The Grover Group

Graduate Students

Aynaz Ziadkhani
Ph.D. Candidate
Aynaz was born and raised in Tabriz, a Turkish-speaking city in the Northwest region of Iran, known for its hand-woven rugs. Aynaz received her B.Sc. (2017) and M.Sc. (2019) from Sharif University of Technology (SUT) in pure chemistry and organic chemistry, respectively. In her free time, Aynaz enjoys hiking, watching movies and reading. She joined the Grover group in 2022 and is co-supervised by Dr. Graham Bodwell.

Blake Chislette
Ph.D. Candidate
Blake grew up in Alliston, Ontario, which is famous as the hometown of Sir Fredrick Banting. Blake joined the Grover group in 2022 while pursuing his honours degree and subsequently received his B.Sc. (Honours) from Memorial University in 2023. In his free time, Blake enjoys playing rugby and basketball. Blake is co-supervised by Dr. Graham Bodwell.

Ryan Strickland
M.Sc. Candidate
Ryan grew up in the surrounding communities around St. John’s, Newfoundland. He is currently pursuing his graduate degree at Memorial University in the Grover group, following the completion of his B.Sc. (Honours) in natural product total synthesis. Outside of academics, Ryan is an avid car enthusiast and enjoys exploring local and exciting cuisines. Ryan joined the Grover group in 2023.

Alex Pelley
M.Sc. Candidate
Alex was born in Newfoundland and grew up in the town of Paradise. He took a keen interest in synthetic organic chemistry during his undergraduate studies and began work in the Grover group as a volunteer in his 3rd year of study. He worked as a full-time researcher in the group over the summer of 2024 and 2025, sponsored by an NSERC grant. Alex started his M.Sc. program in fall 2025 with NSERC-CGSM funding and is co-supervised by Dr. Michael Katz. Beyond his academic pursuits, Alex is an accomplished martial artist from Cabot Taekwondo. In his spare time, he enjoys cooking and watching movies with friends.

Undergraduate Students

Macklin Pelley
B.Sc. Honours
Mack grew up in Sydney, Nova Scotia and moved to Mount Pearl when starting his studies at Memorial. Mack joined the Grover group in 2024 after developing an interest in organic chemistry through an introductory course. He is currently enrolled in the B.Sc. Honours program and is conducting a joint project between the Human Biosciences and Chemistry departments. In his free time, Mack enjoys hockey, listening to music, and playing the guitar. Mack is co-supervised by Dr. Sherri Christian (Human Biosciences).

Isabella Watts
B.Sc. Honours
Isabella grew up in Grand Falls-Windsor, Newfoundland. She is currently pursuing her B.Sc (Honours) at Memorial University in the Grover group. After gaining interest in organic chemistry during her undergraduate studies, she joined the group as a volunteer in 2024. Outside of her academic work, she enjoys reading, watching TV, and spending time with friends. 

Nicolaus Mueller
B.Sc. Honours
Nicolaus was born in Toronto and grew up in Conception Bay South, Newfoundland. He is pursuing a B.Sc. (Honours) at Memorial University, where he fell in love with organic chemistry during his second year of undergraduate studies. Outside of university life, he enjoys trying new foods, watching sports, and participating in all forms of outdoor recreation. Nicolaus is co-supervised by Dr. Graham Bodwell.

Evan Boland
B.Sc. MUCEP
Evan was born and raised in St. John’s, Newfoundland, and is currently in his second year of a Bachelor of Science at Memorial University. He developed an interest in organic chemistry during his introductory courses, which led him to begin volunteering in the Grover research group. In his second year, he was awarded a MUCEP research position. Outside of his academics, Evan enjoys rock climbing, camping, and spending time with friends and family.

Interested in joining the Grover group?
Contact Dr. Grover (hgrover @ mun . ca).

Alumni

Iryna Drozd – Mitacs Globalink Research Internship 2025
Salman Bagherzadeh – MSc 2025 – subsequent position: Paraza Pharma Inc.
Khetal Surana – Mitacs Globalink Research Internship 2024 – subsequent position: BSc Institute of Chemical Technology, India
Rafael Goméz – Mitacs Globalink Research Internship 2023 – subsequent position: graduate student at UBC
Kenna Hynes – Undergraduate thesis 2023-2024 – subsequent position: graduate student at MUN
Sima Alavi – PhD 2023 – subsequent position: NuChem
Aabid Bhat – PhD 2023 – subsequent position: OmegaChem
Nathan Tucker – MSc 2022 – subsequent position: bachelor of education at MUN
Mitchell Fagan – Undergraduate thesis 2020-2021 – subsequent position: medical student at MUN
Kirklind Lockyer – MSc Candidate 2019-2020 – subsequent position: medical student at MUN
Daniel Kelly – SURA May-August 2019
Victoria Rose – Undergraduate thesis 2017-2018, NSERC USRA 2018 – subsequent position: graduate student at SFU