Semira Bener, Ph.D.
Semira was born and raised in Istanbul, Turkey. She obtained a B.S in chemistry from Istanbul University. Semira then completed her MSc. in the department of chemistry at Istanbul Technical University (ITU) where she studied physical properties of chitosan/graphene oxide composite films. For her PhD, she worked with Prof. Dr. Yusuf Yagci at ITU, focusing on photopolymerization and hyperbranched polymers. In October 2021, she joined the Sedlacek polymer group as a post-doctoral fellow to expand her polymer chemistry knowledge focusing on the development of functional, stimuli responsive polymeric architectures via RAFT and PISA. Outside of the lab, she is a tango dancer. Besides, she attended culinary arts academy in Istanbul and enjoys cooking/baking.

Vyshakh Manayath Panakkal
I was born and brought up in Kerala, the southern part of India and obtained my master’s degree at the University of Rennes 1, France. I worked on ring-opening polymerization using an organometallic catalyst with an industrial collaboration at the Institute des Sciences Chimiques de Rennes. For my PhD, I am excited to synthesize polymer nanoparticles with potential biomedical applications using polymerization-induced self-assembly (PISA). Besides academics, I enjoy cooking and landscape photography.

Olena Paiuk
I obtained my master’s degree in the chemistry of food additives and cosmetic products at Lviv Polytechnic National University in 2015. Afterward, I continued with polymer research at the same university in the group of Alexander Zaichenko. My research focused on synthesizing amphiphilic polymers with complex architecture (block/comb-like) by various radical polymerization techniques. Since October 2021, I have been a Ph.D. student at the physical and macromolecular chemistry department, Charles University Prague, Czech Republic. My current research work focuses on the synthesis of advanced copolymer materials by polymerization-induced self-assembly (PISA). Besides research, I like trekking, running and I am learning social dances such as bachata and salsa.  Dancing allows me to meet fun and motivated people fond of Latin rhythms.

Niccolò Lusiani
I grew up in Tuscany, Italy, and received my master`s degree in Industrial Chemistry from the University of Pisa. As an undergraduate student, I worked under the supervision of Prof. Elisa Martinelli on the synthesis and characterization of phosphorus-based anti-fouling polymers. This experience, combined with the desire to do research that could have potentially positive implications on human health and treatments, led me to try to pursue a career somewhere at the interface of polymer science and biomedicine. Currently, as a PhD student at Charles University, my research gladly revolves around biomedical polymers, poly(oxazine)s and poly(oxazoline)s, with a focus on their bioconjugation chemistry. Aside from polymer chemistry in my free time, I enjoy playing the piano, reading and cycling.