Yi completed her Ph.D. at McGill University with Dr. Bruce Arndtsen, where she developed palladium catalyzed carbonylation reaction for the formation of acyl electrophiles driven by visible light. Prior to that, she completed an M.Sc. at Memorial University of Newfoundland with Dr. Christopher Kozak, studying metal complexes for biodegradable polymer synthesis, and obtained her B.Sc. in Chemistry from Xiangtan University.
After her Ph.D., Yi pursued postdoctoral research at Cornell University and Princeton University with Dr. Todd Hyster, where she explored photochemistry with flavin-dependent enzymes to unlock Csp³–Csp³ cross-coupling reactions.​
Yi’s path has been shaped by her interest in bridging synthetic chemistry with enzymatic catalysis to tackle challenges in organic synthesis.
Dr. Hyejin Lee
Postdoc
Hyejin completed her Ph.D. in chemistry at Duke University under the supervision of Dr. Jiyong Hong. Her doctoral research has primarily focused on the total synthesis of a sesquiterpene lactone and its applications in medicinal chemistry and chemical biology. Before her Ph.D., she earned both a Pharm.D. and an M.S. from Seoul National University. During her master’s studies with Dr. Lak Shin Jeong, she developed modified nucleosides as antiviral agents. This fall, she joined Liu research group to explore biocatalysis.
Outside the lab, she enjoys practicing Aikido and trying new foods.
Dr. Jun Luo
Postdoc
Jun Luo received his Ph.D. in chemistry from Zhejiang University under the supervision of Prof. Bingfeng Shi, where his research focused on transition-metal-catalyzed asymmetric C–H activation and the synthesis of axially chiral molecules. He then conducted postdoctoral research with Prof. Yongming Deng at Indiana University on photocatalytic C(sp³)–H functionalization enabled by pyridine N-oxide–based hydrogen atom transfer and ligand-to-metal charge-transfer strategies.
Jun joined the Liu Group this fall, where his research focuses on developing new catalytic methods with metalloenzymes.
Outside the lab, he enjoys playing ping-pong.
