James Oakley

Ph.D., Pfizer, 2023

James was born and raised in Southern California, where he grew up in the small town of Valley Center. He completed his undergraduate studies at CSU San Marcos where he conducted research under Dr. Robert Iafe.  In the Iafe lab, James worked on the development of gold(I)-catalyzed arylation reactions and later on enantioselective organocatalysis with bisphosphorylimides. More drawn to chemistry than the beautiful weather of SoCal, James made his way out to Jersey to pursue bioconjugation in the MacMillan group. Outside of lab, James enjoys hiking, playing smash ball, and maintaining his online art page.

Fun Facts

• James’s ACS student chapter hosted a “Pull the safety shower on your professor” fundraiser. It had a good turnout.
• During his freshman year of undergrad, James worked as a butchers’ assistant; he is now a vegan.
• One of his inner ear bones is made of titanium.