Principal Investigator

Sapna Sarupria

she/her

Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry, University of Minnesota

Co-chair, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Committee, Department of Chemistry, University of Minnesota

Other affiliations:

Chair, Computational Molecular Science and Engineering Forum(CoMSEF), AIChE
Vice Chair, Theory Subdivision of Physical Chemistry Division, ACS
Adjunct Associate Professor, Department of Physics, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI
Adjunct Associate Professor, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Clemson University, Clemson, SC

Post-doctoral experience:

2009 - 2011:Department of Chemical Engineering, Princeton University, NJ

Education:

2009 - PhD, Chemical Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Insitute, NY
2004 - MS, Chemical Engineering, Texas A&M University, TX

Salman Bin Kashif

he/him

Research Professional, Department of Chemistry, University of Minnesota

Bio:

Salman graduated with a PhD in Chemical Engineering from Clemson University in Spring 2024. In the SAMPEL lab, he is carrying forward his work on investigating fundamental mechanisms behind fouling and selectivity in nanoporous membranes using molecular simulations. His work has a strong emphasis on developing scientific software and automated workflows.

Porhouy Minh

she/her

PhD student, Department of Chemistry, University of Minnesota

Bio:

Porhouy (PH) received her B.A. in Chemistry (Biochemistry Concentration) from St. Catherine University in Spring of 2021. Within the SAMPEL lab, PH will be investigating nucleation mechanisms of LJ and salt systems via advanced sampling methods. In her free time, she enjoys watching funny (ex: Modern Family) or crime TV shows (ex: Blacklist); while occasionally, goes on hikes too.

Jonathan Zajac

he/him

PhD student, Department of Chemistry, University of Minnesota

Bio:

Jonathan graduated from the University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire in 2020 with a Bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. In the SAMPEL lab, he will be studying molecular features of excipients and their impact on virus stability.

Praveen Muralikrishnan

he/him

PhD student, Department of Chemical Engineering and Material Science, University of Minnesota

Bio:

Praveen received his B.Tech in Chemical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT Madras) in 2021. In the SAMPEL lab, he will be studying the effects of excipients on the thermostability of viruses in vaccines through simulations. Praveen is an avid follower of football (soccer), enjoys traveling and hanging out with his friends in his free time.

Leqian (Tim) Tan

he/him

PhD student, Department of Chemistry, University of Minnesota

Bio:

Tim graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2023 Fall with a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry. In the SAMPEL lab, he will focus on studying molecular dynamics simulations using different sampling schemes. In his free time, he likes to read novels, watch anime and learn about laptop hardware.

Harry Winston Sullivan

he/him

PhD student, Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota

Bio:

Winston graduated from the University of Utah in Fall 2023 with a Bachelor’s degree in Computational Physics. As a member of the SAMPEL lab, he will focus on integrating machine learning with statistical mechanics and molecular dynamics. In his free time, he enjoys writing, exploring math and physics, and diving deep into analytical problems.

Anushka Mitra

she/her

PhD student, Department of Chemistry, University of Minnesota

Bio:

Anushka graduated from Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur in Summer 2025 with a Master’s in Chemistry. In the Sarupria group, she will be working on salt nucleation using enhanced sampling techniques and machine learning. She also enjoys painting, classical dancing and traveling in her free time.

Youcheng Wang

he/him

PhD student, Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota

Bio:

Youcheng graduated from Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) in 2021 with a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry. In the Sarupria group, he will be utilizing molecular simulations to design stable biologics.