Post Docs
Luana Cardinale
Luana obtained her PhD from the University of Hamburg in 2021 under the supervision of Prof. Axel Jacobi von Wangelin, where her research focused on developing photoredox reactions, including methodologies leveraging 4-substituted Hantzsch esters for the functionalization of alkenes and imines. She then joined the research group of Prof. Shannon Stahl at the University of Wisconsin–Madison as a postdoctoral researcher, where she worked on electrochemical nickel-catalyzed cross-electrophile coupling reactions. In July 2026, Luana joined the Gouverneur group as a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellow. Her current research interests lie at the interface of electrochemistry, catalysis, and synthetic methodology development. Outside the laboratory, Luana enjoys hiking in the mountains, reading fantasy novels, and treasure hunting at local flea markets.
Zijun Chen
Zijun Chen did her MChem at Merton College before joining the VG group; investigating the reconstruction of 31P spectroscopic imaging in vivo in her Part II project. Her DPhil was focused on the copper-mediated radiosynthesis of 18F- and 123I-radiolabelled PARP inhibitors. She enjoys powerlifting and running in her free time.
Joseph Ford
Joe grew up in Reading and graduated with First Class honours in Chemistry from the University of Oxford in 2019. During the summer of 2018 he worked in the lab of Prof. Tobias Ritter, Max Planck Institut für Kohlenforschung, on the late stage trifluoromethylation of arenes, followed by his Part II year in the Gouverneur Group, where he worked on organocatalytic nucleophilic fluorination. He joined the SBM CDT in September 2019 and completed a rotation in the Duarte group, before rejoining the Gouverneur group in July 2020. In his spare time, he enjoys travelling, going to the pub and trying to speak German.
Chris Goult
Chris is originally from Bradford and moved to the University of York for his MChem degree. During his final year project, he worked on the outer-sphere electrophilic fluorination of organometallic ruthenium complexes. After completing his undergraduate study, he completed his PhD working with Prof Jason Lynam and Dr John Slattery using solid-state NMR spectroscopy, in tandem with computational chemistry, to characterise and interpret metal-carbon bonding in organometallic species. After completing his PhD, he has undertaken post-doctoral studies with Prof Duncan Bruce on the direct preparation of cyclo-aurated liquid crystalline complexes using microwave activation. He then completed further post-doctoral studies with Dr Luke Wilkinson, working on the preparation of quadruply bonded dimolybdenum paddlewheel complexes and their functionalisation and assembly into conductive continuous materials. He joined the Gouverneur research group in January 2023. In my free time he enjoys walking, wildlife, and whisky.
Thomas Hohmann
Thomas completed his undergraduate studies in Chemistry at Freie Universität Berlin, specialising in synthetic organic chemistry. Intrigued by the potential of fluorine chemistry, he pursued doctoral research at the same institution under the supervision of Prof. Beate Koksch starting in February 2020. During his PhD, he transitioned to peptide chemistry, working with highly fluorinated peptide models, and exploring fluorine-directed peptide-peptide interactions. In April 2024, Thomas joined the Gouverneur group as a postdoctoral researcher. Outside the laboratory, Thomas enjoys travelling, watching movies, diving into books, and German beer.
Anirban Mondal
Dr Anirban Mondal grew up in Kolkata, the city of joy in the eastern part of India. He then did his master's thesis at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai, under the supervision of Prof. Debabrata Maiti and Rodney A. Fernandes. During his master's research, he studied "Directing group-assisted meta- and para-C-H functionalization of arenes by different template-based assembly" and "Total synthesis of the antitumor agent asteriscunolide." In 2016, he joined the group of Prof. Ben L. Feringa, 2016 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, at the University of Groningen for his doctoral research. His PhD thesis is specialized in various chirality transfer processes in the development of chemically driven molecular machines and asymmetric catalysis. After completing his PhD and a short stay in the Feringa group as guest researcher, he joined the Gouverneur group in 2022 as Postdoctoral Research Associate, in the field of asymmetric fluorination. In his spare time, he likes to meet with others, play cricket, and solve crystal structures.
Ella Ogilvy
Ella grew up in Glasgow and completed an MChem, graduating in 2021 from the University of Edinburgh. During her time in Edinburgh, she was a summer student in the group of Prof. Guy Lloyd-Jones working on the synthesis of fluorinated photo-switches. Her final year was spent at ETH Zürich under the supervision of Prof. Peter Chen working on experimental gas-phase and DFT methods to investigate Cu-catalysed C-H carboxylations using CO2. Prior to this, in 2018, she worked in the lab of Prof. Hermann Wegner at Justus-Liebig University, Giessen synthesising phthalazine derivatives for use in redox flow batteries. Ella joined the Gouverneur group in October 2021 to begin her DPhil in Organic Chemistry. When not in the lab, Ella enjoys playing in orchestras, baking, and hiking.
Johanna Schlögl
Johanna grew up in Berlin, where she also completed her undergraduate studies in Chemistry at Freie Universität Berlin under the supervision of Prof. Sebastian Hasenstab-Riedel, working on the synthesis of perfluorinated peroxides and organosilver(II) complexes. After a short research stay at the University of St. Andrews in the group of Prof. David O’Hagan in 2020, she returned to the Riedel group in 2021 with a Kekulé scholarship from the VCI and obtained her PhD in 2025. In her thesis, titled: “The Tritylium Tale: From Lewis superacids and superelectrophiles to luminescent radicals”, she explored the colourful and bright world of perhalofluorinated triphenylmethyl species employing the fluorine substituent to alter chemical reactivity and physical properties. Following her PhD, she took up a postdoctoral position in the group of Prof. Thomas Risse setting up a spatially-resolved operando-EPR experiment. In October 2026, she joined the Gouverneur group with a Feodor Lynen Research Fellowship from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. Her current research interests lie in sustainable inorganic chemistry, particularly using mechanochemical approaches. In her spare time, Johanna is usually knitting when she is not playing the violin in an orchestra.
Chao Wang
Chao grew up in Jiangsu, a beautiful region in southeastern China, where he achieved his master’s degree. He then obtained his PhD at University of Cincinnati in 2025 under the supervision of Prof. Wei Liu, where he worked on developing copper catalyzed C-C bond formation methodologies and applying them to radiosynthesis. He was fully trained to conduct radio-reactions at NIH (USA) when he was a visiting researcher in Dr. Victor Pike group in 2024. After spending one more year in Liu group at Virginia Tech after graduation, Chao joined the Gouverneur group as a postdoctoral research associate in October 2026, looking forward to continuing his research on transition metal mediated F-18 and C-11 labeling for PET imaging. When he is free, he likes playing basketball and meeting with friends.
Alan Wortman
Alan is originally from College Station, Texas. He began studying chemistry at Texas A&M University where he performed research under Prof. David Powers investigating hypervalent iodine species as catalytic intermediates for oxidative reactions. During his undergraduate studies, he also worked briefly in the lab of Prof. Tobias Ritter at the Max Planck Institut für Kohlenforschung developing new methods for trifluoromethylation using aryl thianthrenium salts. After completing his B.S., he moved to the University of Michigan where he completed his Ph.D. studies with Prof. Corey Stephenson investigating the development of high-throughput technologies for enabling flow photochemistry. In September 2024, Alan joined the Gouverneur group as a postdoctoral researcher where he will be studying new methods for radiolabeling. Outside of the laboratory, Alan enjoys running, photography, and going to concerts.