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Assistant Professor Dr. Maksim Ošeka
maksim.oseka@taltech.ee
Maksim Ošeka studied biotechnology and applied chemistry in Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia. He joined the Professor Tõnis Kanger research group first as an undergraduate student in 2009 and then successfully completed his PhD in 2017. Maksim’s research in the group was mainly focused on the development of new asymmetric organocatalyzed reactions and mechanistic studies. As part of his master’s studies, Maksim undertook an Erasmus placement at Oslo University, Norway, working with Prof. Lise-Lotte Gundersen and as a visiting PhD student he joined the Melchiorre group at ICIQ, Spain, where he participated in the development of a novel photocatalytic enantioselective alkylation reaction. After obtaining his doctoral degree, he conducted research with Dr. Dzmitry Kananovich and then moved to the Netherlands to pursue postdoctoral studies. During the two-year postdoc under Professor Timothy Noël at Eindhoven University of Technology, Maksim worked on the development of novel electrochemical methods in continuous flow. In 2021, Maksim returned to Tallinn University of Technology to start his independent career and was later promoted to Assistant Professor. The Ošeka group’s research at TalTech is focused on synergizing organic synthesis areas including photochemistry, electrochemistry, asymmetric organocatalysis, and flow chemistry.
Group members
Dr. Mariliis Kimm (researcher)
mariliis.kimm@taltech.ee
Mariliis Kimm received her bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in applied chemistry and biotechnology from Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia. She became a member of Professor Tõnis Kanger's research group in 2013, where she focused on developing new asymmetric organocatalyzed reactions. As a visiting PhD student, Mariliis further enriched her research experience by joining Professor Jan H. Maarseveen's research group at the University of Amsterdam, Netherlands. During her time there, she engaged in synthesizing mechanically chiral [2]rotaxanes. Mariliis defended her thesis in 2021. She currently works as a researcher at the Ošeka group, focusing on the development of electrochemical reactions in continuous flow.
Anastasiya Krech (PhD student)
anastasiya.krech@taltech.ee
Anastasiya Krech graduated from Belarusian State University in 2019 and received her M.Sc. in chemistry in 2020 from the Graduate School of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus. During her bachelor's and master's studies, she worked at the Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry at the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus. She initially worked in Dr. Vladimir Zhabinskii's group, conducting the synthesis of new pharmacologically important steroids. Later, she joined Dr. Alaksiej Hurski's group, where she focused on the reactions of cyclopropanols. In 2021, she moved to Estonia for her PhD studies and joined Dr. Maksim Ošeka's group at Tallinn University of Technology. She is currently working on the development of photochemical reactions of cyclopropanols and asymmetric electrochemical reactions.
Marharyta Laktsevich-Iskryk (PhD student)
marharyta.laktsevichiskryk@taltech.ee
Marharyta Laktsevich-Iskryk received a bachelor's degree in pharmaceutical chemistry from the Belarusian State University in 2016. As an undergraduate, she became a member of the Laboratory of Steroidal Chemistry at the Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, conducting research on metal and photoredox catalysis. Marharyta successfully defended her master's thesis in 2017 under the supervision of Dr. Alaksiej Hurski. Later, she joined the Dr. Dzmitry Kananovich group as a visiting researcher, where she worked on enantioselective synthesis of cyclopropanols. In 2023, Marharyta started PhD studies at Tallinn University of Technology under the supervision of Prof. Maksim Ošeka with a focus on enantioselective electrochemical synthesis.
Biswadeep Manna (PhD student)
biswadeep.manna@taltech.ee
Biswadeep Manna completed his B.Sc. with honors in Chemistry from Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda Centenary College (under West Bengal State University) in 2021 and received his M.Sc. in Chemistry from the Indian Institute of Technology Ropar in 2023. During his second year of the master’s program, he joined Dr. Prabal Banerjee’s lab for his thesis work, focusing on electroorganic synthesis. His research initially centered on the electrochemical functionalization of amino acids. Later, he worked with strained ring systems, such as cyclopropanes, to activate them through electrochemistry. In 2024, he relocated to Estonia to pursue his Ph.D., joining Prof. Maksim Ošeka's group at Tallinn University of Technology.
Pallav Suman (PhD student)
pallav.suman@taltech.ee
Pallav Suman received his bachelor’s degree in chemistry with distinction from Ranchi University, India, in 2021, and completed his M.Sc. in Chemistry at the Central University of Punjab, India, in 2023. During his master's studies, he joined the Organic Synthesis and Catalysis Lab under the supervision of Dr. Biplab Banerjee. He initially worked on the photochemically induced, photocatalyst-free synthesis of pharmacologically significant dihydroquinolinones and the late-stage functionalization of commercially available drug molecules. For his master's thesis, he focused on the metal-free synthesis of carbamoylated dihydroquinolinone scaffolds. In 2024, Pallav relocated to Estonia to pursue his doctoral studies, joining the Synthetic Flow Chemistry group at Tallinn University of Technology under the supervision of Prof. Maksim Ošeka.
Rasmus Käsper (B.Sc. student)
rakasp@taltech.ee
Rasmus Käsper graduated from Tallinn 21st School specializing in sciences. Immediately after, he started studying applied chemistry and gene technology at Tallinn University of Technology. During the second year of his studies, Rasmus joined the Ošeka group as an undergraduate student to work on asymmetric photocatalytic reactions.
Mihhail Fokin (B.Sc. student)
mifoki@taltech.ee
Mihhail Fokin graduated cum laude from Maardu Gümnaasium, where he demonstrated a strong interest in chemistry and even worked as a teacher after graduation. He currently studies applied chemistry and gene technology at Tallinn University of Technology and conducts research on flow electrochemistry as an undergraduate student in the Ošeka group. Starting September 2023, Mihhail undertook Erasmus internship for his studies at Polytechnic University of Milan, Italy.
Nora Deil (B.Sc. student)
Nora Deil graduated cum laude from Collegium Educationis Revaliae. Her strong interest in chemistry led her to pursue studies in applied chemistry and gene technology at Tallinn University of Technology. During her second year of bachelor's studies, Nora joined the Ošeka research group.
Former group members
Dr. Nagarajan Ram Kumar (visiting postdoctoral researcher)
Nagarajan Ram Kumar received his PhD degree in Chemistry from the University of Hyderabad, India in 2016. There, under the guidance of Prof. R. Nagarajan, he conducted research on the total synthesis of carbazole and indole alkaloids. Ram Kumar then pursued postdoctoral studies with Prof. Hongli Bao (Fujian Research Institute, P. R. China), Prof. Erik V. Van der Eycken (KU Leuven, Belgium) and Prof. Yun He (Chongqing University, P. R. China). During his postdoctoral studies (2016-2020), he focused on the development of new transition metal-catalyzed synthetic methodologies and total synthesis of peptidic antibiotics. In 2021, Ram Kumar joined the Organic Synthesis group of Latvian Institute of Organic Synthesis with Dr. Janis Veliks and continuing his research on the development of new reagents and photo-catalytic methods for the synthesis of fluorinated compounds for drug discovery. In 2023, he undertook a brief stay in the Ošeka group at TalTech as a visiting postdoctoral fellow, with a specific focus on photochemical transformations in flow.
Dr. Anni Kooli (PhD student)
Anni Kooli studied at Tallinn University of Technology, where she specialized in applied chemistry and biotechnology. During her second year as an undergraduate student, she joined research group led by Professor Margus Lopp and continued there for bachelor’s and master’s degrees. In the beginning of her PhD journey, Anni worked on dearomatization of naphthols under the supervision of Professor Lopp. Later, Anni became a part of the synthetic flow chemistry group and investigated the electrochemical hydroxylation of electron-rich arenes in continuous flow with Dr. Maksim Ošeka. She successfully obtained her PhD in November 2022. Following the completion of her doctoral studies, Anni Kooli pursued her carrier as a s a chief specialist at the Estonian Health Board.