THE HANDA RESEARCH GROUP
DR. SACHIN HANDA, PROFESSOR
Schlundt Professor of Chemistry
Education and Training
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Postdoctoral Scholar
Department of Chemistry, University of California, Santa Barbara, 2013 – 2016 -
Ph.D. Chemistry
Oklahoma State University, 2013
Service to Profession
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Associate Editor, ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering
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Editorial Board, Green Chemistry Letters & Reviews
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Editorial Board, Green Chemistry Section, Molecules
Recent External Awards
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2026 Swiss Green & Sustainable Chemistry Award
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• NIH Maximizing Investigators' Research Award (MIRA) (R35) Award (2025)
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2021 NSF CAREER Award
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2018 Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award in Physical Sciences by ORAU
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2018 ACS GCI Pharmaceutical Roundtable Peter J. Dunn Award for Green Chemistry and Engineering Impact in the Pharmaceutical Industry
Background
Sachin Handa hails originally from Patti, Amritsar, the "City of the Golden Temple" in Punjab, India, and more recently from Santa Barbara in the "Golden State" of California where he worked as a Postdoctoral Scholar for Prof. Bruce H. Lipshutz. In between, he continued his association with gold during his Ph.D. studies at Oklahoma State University where his dissertation title was "design and synthesis of novel ligands for tuning of selectivity and reaction pathway in gold catalysis." His main fascination is not with gold, however, but rather with green, as is evinced by his ongoing research focus on environmentally friendly synthetic methodologies.
Dr. Prabhakar Pandey, Postdoctoral Fellow
Karanjeet Kaur, Graduate Student
Karan completed her master's at Guru Nanak Dev University, Punjab, in 2018. She worked as a Research Associate at Jubilant Biosys Ltd., India. She joined the Handa research group in Spring 2022. Her research interests are asymmetric catalysis, electrochemistry, and chemistry in water. She likes to do cartooning and calligraphy.
Ramesh Choudhry, Graduate Student
Ramesh completed his M.S. (pharm) from the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research, Ahmedabad, India. He was a research assistant at Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), India. In the spring of 2023, he started his Ph.D. studies and joined the Handa research group. His research interests are asymmetric synthesis, chemistry in water, ligand synthesis, and sustainable drug discovery. He firmly believes that focus and consistency are the keys to success. He loves cooking spicy potatoes and is fond of eating good food.
Robert Gardner
Reda Zainab, Graduate Student
Reda Zainab is a second-year Ph.D. student and has earned an M.Phil. degree in organic chemistry from Quaid-I-Azam University, Islamabad. With a strong passion for synthetic organic chemistry and research, she enjoys running organic reactions, tackling challenging scientific problems, and exploring new approaches in the laboratory. Beyond her research activities, Reda is dedicated to mentoring and training junior students, helping them develop confidence and technical skills in chemistry. She is also an avid reader who enjoys expanding her knowledge through books. In her free time, she loves traveling and exploring new places, embracing opportunities to learn about different cultures and experiences.
Dhanush Pradeep, Graduate Student
Dhanush completed his Integrated Interdisciplinary M.S. degree from the Institute for Intensive Research in Basic Sciences (IIRBS) at Mahatma Gandhi University in India. His M.S. dissertation work was conducted at CSIR Central Drug Research Institute in India. Later, in the fall of 2023, he joined the Handa research group at the University of Missouri, Columbia. His research interests include chemistry in water, visible light-mediated reactions, and developing technologies useful for organic synthesis. In his free time, he enjoys pencil sketching and painting.
Ashik Chhetri, Graduate Student
Ashik completed his M.S. in Medicinal Chemistry from the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research in Ahmedabad, India. He joined the Handa research group at the University of Missouri in the Spring of 2024. His research interests include chemistry in water, synthesis of novel ligands for sustainable cross-coupling reactions, and asymmetric synthesis. In his free time (which he never has and hopefully will have), he loves writing poetry and gardening.
Amna Akram, Graduate Student
Amna is a graduate student with a background in Physical Chemistry. She completed her M.Phil at Quaid-i-Azam University in Islamabad, Pakistan and joined the Handa research group in the Fall of 2024. Her research focuses on areas such as photocatalysis, electrochemistry, water splitting, chemistry in water, and asymmetric synthesis. Amna is committed to advancing sustainable and environmentally friendly practices through her research endeavors. Her goal is to address critical challenges in chemistry and contribute to innovative solutions for a better tomorrow.
You may be here
Dr. Pritam Dolui
Ashish Dusunge
Tipu Alam
Jagdeep Kaur
Dr. Gurmeet Kaur (Visiting Fellow)
Dr. Gaganpreet Kaur (Postdoc, Boehringer Ingelheim)
Dr. Deborah Ogulu (Process Engineer, Intel, Portland
Dr. Raki Mandal, Pharmaceutical industry in India
Dr. Tharique Ansari (Senior R&D Scientist, MilliporeSigma)
Dr. Sudript Sharma (Advanced R&D Professional, Milliken)
Dr. Susanta Hazra (Faculty at IISc Bangalore, https://ipc.iisc.ac.in/~sh/)
Dr. Gaspard Hedouin (Scientist, NuChem Sciences)
Dr. UYEN DUONG (Process Engineer, GlobalFoundries)
Dr. Justin Smith, Ph.D. 2020
Dr. Pranjal Bora, Postdoc 2019 (Team leader, Jubilant Biosys)
Dr. Amol Gade (Scientist, CSIR-IIM Jammu)
Dr. Manisha Bihani (Team leader, Jubilant Biosys)
Jeremy Brals (Ph.D. student, Chez University)
Armand Taussat (Ph.D. student, ENSEM)
Lucie Finck (Ph.D. student, Berlin Institute of Technology)
Alexis Lamotte (Ph.D. student in France)
Nick Buchbinder (Ph.D. Student, Virginia Tech)
Jackson Mulkins (Undergrad student, UofL)
Behrad Bakhtiari (Medical School, UofL)
Kyla Mitchell (B.S. UofL)
John Liu (Undergrad student, UofL)
Bhavana Pavuluri (Undergrad student, Emory University)
Josh Portillo
Rachel Armstrong (Medical School, UofL)
Jasse Klus (Pharmacy School, UNC Chapel Hill )
David Kline (Medical School, UC)
Graham Reynolds
Jobi Jose (Undergrad Student, Rochester)
Jacob Coates
Megan George
Robert Garner
Tim Trieu (High School)
PAST GROUP MEMBERS
