Dr. Valerio Cataldi| Postdoctoral Researcher: February 2025 - December 2025
Born and raised in Rome, Valerio achieved his BSc Degree in Chemistry at Sapienza University of Rome in 2017. He subsequently enrolled for the “Organic and Biomolecular Chemistry” Master’s Degree, which he completed in 2019. In his MSc thesis, Valerio worked in the field of supramolecular chemistry, dealing with the synthesis and study of a molecular switch with autonomous motion. In 2020 he joined the McGouran Group at Trinity College Dublin to pursue a PhD focused on peptidic Activity Based Probes to target deubiquitinating enzymes. Valerio moved to Montréal to join the Moitessier Group in 2025 as a postdoctoral researcher working on the synthesis of BRAF inhibitors. When not in the lab, Valerio can be found pursuing his passion for cycling and hiking or (most probably) home playing videogames!
Key Projects: BRAF inhibitors

Dr. Ho Ying Huang (Kay)| PhD Student: January 2021 - December 2025
Born and raised in Hong Kong, Kay completed her BSc in Chemistry at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. To jump out of the comfort zone, she then came to Montréal to pursue her MSc in Chemistry at Concordia University. She worked on polymers and lanthanide-doped nanoparticles for antibacterial application. She continues her PhD in Chemistry as a member of Prof. Moitessier’s group. In her spare time, she enjoys playing badminton, violin and petting all kinds of dogs that you have!
Key Projects: AID inhibitors as leukemia therapeutics, FAP/POP dual inhibitors as novel potential anticancer agents

Dr. Anne Labarre| PhD Student: September 2018 - June 2025
Anne was born and raised in Montreal. She obtained her BSc. in Pharmacology at McGill, but then switched to Chemistry to pursue a PhD in 2018. She is working on the computer-aided design of inhibitors for DPP8/9, two proteins involved in tumor regression via up-regulation of the immune system. Anne is also very active with the McGill Chemistry Outreach group where she, every other day, likes to blow up a thing or two. In her free time, she enjoys swimming laps, fishing fish and eating delightfully delicious and ethereally exquisite food.
Key Projects: DPP8/DPP9 cancer immunotherapy, POP in Parkinson's disease

Dr. Chris Wang| PhD Student: September 2019 - March 2025
Born in Shanxi, China, Chris moved to Canada to pursue his BSc and MSc. at the University of Manitoba. In September 2019 he joined the Moitessier group to work on overcoming metabolic drug resistance by computer-based rational design, with a focus on diaminopimelate decarboxylase. In his free time, Chris loves plants and animals! He will pet any pets you have, even if it is a danger noodle. And of course, he loves chemistry, especially the home chemistry that leads to a BOOM!
Key Projects: Overcoming Metabolic Drug Resistance by Computer-Based Rational Design

Dr. Julia Stille| PhD Student: September 2017 - July 2024
Born and raised in Ottawa, Julia obtained her B.Sc. Hon. degree from the U.of Toronto in chemistry. After graduation, she spent a year working in the drug discovery department at the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research. She then joined the Moitessier lab in 2017 to work on computer-aided drug design, with applications toward the treatment of leukemia and bacterial infections. In her spare time, she enjoys running, taking tennis lessons, and painting (by numbers). Her favourite element is the element of surprise – Ah!
Key Projects: AID inhibitors as leukemia therapeutics, riboswitch-targeting antibiotics and SARS-VoC2 3CLpro inhibitors

Dr. Sharon Pinus| PhD Student: September 2017 - March 2024
Sharon also known as Sharon Penguin or Shevron Pingus was born in Bonn, Germany, but grew up in Tel-Aviv, Israel. She obtained her BSc. degree from Tel-Aviv University in Chemistry and Biology (double major). In 2017 she joined the Moitessier group to work on the computer aided design of asymmetric catalysts. The current focus is on the organocatalyzed Diels-Alder cycloaddition and the Shi-epoxidation. In her free time she likes to jump to conclusions, go to the gym, pet ALL THE DOGS, bake (and eat) cookies, and read books.
Key Projects: Asymmetric organocatalysis and medicinal chemistry

Charles Xiaocong Zhang | MSc Student: September 2020 - December 2022
Charles was born in Beijing, China, but he has been living in Montreal since 2011. He obtained a BSc in Honours Chemistry at McGill University. During his undergraduate studies, he completed an honours project under the supervision of Dr. James Gleason, working on organocatalytic enantioselective Cope rearrangements. He chose to stay at McGill for graduate studies and joined the Moitessier group in 2020. In his free time, he enjoys playing badminton, watching movies, singing at karaoke, and playing video games. He also likes meeting people from all around the world and talking about different languages and cultures.
Key Projects: computer-aided design and synthesis of SARS-CoV2 PLpro and 3CLpro inhibitors.

Maya Sinclair| Undergraduate Student: May 2025 - August 2025
Biography.
Key Projects: TBD

Grace Cosby| Undergraduate Student: May 2024 - April 2025
Born and raised in Ottawa, Grace is completing her final year of undergrad at McGill University studying biophysical chemistry with a minor in general management. She is working on her honours project in the Moitessier Lab to gain experience with computational chemistry. In her free time, Grace enjoys skating, puzzling, and deal-hunting at Costco.
Key Projects: HTEQ

Nicholas Weiss| Undergraduate Student: May 2024 - February 2025
Nick was born in raised in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. He is currently an undergraduate student at McGill University studying biophysical chemistry with a minor in computer science. Nick joined the Moitessier group to gain experience with computational chemistry and is working on machine learning for RNA therapeutics. In his free time, he enjoys hiking, biking, videogames, and spending time with friends.     
Key Projects: AI for RNA therapeutics and Multitask GNN for ADME