF CAREER Award, DMR Polymers
2022, UCI Department of Chemistry Excellence in Mentorship Award
2022, ACS Polymers Au, Rising Stars
2020, Journal of Materials Chemistry C, Emerging Investigator
2020, American Chemical Society PRF Doctoral New Investigator Award
2020, Beall Innovation Award
2017, Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship
2013, Jon Weaver PhD Prize
2013, Warwick Transatlantic Fellowship
2012, DH Richards Bursary
2011, RSC Macrogroup UK Young Polymer Scientist of the Year
Email: patters3.at.uci.edu
Current Graduate Students
WYETH GIBSON
Email: gibsonw@uci.edu
Wyeth received his B.S. in chemistry from UC Irvine (class of 2018). As an undergraduate, he did research under Professor Jenny Yang on mechanochemical reactions, electrostatic effects on transition metals and synthetic efforts towards biotinylated clusters. In the Patterson lab, he enjoys studying the fundamental chemistry of polymer self-assemblies. Outside of lab he loves spending time with his wife, Jessica, and Neptune the pug.
NehaL Idris
Email: nsidris@uci.edu
Nehal earned her B.S. with an honor in chemistry from the University of California-Irvine in 2019. While there, she worked with Dr. Jenny Yang on the synthesis and characterization of rhenium and manganese crown-containing complexes and investigated their Lewis-acid assisted electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide. In 2018, Nehal was awarded the UCI MDP fellowship, where she collaborated with Dr. Eric Potma and Dr. Henry Heisenberg to study the fluorescence emission and absorption properties of chemotherapy drugs: Doxorubicin and Bleomycin. Afterward, she moved to the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor and worked with Dr. Stephen Maldonado on the development of advanced photoelectrode design for converting sunlight into electricity in regenerative photoelectrochemical cells. Nehal joined the Patterson lab to explore the phenomena of coacervates, polymeric materials made of block copolymers that undergo LLPS to form liquid droplets. Her goal is to develop liquid state system for encapsulate oil spills in the ocean. In her free time, Nehal enjoys spending time with her significant other and family, swimming, cuddling with her cat, and engaging in volunteer activities.
Elisa Olivas
Email: emolivas@uci.edu
Elisa was born and raised in Southern California and received her B.S in chemistry from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. While at Cal Poly Pomona, she worked on single crystal X-ray diffraction of various bis-imidazolium salts with Professor Chantal Stieber. Interested in crystallization
of inorganic materials, she joined the Patterson lab to understand how encapsulated enzymes influence the nucleation and growth mechanisms of metal-organic-frameworks. Outside of the lab, Elisa enjoys running with her dog Yochi, dancing, and getting some sun at the beach with her boyfriend.
Zhaoxu Li
Email: zhaoxul3@uci.edu
Zhaoxu received his MB (Bachelor of Medicine) from Chongqing Medical University, China. During his undergrad and after graduation, he worked on self-assembling peptides and catalysts for oxygen reduction reaction as a research assistant. He joined UCI as a PhD student in 2021 and started working with Professor Kumar Wickramasinghe and Professor Maxim Shcherbakov on liquid-phase photo-induced force microscopy and 2D material light-matter interactions. Zhaoxu joined the Patterson lab to explore the self-assembly phenomenon in solution using liquid-phase transmission electron microscopy. Outside of his research, he enjoys biking, hiking, cooking, and gardening.
Lilian Zeinalvand
Email: lzeinalv@uci.edu
Lily Received her B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering from Tehran Polytechnic University. While at AUT, she worked on the synthesis and characterization of gelatin functionalized silver nanostructures and investigating their optical properties. She also completed an internship in organic chemistry laboratory at Ecole Polytechnique de Palaiseau in France under supervison of Prof. Gregory Nocton, conducting research on synthesis of novel photocatalysts for hydrogen production. Interested in the field of materials chemistry, she joined the Patterson group to explore and quantitatively analyze nanoscale dynamic processes using electron microscopy. In her free time, she enjoys playing piano, adventurous traveling, road tripping with friends and reading books.
Pushp Raj Prasad
Email: prprasad@uci.edu
Pushp Raj was born in India and completed his schooling from Qatar. He then moved back to India again where he received his Integrated M.Sc. (BS + MS) in Chemistry from the National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER) Bhubaneswar, India. For his master’s thesis at NISER, he worked with Dr. Sudip Barman on two-dimensional materials for supercapacitor applications. Following masters, he did a short project on transition metal dichalcogenide monolayers with Dr. Akshay Singh in the Department of Physics at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bangalore, India. Pushp Raj joined the Patterson group to work at the interface of TEM, electrochemistry, and metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). Raj loves to chill with his friends, explore SoCal, listen to music, and enjoys roaming around aimlessly on his e-scooter.
Elmira Baghdadi
Email: ebaghdad@uci.edu
Elmira received her B.S. in Chemistry with an emphasis on Materials Science from the California State University of Long Beach in 2022. While at CSULB, she worked under the guidance of Dr. Shahab Derakhshan on the synthesis and analysis of the electronic and magnetic properties of transition-metal oxides (TMOs). Interested in the field of materials chemistry, she joined the Patterson lab to explore new areas in soft materials and to further understand the relationship between molecular self-assembly and its effects on the material’s physical properties. Outside of lab, Elmira enjoys reading classical novels, critiquing movies and shows, and spending time with her family.
Riya Singh
Email: singhr7@uci.edu
Riya received her joint B.S. and M.S. in chemistry from the National Institute of Science Education and Research, Bhubaneswar, India in 2022. While there, she worked on the synthesis and characterization of indazole-fused tetra-coordinated boron based polymers and thioketone based Zn(II) and Ni(II) complexes. Interested in polymers and materials chemistry, Riya joined the Patterson lab to synthesize polymers and study its self-assembly. Outside of the lab, Riya enjoys watching sunsets at the beach, dancing and spending time with her family.
Current Undergraduate Students
Muna NasEer
Email: naseerm@uci.edu
Muna was born and raised in Garden Grove, California. She is currently pursuing an undergraduate BS in Biomedical Engineering: Pre-Medicine. She likes hiking, running, photography, and reading. She joined the Patterson group to work with Nehal on the synthesis and characterization of block copolymer via RAFT and to explore the formation of liquid dense droplets(coacervates) and their application on encapsulating oil spills from the ocean.
Juilan Dos Santos
jcdossan@uci.edu
Julian was born and raised in Southern California and is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering. He joined the Patterson Lab to develop his skills in the field of Chemistry, and joined the Polymer Synthesis because he was very interested in learning how polymers self-assemble since it can have a lot of really cool and wide-ranging applications in many different industries. His enjoys playing his trombone, watching movies, and playing Warhammer 40k.
Selene Chang
Email: selenejc@uci.edu
Selene Chang is an undergraduate student majoring in Chemistry. Intrigued by physical sciences and the amazing ways Chemistry has changed the world, she wants to pursue a PhD. in Chemistry-related fields. At the Patterson Lab, Selene is working on the synthesis and characterization of functionalized block copolymer and their applications to self-assembly and Liquid-Liquid Phase Separations. She is also interested in doing a minor in computer science and engineering to expand her interdisciplinary expertise.
Michelle Mercado
mercadm5@uci.edu
Michelle is from Southern California and is currently pursuing a B.S in Chemical Engineering with a minor in Materials Science Engineering. She is interested in learning more about SAXS, and Polymer Chemistry and its applications in the environment and nanomedicine. After her undergrad, she hopes to pursue a PhD within the subjects of materials science, or chemistry. Outside of academics, Michelle enjoys crocheting, collecting household plants, hiking, and photography.