Meet the team
Meet the team
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About Max
About Max
Max Majireck is currently Professor of Chemistry at Hamilton College and an Affiliate Faculty Member at Masonic Medical Research Institute. He was also Director of the Biochemistry/Molecular Biology Program from 2019-2026. Born and raised in the South Hills of Pittsburgh, Max earned a B.S. in Biochemistry at Grove City College in 2005. There, he found his passion for synthetic chemistry while spending three years conducting inorganic synthesis research with Prof. Chuck Kriley, and one summer in Prof. Ian Rothwell's group at Purdue University. A brief flirtation with chemical engineering via a summer internship at CONSOL Energy confirmed that Max is better with a lab coat and flask than a hard hat and wrench. Following this, Max pursued his true passion of organic synthesis, earning a Ph.D. in 2011 under the guidance of Prof. Steven Weinreb while working on a variety of total synthesis and methodology projects. Desiring to solve problems in biology and medicine using synthetic chemistry, Max worked as a postdoctoral fellow in Prof. Stuart Schreiber's lab at Harvard University and The Broad Institute from 2011-13 where he was selected for a Leukemia & Lymphoma Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship. By mentoring younger lab members and interns over the years, Max developed a passion for teaching and mentorship that brought him back to his small liberal arts college roots. In 2013, Max was appointed as faculty at Hamilton College, earning tenure in 2019 along with multiple teaching and research awards. Outside of work, Max enjoys playing in a dad rock band, making music with his daughter, going on dates with his wife, camping, drinking too much coffee, and free food of any kind.
Photo credit: Nancy Ford
AWARDS AND HONORS
2025-2028 National Science Foundation RUI Grant
2025 Samuel and Helen Lang Prize for Excellence in Teaching
2022-2025 National Science Foundation RUI Grant
2022-2024 American Heart Association Institutional Research Enhancement Award (AIREA) (with Co-PI Dr. Khanh Ha, MMRI)
2022 Early Career Achievement Award; Hamilton College
2021-2022 Organic Syntheses, Inc. PUI Summer Research Grant
2019 Levitt Center Research & Innovation Award
2017 New York Six (NY6) New Academic Working Group Seed Grant
2015 Class of 1963 Excellence in Teaching Award; Hamilton College
2015 Social Innovation and Transformational Leadership Grant; Sponsored by the Levitt Center & DOF at Hamilton College
2014 Class of 1966 Career Development Award; Hamilton College
Meet the team (2026-27 academic year)
Meet the team (2026-27 academic year)
All team members are undergraduates at Hamilton College
Majireck Group Summer '25
Majireck Group Summer '25
At the Clinton farmer's market!
Majireck Group Summer '26
Majireck Group Summer '26
Lily Bridgers
Major: Chemistry
Favorite Snack: Trader Joe's chocolate covered pretzels
Team Leucolusine
Lucas Constantine
Major: BMB
Favorite Musical Artist: Bruce Springstein
Team MMRI
Priyanka Challapalli
Major: Environmental Studies
Favorite Cereal: Cap'n Crunch
Team Trudeau
Lydia DeTraglia
Major: Chemistry
Favorite Subject: Organic Chemistry
Team MMRI
Caleb Goldstein
Major: Chemistry
Favorite Subject: Organic Chemistry
Team Pyridine
Alice Lee
Major: Chemistry
Favorite Song: Carousel by Laufey
Team Pyridine
Rejoice Muleya
Major: BMB
Favorite Thing: TBD
Team Trudeau
Bobby Nicholson
Major: BMB
Favorite Team: Steelers
Team Pyridine
Clara Paolucci
Major: BMB
Favorite Food: Maple Syrup
Team Trudeau
Aksel Reid
Major: BMB
Favorite Subject: Organic Chemistry
Team MMRI
Walter Scheri
Major: BMB
Favorite Team: Steelers
Team Pyridine
Kristin Vosswinkel
Major: BMB
Favorite Subject: Organic Chemistry
Team Pyridine
Christina Xue
Major: Chemistry
Favorite Subject: Organic Chemistry
Team Leucolusine
We are grateful to our collaborators, without whom we could not work in the following areas:
The Laboratories of Dr. Khanh Ha and Dr. Jason McCarthy - Masonic Medical Research Institute (Utica, NY) - Molecular Imaging Agents for Cardiovascular Disease
The Laboratories of Dr. Michaelle Chojnacki and Dr. Brian Weinrick - Trudeau Institute (Saranac Lake, NY) - Infectious Disease Drug Discovery
Prof. Mackenzie Cooley (Hamilton College) - History of Organic Chemistry, Natural Products, and Medicine
Past and Present Group Members
Past and Present Group Members
Class Year – Student Name (Major)
2014 – Katie Weinert-Stein (Chemistry)
2014 – Chris Whiting (Chemical Physics)
2015 – Kathleen Allen (Chemistry, Math)
2015 – Sky Aulita (Chemistry)
2015 – Tina Choinski (Chemistry)
2015 – Esther Cleary (Chemistry)
2016 – John Bennett (Chemistry, Math)
2016 – Michael Dyer (Neuroscience)
2016 – Hannah Ferris (BMB)
2016 – Alex Kaplan (BMB, Hispanic Studies)
2016 – Yingbin Mei (BMB)
2016 – Ben Wesley (BMB)
2017 – Ben Schafer (Chemistry, Physics)
2017 – Jon Shapiro (Chemistry)
2017 – Chris Williams (Chemistry)
2017 – Sharif Shrestha (BMB, Economics)
2018 – Alex Betrus (Chemistry)
2018 – Justin Sonberg (BMB)
2018 – Mackenzie Morshead (BMB, Art)
2018 – Catherine Lyndaker (Chemistry)
2018 – Jack Goodman (Chemistry)
2018 – Caitlin Anthony (BMB)
2018 – Giovanny Dominguez (Chemistry)
2018 – Sofia Rachad (Economics)
2019 – Phoebe Keyes (Chemistry)
2019 – Olivia Simone (Chemistry)
2019 – Danielle Rodrigues (BMB)
2019 – Emily DeJong (BMB)
2019 – Ashna Lalwani (BMB)
2020 – Alisha Blades (Chemistry)
2020 – Danielle McConnell (Chemistry)
2020 – Caroline Sullivan (BMB)
2020 – Amar Kassim (BMB)
2020 – Carlos Espindola Gomez
2020 – Paul Hart (BMB)
2020 – Kristin Hughes (Chemistry)
2021 – Amy Glanzer (Chemistry)
2021 – Holly Hutchinson (Chemistry)
2021 – David Opozda (BMB)
2021 – Ashley Thayaparan (Neuroscience)
2022 – Karly Leiman (Neuroscience)
2022 – Maurice Tang (BMB)
2022 – Bella Bote (Art History)
2022 – Zoe Krevlin (Environmental Studies)
2022 – Eva Abel (BMB)
2022 – Jake Ryan (Chemistry)
2022 – Caleb Phelan (Chemistry)
2022 – Joel Adade (Chemistry)
2023 – Arpita Banik (Biology)
2023 – Lucy Kiernat (BMB)
2023 – Yasin Haffary (Biology)
2023 – Sambhat Bandari (Biology)
2023 – Luke Cohen-Abeles (BMB)
2023 – Stephen Cho (BMB)
2023 – Khady Gueye (BMB)
2024 – Alex Szyperek (Chemistry)
2024 – John Frank (Chemistry, Philosophy)
2024 – Kimberly Chase (BMB)
2024 – Mark Fakler (Philosophy)
2024 – Naima Akter (BMB)
2024 - Annie Kennedy (Chem)
2024 - Zoe Katz (BMB)
2025 – Chrissy Crespo (Art, BMB)
2025 – Will Strutton (Math, BMB)
2025 – Christie Lam (BMB)
2025 – Ryan Rahman (BMB)
2025 - Joe Kubofcik (BMB)
2025 - Dasomie Kim (BMB)
2025 - Jeffrey Cheng (Econ, BMB)
2025 - Maddie Boger (Math)
2026 – Prim Udomphan (Chemistry)
2026- Carolyn Levin (Art, BMB)
2026 - Jordan Merklin (BMB)
2026 - Elise Kwon (BMB)
2026 - Andy Hohman (History)
2026 - Beau Sinardo (BMB)
2026 - Arshdeep Kaur (Biology)
2026 - Yuxuan Xu (Neuroscience)
2026 - Meredith Jenny (Chemistry)
2026 - Claire Cooper (BMB)
2026 - Thomas Sheft (BMB)
2026 - Ari Dougal (BMB)
2026 - Sarah Creamer (BMB)
2026 - Alinur Jaboldinov (BMB)
2026 - David Petz (BMB)
2026 - Ben Keppler (BMB)
2027 - Rejoice Muleya (BMB)
2027 - Christina Xue (Chemistry)
2027 - Priyanka Challapalli (Environmental Studies)
2027 - Bobby Nicholson (BMB)
2027 - Walter Scheri (BMB)
2027 - Kristin Vosswinkel (BMB)
2027 - Lucas Constatine (BMB)
2027 - Aksel Reid (BMB)
2028 - Clara Paolucci (BMB)
2028 - Caleb Goldstein (Chemistry)
2028 - Alice Lee (Chemistry)
2028 - Lydia Detraglia (Chemistry)
2029 - Lily Bridgers (Chemistry)
*BMB = Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Group member placement after graduation
Graduate School
Boston University, Colorado State University, Cambridge University, Columbia University, George Washington, Harvard University, New York University, North Carolina University, Oregon State, Pennsylvania State University, Purdue University, The Scripps Research Institute, UC Berkeley, University of Connecticut, University of Maryland, University of Michigan, University of Minnesota, University of Pittsburgh, University of Rochester, University of San Diego, University of Vermont, Vanderbilt University, Weill-Cornell
Health Professions
Albert Einstein, Case Western, Colorado State University, Dartmouth, Emory University, Florida Atlantic University, Mayo Clinic, Pennsylvania State University, Rosalind Franklin Institute, SUNY Downstate, SUNY Upstate, UCLA, University of Massachusetts Amherst, University of Rochester, Wake Forest
Industry
Cleantech Open, EMD Serrano, Epic, Neurocrine, Novartis, Regeneron, + several biotech startups
Research Assistantships and Fellowships
Beaumont Research Institute, Bigelow Laboratory, Boston Sports and Shoulder, Bristol Fellowship, Broad Institute of Harvard & MIT, Buck Institute for Research on Aging, Los Alamos National Laboratory, National Institutes of Health, Massachusetts General Hospital, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, University of Pennsylvania, Watson Foundation, Yale University
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