The Knight Group
Graduate Students
Ben Allen (he/him)
bpallen at live.unc.edu
Benjamin Allen grew up in the town of Houma, Louisiana before attending Louisiana State University where he received his undergraduate degree in Chemistry with a concentration in Biochemistry. While at LSU, Ben was a part of “The Golden Band from Tigerland” as a trumpeter, cheering on the Tigers across the southeastern conference. His research interests lie at the interface of biology and materials chemistry, using microscopy to study nanoparticle formation. Outside of lab work, Ben attends concerts at the fantastic venues around the Research Triangle area and locals for Smash Ultimate (he is a Cpt. Falcon main).
Matthew Sanders (he/him)
mas167 at live.unc.edu
Matt grew up in Philadelphia, PA before attending Duke University (our blue is best) earning a double major in German and Chemistry. While at Duke he pursued research in synthesizing unsymmetrical sulfamides for use in radical-mediated chlorine atom transfer. If he wasn’t studying he could be found marching in the Duke University Marching Band. After graduation, he moved right down the road to pursue his PhD at UNC. While not in lab, you will find him playing his saxophone, running on campus, or getting heckled for wearing Duke apparel.
Kevin Coghlan (he/him)
kcoghlan at live.unc.edu
Kevin is a graduate student in the polymer division from Duxbury, Massachusetts. In May of 2020, received his B.S. in chemistry with a minor in biology from Northeastern University. While at Northeastern, he worked with Dr. Rein Kirss on developing improved NMR methods for catalytic rate determination. Kevin also worked with medicinal chemistry at Goldfinch Biopharma and food coatings at Mori during his two undergraduate co-ops. Outside of lab, he spends his time swimming, running, and avidly supporting Boston sports teams.
Peter Dykeman-Bermingham (he/him)
peterdb at live.unc.edu
Peter joined the Knight Group in the Fall of 2020 as a graduate student in the organic division. Originally from New Hampshire, he completed his undergraduate studies at Middlebury College in Vermont with a Biochemistry degree and a History minor. His undergraduate research in the Byers Lab was in pursuit of semi-conductive polymers. After graduating, Peter joined Affinivax – a vaccine biotech in Cambridge, MA – as a Process Development Research Associate working on a lead Pneumococcus vaccine. Now pursuing his PhD, he is excited to develop biomimetic properties in synthetic materials! He spends much of his free time debating his capacity to get a dog and is openly soliciting opinions on that matter.
Matthew Bogen (he/him)
mbogen at live.unc.edu
Matthew is a graduate student in the polymer division from Canfield, Ohio. He received his undergraduate degree in Chemistry from Westminster College in Pennsylvania, where he pursued research on luminescent lanthanide metal complexes and the extraction of lanthanides from end-of-life technology. Outside of the lab, you might find him watching NBA basketball, playing the newest video games, reading comic books, or ranting about how much he loves the city of Cleveland and its various sports teams.
Supraja Chittari (she/her)
suprajac at live.unc.edu
Supraja is a joint student with the Zhiyue Lu group studying nonequilibrium dynamics in self-assembly of thermosensitive materials. Supraja also contributes statistics and ML algorithms to other projects in our group. In her spare time, Supraja enjoys baking, gardening, Indian classical dance, and (slow) half-marathoning.
Nicholas Calzadilla (he/him)
nical at unc.edu
Nicholas is an organic division graduate student who was born, raised, and went to undergrad in Miami, Florida. At the University of Miami, he was heavily involved in orientation programs and chemistry tutoring, eventually graduating with a BS in Health Science and Chemistry. His early research experience focused on responsive disulfide linked polymer-drug nanoparticles for cancer therapy, and he looks forward to expanding his polymer and organic knowledge in the Knight group as a UNC Eastman Fellow. In his free time, Nick enjoys jamming to new music, going to theme parks, and spending time with friends.
Abby Gringeri (she/her)
gringeri at unc.edu
Abby grew up in northern New Jersey and received her B.A. in Biochemistry at the University of Pennsylvania. While an undergraduate, she worked in Dr. David Chenoweth’s lab synthesizing novel procollagen mimics and peptide macrocycles. She is excited to continue exploring bioinspired materials and self-assembly with the Knight lab’s hybrid peptide-polymer amphiphiles. Abby has volunteered with the nonprofit Body Empowerment Project since 2021 to design and implement eating-disorder prevention programs for students, and she is president of the organization’s UNC chapter. Outside of the lab, she enjoys running, art, and playing with her cat.
Bridgette Poff (she/her)
bpoff at unc.edu
Bridgette is a graduate student in the organic division from southwest Virginia. She received her undergraduate degree in chemistry from Roanoke College, where she conducted research focused on developing palladium-catalyzed reactions. When not in the lab, she enjoys hiking, lifting weights, and playing pickleball.
Jaina Bemis (she/her)
jainabe at unc.edu
Jaina grew up in Alton, Illinois before attending Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. There, she spent her time doing electrochemistry research and exploring her passion of "thoughtful arguing" through debate, eventually earning her BS in Forensic Chemistry in 2023. Her current research interest lies in the high-throughput analysis of peptoids. When not in the lab, you can find her crocheting, baking, or playing board games with friends.
Will Swofford (he/him)
wswoffo at unc.edu
Will is a graduate student in the polymer division originally from Greensboro, NC. He completed his undergraduate degree in Chemistry at Appalachian State University (Roll Neers') where he worked in Al Schwab's lab on coordination polymers. Will also worked in coatings chemistry at Axalta Coatings Systems for 3 summer internships. Outside of lab, you can find him mountain biking, hiking, snowboarding, or playing video games!
Undergraduate Students
Kathleen Ready
Kathleen Ready is a first year biochemistry major from Dallas, Texas. She is interested in the intersection of biochemistry and polymer chemistry with medicine. In her free time you can find Kathleen dancing, playing the violin in a Latin music ensemble, or going on runs with friends.
Jack Foley
Jack Foley is a Biology and Chemistry double major from Winston-Salem, NC. He is interested in understanding how polymers can be used to refine industrial catalysis, with a goal to reduce the footprint of chemical manufacturing. You might see Jack around Chapel Hill reading on the quad, watching Wisconsin Sports, chatting about video games and movies, or discovering new music at Cat’s Cradle.
Savannah Grizzard
Savannah Grizzard is a first-year Chemistry major and hopeful Gillings School of Global Public Health student in Environmental Health Science. She hopes to specialize in preventing and alleviating water contamination, especially as it pertains to children’s medicine, and is studying organic polymer chemistry as a route to do so. Savannah is from Boone, North Carolina, and spends her free time dancing, reading, and hiking!
Kevin O’Keefe
Kevin O’Keefe is a chemistry major on the polymer track with a French minor from Scituate, MA. He is interested in the potential uses of polymer chemistry to affect biological systems. Outside the lab, he enjoys swimming and is involved in the Carolina International Relations Association.