Group Members
Postgraduate Students
Marwa Omar
About me: I was born and raised in Libya, and in 2014 I moved to New Zealand to pursue my Master’s studies. I completed my MSc at Auckland University of Technology (AUT) in 2018 under the supervision of Prof. Nicola Brasch. My research experience during this time strengthened my passion for the field and motivated me to continue developing my skills as a researcher. I am now delighted to be pursuing my PhD with Prof. Brasch at AUT, where my work focuses on developing Vitamin B12 conjugates.
Other interests: Outside of research, I enjoy drawing, nature walks, reading, and cooking.
Megha Baburaj Sijarani
About me: I was born and grew up in India, where I completed my B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Chemistry. Driven by a strong interest in medicinal chemistry, I pursued an additional Master’s in Drug Discovery Science at the University of Sheffield, UK. The coursework and research during this programme further deepened my interest in the field and led me to continue my academic journey in this area. I feel incredibly fortunate to have joined Prof. Nicola Brasch’s research group at AUT. My work focuses on developing Vitamin B12 conjugates to address the global challenge – antimicrobial resistance (AMR) under her guidance.
Other interests: Drawing, nature walks, reading and cooking.
Fathima Nimra Abdul Haleem
About me: I was born and grew up in Sri Lanka and moved to New Zealand to pursue my Ph.D. in Chemistry at AUT. I am a B.Sc. (Hons) Chemistry graduate from the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka, and right after graduation, I worked as a teaching assistant in Chemistry for two leading universities in my country. I then started my career as a research scientist, but I always had a passion to continue my higher studies in Chemistry. I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to join the Brasch group. Currently, I am working on photoactive HNO donor molecules under the supervision of Prof. Nicola Brasch.
Other interests: Travelling and cooking.
Anau Lautaha
About me: Malo e Lelei, I was born and grew up on the Island of Vava’u, Tonga. I moved to New Zealand after my high school years and completed a BSc in Applied Chemistry at AUT. I started out my career as a Laboratory technician for a couple of years but took a turn to pursue teaching Science at the High School level. I completed a Postgraduate Diploma in Education at the University of Auckland and after years of teaching, I decided to further my education. I completed a Master of Science (Research) last year at AUT, working with Professor Allan Blackman on “Studying of Transition Metal Complexes Containing Pentaamine Ligands”. To further my curiosity and passion for Science and Research, I am now working with Prof. Nicola Brasch in exploring the photogeneration of HNO from photocaged molecules.
Undergraduate Students
TBA