This summer, we bid farewell to former Teacher-Scholars Mackenzie Anderson and Huiling Shao, and we welcome our newest Teacher-Scholars Anneka Miller Casas and Cindy Sining Wang.
Our Teacher-Scholar program allows postdoctoral scholars to experience research and teaching at the same time as a way to prepare them for future faculty or research positions.
Dr. Mackenzie Anderson (2022-25 Willard F. Libby Teacher-Scholar, Kaner group), will be an Assistant Professor in the chemistry department at Sacramento State University starting in mid-August.
Dr. Huiling Shao (2021-2022 Donald J. Cram Teacher-Scholar, Houk group) will be joining the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department at the California State University, Northridge (CSUN), for the Fall semester.
Dr. Anneka Miller Casas ( 2025-2026 Willard F. Libby Teacher-Scholar, Caram group), joined the Teacher-Scholar Instructional Faculty in July 2025. She will be teaching general and organic chemistry lab classes.
As part of her new position, Casas conducts research in Professor Justin Caram’s lab where she studies the photoluminescence of HgTe quantum dots using single molecule spectroscopy.
Casas received her B.S. degree in chemistry from California State University Long Beach in 2018. As an undergraduate, she conducted research in the Stephen Mezyk lab using fluorescence to study the binding of different lanthanides to various chelating agents. Casas earned her Ph.D. in chemistry at the University of California Irvine in 2024 where she worked in the Nien-Hui Ge group utilizing 2D IR methods to study the dynamics of polymers. Between completing her Ph.D. and beginning her time in our department at UCLA, as an adjunct, Casas taught analytical and general chemistry at California State University Fullerton where she discovered her passion for teaching undergraduate students.
Sining (Cindy) Wang (2025-2026 Paul D. Boyer Teacher-Scholar, Schmitt group) will be joining our Teacher-Scholar Instructional Faculty in November 2025. She will be teaching Biochemistry: Biosynthetic and Energy Metabolism and Its Regulation (153C).
As a part of her new position, Wang will conduct research in Professor Danielle Schmitt’s group, where she will develop genetically encoded tools to study the role of S-adenosylmethionine and one-carbon metabolism in the pathogenesis of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD).
Wang received her B.S. in Biochemistry with a Specialization in Computing from UCLA, where she conducted computational chemistry research in the Houk Lab to study mechanisms of organocatalytic reactions. She is currently finishing her Ph.D. in the Biochemistry, Molecular, and Structural Biology program at UCLA, where she is a joint student in the labs of Professors Catherine Clarke and Steven Clarke. As an associate in the Chemistry-Biology Interface program, her interdisciplinary doctoral research combines computational and experimental enzymology to investigate primary coenzyme Q deficiency caused by mutations in a mitochondrial C-methyltransferase involved in coenzyme Q biosynthesis.
Wang is deeply committed to biochemistry education. As a graduate student, she collaborated with faculty and undergraduate learning assistants in the department to make biochemistry courses more engaging and accessible, while helping students develop core research skills. As a teacher-scholar, she looks forward to continuing this work to design and assess visual and tactile teaching tools.
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Our current Teacher-Scholars Dr. Martin-Louis Riu(2024-25 Donald J. Cram Teacher-Scholar, Nava group) and Dr. Eric Wu (2024-25 Willard Libby Teacher-Scholar, Schwartz group) will continue to teach undergraduate chemistry and biochemistry courses and conduct research in the 2025-26 academic year.
About the Boyer/Cram/Libby Teacher-Scholar Program
The Teacher-Scholar positions honor UCLA Chemistry & Biochemistry Department Nobel Laureates Paul D. Boyer, Donald J. Cram, and Willard F. Libby, and recognize their many contributions to the advancement of chemistry and biochemistry. Boyer/Cram/Libby Teacher-Scholars are expected to serve for three years, with the initial appointment for one year, plus the possibility of renewal annually. They are expected to teach three one-quarter undergraduate chemistry or biochemistry courses during a given academic year and conduct postdoctoral research with a sponsoring faculty member in the UCLA Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry.
About our Former Teacher-Scholars
Our Teacher-Scholars represent the finest educators and researchers in their respective fields. Though we are always sad to say goodbye, we are confident they will continue to make significant contributions to the world.
Dr. Mackenzie Anderson (2022-25 Willard F. Libby Teacher-Scholar, Kaner group) will be an Assistant Professor in the chemistry department at Sacramento State University starting in mid-August.
Dr. Agape Awad (2018-2020 Paul D. Boyer Teacher-Scholar, C. Clarke group) is currently an Extended Studies Biochemistry Professor at the University of California, San Diego Extension.
Dr. Christian Beren (2018-2020 Willard F. Libby Teacher-Scholar, Gelbart/Knobler group) in August 2020, Beren started a position as an assistant teaching professor at the Colorado School of Mines in Chemistry. At Mines, Christian teaches a combination of general chemistry, physical chemistry and biochemistry/biophysics courses.
Dr. Marlius Castillo (2019-2021 Donald J. Cram Teacher-Scholar, García-Garibay group) is currently an Assistant Professor of Instruction in the Department of Chemistry and Physics at the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee.
Dr. Huiling Shao (2021-2022 Donald J. Cram Teacher-Scholar, Houk group), joined the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department at the California State University, Northridge (CSUN), for the Fall 2025 semester.
Dr. Shuming Chen (2016-2019 Donald J. Cram Teacher-Scholar, Houk group) July 2020, Chen accepted a position as Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Oberlin College in Ohio.
Dr. Zhao Li (our first 2016-2019 Willard F. Libby Teacher-Scholar, Lin group) is currently a Lead Data Scientist at dave.com.
Dr. Rajat Maji (2023-2024 Donald J. Cram Teacher-Scholar, Doyle group) is currently conducting research in Professor Abigail Doyle’s group as a NIH Pathway to independence award (K99/R00) postdoctoral fellow.
Dr. Anish Nag (2019-2021 Paul D. Boyer Teacher-Scholar, Gelbart group) started a new position as Process Development Scientist-Drug Product Technology at Amgen in Thousand Oaks in August 2021. His position is within the pre-pivotal stage manufacturing group and involves process optimization of drug candidates.
Dr. Sharon Neufeldt (our first 2013-2016 Donald J. Cram Postdoctoral Teacher-Scholar, Houk group) is currently an associate professor of chemistry at Montana State University.
Dr. Rachel Prado (2017-2019 Donald J. Cram Teacher-Scholar, Bouchard group) In 2019, Prado returned to her home state of Alabama to accept an organic chemistry and biochemistry lecturer position at Auburn University.
Dr. Roshini Ramachandran (2017-2019 Paul D. Boyer Teacher-Scholar, Spokoyny group) is currently an assistant professor in the biology & chemistry department at the California State University Monterey Bay. She continues to collaborate with UCLA faculty members. In 2025, Ramachandran and UCLA Professor Chong Liu were awarded a $137,000 grant through the AI Funding for Accelerated Study and Transformation (FAST) Challenge.
Dr. Jacquelin Kammeyer Woodford (our first 2016-2019 Paul D. Boyer Teacher-Scholar, Maynard group) is a Lecturer in Chemistry at Wellesley College.
Information above as of 07/17/25. Please send any updates to Penny Jennings, UCLA Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, penjen@g.ucla.edu.
