John was born and grew up in Ottawa, Ontario and attended Lisgar Collegiate Institute, where he met his future (and current) wife, took up cross-country running, and almost went into Classics. He obtained his B.Sc. in medicinal chemistry from the University of Ottawa in 2006, having carried out summer research in molecular biology with Dr. Natalie Goto (2004), bioorganic synthesis with Dr. Robert Ben (2005), and his Honours’ project in synthetic chemistry with Dr. William Ogilvie (2006). He then joined Dr. Ben’s group for his Ph.D. (2012) which focused on understanding the mechanism of action of synthetic biological antifreezes, the compounds responsible for allowing fish, insects, and plants to live in sub-zero environments. He demonstrated that small molecules could be almost as effective in this role as complicated glycopeptides. In late 2011 he joined the group of Dr. Tomas Hudlicky at Brock University as a postdoctoral fellow for his journeyman’s papers as a traditional synthetic chemist. In 2013 he joined the group of Dr. Elizabeth Gillies at the University of Western Ontario and studied materials science and polymer chemistry, and where he also worked with Dr. Joe Gilroy on polymer chemistry. He joined the faculty of the University of Windsor in July 2016, and his research focuses on the use of sustainable materials for health applications. This involves the preparation of new types of carbohydrates, peptides, amino acids, and lipids for a variety of immunological, biomedical and materials applications and allows him to combine his love of synthetic chemistry, materials science, and molecular biology. He is excited to be in Essex County as a licensed Sommelier (Algonquin College, 2012) and doesn’t miss the snow of the Frozen North. Although the occasional hill would be nice.
