The group in February 2026
The group in July 2024
There are currently 9 members of the group: Manuel, 5 PhD students and 3 Master students:
Sai Rohini Narayanan Kolusu (5th year PhD student)
Sai was born in 1998 at Guntur, Andhrapradesh, India. In 2019, he completed an Integrated Master degree in Science (chemistry) at the University of Hyderabad (UOH). In July 2021, he obtained a Master degree in Synthesis, Catalysis and Molecular design, jointly organized by the Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV) and the Institute of Chemical Research of Catalonia (ICIQ), Spain. He joined the Nappi Research Group as PhD candidate in October 2021. Outside of work, he likes playing Badminton, Cricket, hanging out with friends and watching movies.
Carla Aira Rodríguez (4th year PhD student, Xunta de Galicia predoctoral fellow)
Carla was born in Monforte de Lemos, Galicia, Spain, in 1998. She graduated in Chemistry in 2020 at the University of Vigo, after spending 10 months at the University of Cagliari (Italy) working in organocatalysis as a part of the Erasmus+ project. She obtained the Master’s Degree in Chemical Research and Industrial Chemistry in 2021 at the University of Vigo and the same year, she moved to Barcelona to work in photoswitchable molecules with therapeutic applications, at the Medicinal Chemistry & Synthesis Group of the Advanced Chemistry Institute of Catalonia (IQAC) thanks to a JAE Intro fellowship. In 2022 she worked in the same field at the Neurodrugs Group at Medicinal Chemistry Institute (IQM) of Madrid. In january 2023 she joined the Nappi Research Group as a PhD student. Outside of work, she loves playing the piano and the sax, fantastic literature, dancing and painting.
Laura Lago Lorenzo (3rd year PhD student, coll. with Prof. Jesús A. Varela Carrete)
Laura was born in Ponteareas, Galicia, Spain, in 1999. She graduated in Chemistry from the University of Santiago de Compostela in 2022. In July 2023, she obtained the Master degree in Organic Chemistry at the same institution, doing the master thesis with Carlos Saá and Jesús Varela. In October 2023, she joined the Nappi Research Group as a Ph.D. candidate under the supervision of Manuel Nappi and Jesús Varela Carrete. Outside of her academic pursuits, she enjoys activities such as running, playing tennis, hanging out with friends, and watching TV series.
Manuel Rodríguez Martínez (2nd year PhD student, Xunta de Galicia predoctoral fellow)
Manuel was born in Vilagarcía de Arousa, Galicia, Spain, in 2001. He graduated in Chemistry from the University of Santiago de Compostela in 2023. In July 2024, he obtained the Master degree in Organic Chemistry at the same institution. In October 2024 he joined the Nappi Research Group as a PhD student. Outside of his academic pursuits, he likes watching movies, hanging out with friends and practice different sports.
Elena Sbrana (1st year PhD student, FPI predoctoral fellow)
Elena was born in Pisa, Italy, in 1999. She graduated in Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Technology from the University of Pisa in 2025, completing her master’s thesis within the Erasmus+ program at the University of Groningen (Netherlands) under the supervision of Prof. Adriaan Minnaard and with the support of Prof. Michael Lerch, where she focused on the synthesis and characterization of photoswitchable spiropyrans. After graduation, she worked as a pharmacist. In February 2026 she joined the Nappi Research Group as a Ph.D. candidate. Outside of work, she loves cooking, practicing sports, reading, and watching TV series.
Gabriel Brenlla Carballo (Master student, USC, Spain)
Gabriel was born in Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, Spain, in 2003. He graduated in Chemistry in 2025 from the University of Santiago de Compostela. Now, he is studying the Master in Organic Chemistry at the same University. In 2026, he joined the Nappi Research Group for his master thesis. Outside his academic pursuits, he likes playing basketball, watching movies and travelling.
Nora Deil (Visiting Master student, Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia)
Nora was born in 2003 in Tallinn, Estonia. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Applied Chemistry from Tallinn University of Technology in 2025. During her undergraduate studies she worked on electrochemical asymmetric organocatalytic reactions in Assist. Prof. Maksim Ošeka’s group at Taltech. In 2026, she joined the Nappi Research Group as a visiting master student. Outside of work she likes dancing, nature and knitting.
Davide Catena (Visiting Master student, University of Milan, Italy)
Davide Catena was born in Milano, Italy, in 2002. He graduated in Industrial Chemistry at Università degli Studi di Milano. During this time, he spent four months in Professor Benaglia’s group working on organocatalysis. Currently a second-year Master’s student in Industrial Chemistry at Università degli Studi di Milano, he joined the Nappi Research Group in February as a visiting student to conduct part of his Master’s thesis research. In his free time, he enjoys the gym, swimming, traveling, and hanging out with friends.
FORMER GROUP MEMBERS
Matteo Caldari (Visiting Master student, 2025)
Irene Sánchez Sordo (Postdoctoral researcher, 2024)
Emanuele Azzi (Postdoctoral researcher, 2023-2024)
Jacopo Scarfiello (Visiting PhD student, 2024)