Arti Sharma
Arti Sharma received her M.Sc. degree in Organic Chemistry (2016) from the Department of Chemistry, Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla, India. Then she joined Dr. Sushil Kumar Maurya’s research group as DST-INSPIRE research fellow in 2017 at the CSIR-Institute of Himalayan bioresource and technology, Palampur, and worked on the total synthesis of bioactive natural products and their analogues. In September 2022, she joined the Dr. Pappas research group as a PhD student, and her current research work focuses on phosphate-driven systems chemistry.
Kun Dai
Kun Dai received his M.Sc. degree from Shaanxi Normal University, China (2017), where he worked on the catalytic conversion of Freon molecules. Later in 2018, he started his doctoral studies entitled ‘Design rules for the chemically fueled self-assembly and disassembly of peptides’ supervised by Prof. Dr. Job Boekhoven at Technische Universität München. Since October 2021, he joined the Pappas Research Group as a postdoctoral researcher, focusing on the development of biologically adaptive and interactive peptides.
Thejus Pramod
Thejus Pramod received his BS-MS degree in chemistry (2022) from Indian institute of science education and research Thiruvananthapuram (IISER TVM). He did his master thesis project with Dr. Kana M. Sureshan (IISER TVM) on topochemical reactions of peptide derived monomers. In March 2023 he joined Dr. Pappas research group as a PhD student and his current research work focuses on construction of active self-assembling materials.
Lenard Saile
Lenard studied chemistry in the binational Bachelor Regio Chimica between the Albert‑Ludwigs‑University of Freiburg and the University of Haute‑Alsace (Mulhouse) and obtained his Licence de chimie and B.Sc. in 2020 for his work on the synthesis of homoallenylalcohols in the group of Prof. Breit. As part of his Master Chemistry studies at the University of Freiburg, Lenard joined the group of Dr. Pappas at the excellence cluster livMatS in 2022, where he obtained his M.Sc. in chemistry in 2023 working on the phase behavior of activated amino acids in aqueous oligomerization. Since January 2024, Lenard is a PhD student exploring the potential of structured fuels in phosphate driven peptide reaction cycles.
Debjyoti Bhattacharjee
Debjyoti Bhattacharjee received his BS-MS degree in chemistry (2024) from Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Kolkata. He pursued his MS Thesis under the supervision of Dr. Biplab Maji (IISER Kolkata) on mechanochemical organic synthesis. In September 2024 he joined the Pappas research group as a PhD student and his current research work focuses on abiotic phosphate fuels capable of undergoing oligomerization and assembly.
Shay Laps
Shay completed his M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Chemistry in the field of protein chemistry focusing on the synthesis of peptides and proteins bearing PTMs at the Technion in 2021. He then continued his scientific journey as a postdoc fellow at the institute of chemistry at the Hebrew University, and the School of Medicine at Stanford. Shay joined our lab in September 2025 and he is working on peptide synthesis with amino acyl phosphates.
Priyaraj Pal
Priyaraj received his BS-MS dual degree in Chemical Sciences with a Minor in Biological Sciences from the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Kolkata in 2025. He conducted his master's thesis under the supervision of Dr. Pradip Kumar Tarafdar, where he investigated the catalytic properties of self-assembled prebiotic amphiphiles and developed methodologies combining vehicular delivery with electrolysis. Fuelled by a drive to understand systems chemistry, Priyaraj joined the Pappas Research Group as a PhD student in September 2025, working on aminoacylation. Outside the lab, Priyaraj enjoys watching motorsports and photography and he is also an enthusiastic food explorer.
Fabien Kohnen
Fabien Kohnen received his B.Sc. in Chemistry from the University of Freiburg in 2024. He joined the Pappas research group in early 2025 as an intern during his M.Sc. studies. Following the successful completion of the livMatS Master Lab program, Fabien is currently conducting research for his master’s thesis within the group, investigating ways of couple acyl phosphates with dynamic chemistries.
Jan Blocki
Jan Blocki obtained his B.Sc. in Chemistry from the Westphalian University of Applied Sciences in Recklinghausen in 2023, building on his earlier training as a chemical-technical assistant, completed in 2020. He is currently pursuing his master’s degree in chemistry at the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg, through which he joined the Pappas Group in 2025 as part of the Master Lab program. His work focuses on investigating selective fueling, driven by self-assembly.
Jiaqi Zhang
Jiaqi Zhang received her B.Sc. degree in chemistry from the China University of Petroleum (East China), China (2020). In 2022, she began her master’s studies at the Albert-Ludwigs-University of Freiburg. In 2024, she joined Dr. Pappas’s group at the excellence cluster LivMatS as an intern during her M.Sc. studies. Currently, she is focusing on catalytic self-assemblies under non-equilibrium conditions for her master’s thesis within the group.