Dr. Iafe joined the Chemistry & Biochemistry department at CSUSM in Fall 2014, after
his tenure as a Visiting Assistant Professor at the W. M. Keck Science Department
at the Claremont Colleges. At CSUSM, Dr. Iafe teaches classes in organic chemistry
(CHEM 200, CHEM 201, Chem 201L, Chem 202, Chem 202L, Chem 502).
Teaching/Postdoctoral Scholar, 2011–2014, W.M. Keck Science Department at the Claremont
Colleges, Claremont, CA
Ph.D., Organic Chemistry, 2011, University of California, Los Angeles, CA
M.S., Computational Chemistry, 2008, University of California, Los Angeles, CA
B.S., Chemistry, 2004, Cum Laude, Honors, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, CA
Research
Group News
August 10, 2018. Omar Apolinar presented at poster at the Summer Research Poster Symposium at The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, CA.
August 9, 2018. Congratulations to Rian Shabo for winning $1,000 Travel Award from
the Summer Scholars Poster Showcase.
August 9, 2018. Mercedes Nguyen and Rian Shabo presented a poster at the CSM Summer Scholars Poster Showcase at CSUSM.
August 9, 2018. Amanda Smolin gave an oral presentation at the 2018 Brown Bag Research Talks for the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry.
August 2, 2018. Mercedes Nguyen, Jacqueline Perez, and Jessica Scott gave an oral
presentation at the 2018 Brown Bag Research Talks for the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry.
July 26, 2018. Victor Franco Bolanos and Rian Shabo gave an oral presentation at the 2018 Brown Bag Research Talks for the Department
of Chemistry & Biochemistry.
June 2018. Congratulations to Mercedes Nguyen and Rian Shabo for receiving the 2018
Viasat Summer Scholars Award.
May 9, 2018. Congratulations to James Oakley for winning the ACS Outstanding Student
in Organic Chemistry Award, Mari A. Smith Outstanding Student in Physical Chemistry
Award, ACS Outstanding Student in Inorganic Chemistry Award, and Dept. of Chemistry
& Biochemistry Outstanding Senior in Chemistry Award.
May 9, 2018. Sam Acosta, Natalie Adamson, Sharai Mendez, James Oakley, Helen Sedrak,
Tyler Stanley, and Jenny Veyna presented Chem 499 posters at the CSUSM Chemistry & Biochemistry Student Research Showcase.
January 11–13, 2018. James Oakley, Sharai Mendez, and Omar Apolinar presented posters
at the 30th Annual CSU Biotechnology Symposium in Santa Clara.
November 14, 2017. James Oakley presented a poster at the CSUSM CUGR Student Poster Showcase.
November 6, 2017. Congratulations to James Oakley for being selected as a 2018 Glenn Nagel Undergraduate Research Award Finalist. James will compete for this prestigious award at the CSU Biotechnology
Symposium in January 2018, in Santa Clara.
October 2017. Congratulations to Iliana Levesque on being chosen to attend the M|CORE (Michigan-Chemistry Opportunities for Research & Education) Graduate Program Preview
Weekend!
August 10, 2017. Tyler Stanley gave an oral presentation at the 2017 Brown Bag Research
Talks for the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry.
August 9, 2017. Iliana Levesque won a poster award for her presentation at the Summer Scholars Research Poster Showcase at CSUSM.
August 3, 2017. Jasimine Terrell and Iliana Levesque gave an oral presentation at
the 2017 Brown Bag Research Talks for the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry.
July 27, 2017. James Oakley and Omar Apolinar gave an oral presentation at the 2017
Brown Bag Research Talks for the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry.
July 21, 2017. James Oakley presented a poster at the 2017 SoCal Undergraduate Research
Symposium in Chemistry at UCI.
May 10, 2017. Congratulations to Cristofer Thompson for winning the CSUSM Dept. of
Chemistry & Biochemistry Outstanding Student in Undergraduate Research Award.
May 10, 2017. Cristofer Thompson presented his Chem 499 poster at the CSUSM Chemistry
& Biochemistry Student Research Showcase.
May 3, 2017. High school student Parker Loux gave his oral Presentation of Learning
for the Internship Program at Del Lago Academy.
May 2, 2017. Congratulations to Omar Apolinar for getting the 2017 Spring Presidents'
Commission Scholars Award.
April 3, 2017. Lina Ahlberg, James Oakley, and Cris Thompson presented posters at
the 253rd American Chemical Society National Meeting in San Francisco.
January 5–7, 2017. Cristofer Thompson, Lina Ahlberg, Tyler Stanley, James Oakley,
and Sam Acosta presented posters at the 29th Annual CSU Biotechnology Symposium in
Santa Clara.
November 29, 2016. Lina Ahlberg and James Oakley presented posters at the CSUSM CUGR
Student Poster Showcase.
October 2016. Congratulations to Gloria Diaz on being chosen to attend the M|CORE (Michigan-Chemistry Opportunities for Research & Education) Graduate Program Preview
Weekend!
August 10, 2016. Sam Acosta, James Oakley, and Cristofer Thompson presented at the
2016 Summer Scholars Research Poster Showcase.
June 2016. Congratulations to Cristofer Thompson for receiving the 2016 Genentech
Summer Scholars Award.
June 2016. Congratulations to Sam Acosta and James Oakley for receiving the 2016 Viasat
Summer Scholars Award.
May 13, 2016. Congratulations to Gloria Diaz for winning the CSUSM Chemistry and Biochemistry
Outstanding Faculty Student Collaboration Award.
May 11, 2016. Elie Ghasb, Jessica Maynard, Jackie Robinos, Melisa Dean, Gloria Diaz,
Lina Ahlberg, and Brittney Klasic presented posters at the CSUSM Chemistry & Biochemistry
Student Research Showcase.
May 11, 2016. Congratulations to Lina Ahlberg for winning the Mari A. Smith Outstanding
Student in Physical Chemistry Award.
May 11, 2016. Congratulations to Jessica Maynard for winning the ACS Outstanding Student
in Organic Chemistry Award.
April 23, 2016. Lina Ahlberg and Gloria Diaz presented a poster at the Southern California
Undergraduate Research Conference (SCURC) at CSU Long Beach.
April 6, 2016. Gloria Diaz presented a poster at the 75th San Diego ACS Anniversary
Symposium at SDSU.
March 13, 2016. Gloria Diaz and Brittney Klasic presented posters at the 251st American
Chemical Society National Meeting in San Diego.
Gutierrez, O.; Iafe, R. G.; Houk, K. N. "Origin of Stereoselectivity in the Imidazolidinone-Catalyzed Reductions
of Cyclic α,β-Unsaturated Ketones." Org. Lett.2009, 11, 4298–4301. [link]
*Oakley, J. V.; *Mendez, S.; *Stanley, T.; Cain, S.; Iafe, R. G. (2018, January) Gold(I)-Catalyzed Friedel–Crafts-like Arylation of Benzylic Alcohols
to Afford 1,1-Diarylmethanes. Poster presented at the 30th CSU Annual Biotechnology
Symposium, Santa Clara, CA.
*Apolinar, O.; *Adamson, N.; *Ahlberg, L.; *Thompson, C.; *Diaz, G.; *Dean, M.; *Klasic,
B.; *Maynard, J.; *Ghasb, E.; Iafe, R. G. (2018, January) Chiral Bisphosphorylimides as Organocatalysts for Friedel–Crafts Reactions. Poster
presented at the 30th CSU Annual Biotechnology Symposium, Santa Clara, CA.
*Oakley, J. V.; *Stanley, T.; Iafe, R. G. (2017, June) Gold(I)-Catalyzed Friedel–Crafts-like Arylation of Benzylic Alcohols
to Afford 1,1-Diarylmethanes. Poster presented at the 45th National Organic Chemistry
Symposium, Davis, CA.
*Oakley, J. V.; *Stanley, T.; Iafe, R. G. (2017, April) Gold(I)-Catalyzed Friedel–Crafts-like Arylation of Benzylic Alcohols
to Afford 1,1-Diarylmethanes. Poster presented at the 253rd ACS National Meeting & Exposition, San Francisco, CA.
*Ahlberg, L.; *Thompson, C.; *Diaz, G.; *Klasic, B.; Iafe, R. G. (2017, April) Chiral Bisphosphorylimides as Organocatalysts for Friedel–Crafts Reactions.
Poster presented at the 253rd ACS National Meeting & Exposition, San Francisco, CA.
*Oakley, J. V.; *Stanley, T.; Iafe, R. G. (2017, January) Gold(I)-Catalyzed Friedel–Crafts-like Arylation of Benzylic Alcohols
to Afford 1,1-Diarylmethanes. Poster presented at the 29th CSU Annual Biotechnology Symposium, Santa Clara, CA.
*Ahlberg, L.; *Thompson, C.; *Dean, M.; *Diaz, G.; *Ghasb, E.; *Klasic, B.; *Maynard,
J.; *Robinos, J.; Abrous, L.; Iafe, R. G. (2017, January) Chiral Bisphosphorylimides as Organocatalysts for Friedel–Crafts
Reactions. Poster presented at the 29th CSU Annual Biotechnology Symposium, Santa Clara, CA.
*Acosta, S.; *Ghasb, E.; Iafe, R. G. (2017, January) The Microwave Assisted, Gold(I)-Catalyzed Ritter Reaction. Poster
presented at the 29th CSU Annual Biotechnology Symposium, Santa Clara, CA.
*Ahlberg, L.; *Dean, M.; *Diaz, G.; *Ghasb, E.; *Klasic, B.; *Maynard, J.; *Robinos,
J.; Abrous, L.; Iafe, R. G. (2016, April) Bisphosphorylimides as Organocatalysts for Asymmetric Friedel-Crafts
Reactions. Poster presented at the 75th San Diego ACS Anniversary Symposium, San Diego, CA.
*Ahlberg, L.; *Dean, M.; *Diaz, G.; *Ghasb, E.; *Klasic, B.; *Maynard, J.; *Robinos,
J.; Abrous, L.; Iafe, R. G. (2016, March) Bisphosphorylimides as Organocatalysts for Asymmetric Friedel-Crafts
Reactions. Poster presented at the 251st ACS National Meeting & Exposition, San Diego, CA.
*Ahlberg, L.; *Dean, M.; *Diaz, G.; *Ghasb, E.; *Klasic, B.; *Maynard, J.; *Robinos,
J.; Abrous, L.; Iafe, R. G. (2016, January) Bisphosphorylimides as Organocatalysts for Asymmetric Friedel-Crafts
Reactions. Poster presented at the 28th CSU Annual Biotechnology Symposium, Anaheim, CA.
*Tran, N.; *Mesa, K.; *Wall, J.; Iafe, R. G.; Wenzel, A. G. (2014, March). Chiral Thiophosphoramides as Ligands for Gold(I) Catalysis.
Poster presented at the 247th ACS National Meeting & Exposition, Dallas, TX.
*Davis, V. K.; *Arunasalam, A.; *Vinson, A.; Iafe, R. G.; Wenzel, A. G. (2014, March). Gold(I)-Catalyzed, SN1 Etherification of Alcohols. Poster presented at the 247th ACS National Meeting & Exposition, Dallas, TX.
*Panzer, Z. R.; Iafe, R. G.; Wenzel, A. G. (2014, March). Diastereoselective, Bronsted Acid-Catalyzed, Aza-Friedel
Crafts-like Reaction Between Aryl Compounds and Imines. Poster presented at the 247th ACS National Meeting & Exposition, Dallas, TX.
*Panzer, Z. R.; Iafe, R. G.; Wenzel, A. G. (2013, April). Betti Bases for Application in Green Organocatalysis.
Poster presented at the 245th ACS National Meeting & Exposition, New Orleans, LA.
*Kuo, J. L.; Iafe, R. G.; Merlic, C. A. (2012, March). Palladium(II) Catalyzed Intramolecular Insertions for
Polycyclic Ring Synthesis. Poster presented at the 243rd ACS National Meeting & Exposition, San Diego, CA.
Iafe, R. G.; Merlic, C. A. (2011, March). Strategies for Palladium(II) Catalyzed Cyclization
Reactions. Poster presented at the 241st ACS National Meeting & Exposition, Anaheim, CA.
Iafe, R. G.; Houk, K. N. (2007, March). Density Functional Theory Study of C-H Activation of
Arenes and Alkanes with Cp*RhPMe3. Poster presented at the 233rd ACS National Meeting, Chicago, IL.
Grants
2018: Jean Dreyfus Lectureship for Undergraduate Institutions. $18,500.
Assistant Professor, 2014–Present, Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, California
State University San Marcos
Visiting Assistant Professor, 2011–2014, W.M. Keck Science Department at the Claremont
Colleges
Lecturer, 2011, UCLA Extension
Professional Societies:
American Chemical Society, member
Royal Society of Chemistry, member
Sigma Xi, full member
Alpha Sigma Nu, member
Awards:
2017, Cougars Affordable Learning Materials (CALM) Program, Spring 2017 Award (w/
JT & EG), CSUSM, CA
2016, CSM Award for Outstanding Faculty Student Collaboration (w/ Gloria Diaz, University
of Michigan), Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, CSUSM, CA
2011, Hanson-Dow Teaching Assistant Award, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry,
UCLA, CA
I am currently a third year undergraduate biochemistry major. I am striving to enter
graduate school to obtain a Ph.D. in organic chemistry to become either a senior scientist
for a Pharma company or a professor at a university. Aside from academics, I enjoy
fishing, hiking, running, and playing sports.
Karen Fernandez. Major: Chemistry
I am a chemistry major working towards becoming a research chemist for a pharmaceutical
company. Aside from college, my hobbies include gardening, baking, and reading at
the beach.
Victor Franco Bolanos. Major: Chemistry
I enjoy learning about the natural world, and feel privileged to be a student of science.
I like to be active and play sports, but spending time with my family is also very
important.
Currently a senior year biochemistry Student with the intent to transition into industry
following graduation. Aside from academics and maintaining my small business, I enjoy
spending time with my friends and family, eating and exploring.
Jacqueline Perez. Major: Chemistry
I am a senior at CSUSM. Summer research with Dr.Iafe will allow me to further develop
laboratory skills and gained experience using scientific databases from previous courses.
Other than school, I enjoy meeting new people, and I am always up to try something
new. I love nature and going on hikes.
Jessica Scott. Major: Chemistry
Born and rasied in San Diego, love to play basketball and surf. Can be seen most days
cruising a pink skateboard. Dream job: LUSH Cosmetics head formulating chemist.
Rian Shabo. Major: Chemistry (Summer Scholar)
I’m a premed chemistry major at Csusm, striving to go to medical school. On my days
off I love to go surfing, running, and most importantly, spending time with my family.
I am majoring in biochemistry with the hopes to become a forensic technician for NCIS
or the FBI. I enjoy hiking and spending time with my family and friends.
Aloha Prince. (UCR)
I am a UCR alumnus and came to CSUSM through the postbaccalaureate program. Currently,
I am working towards becoming a physican. On my free time I enjoy the the outdoors,
spending time with family, and volunteering.
On the path of obtaining a Ph.D. in chemistry with the ultimate goal of working in
an industry environment. I enjoy riding my turquoise pedego bike for fun.
Julianne Rizzo. (Notre Dame)
I am a University of Notre Dame Alumna and recent graduate of the CSUSM Pre-Health
Professions post-baccalaureate program. My goal is to become a physician, and I am
planning to matriculate to medical school in the fall of 2019. On my free time I enjoy
ballet, playing piano, weightlifting, and going to the beach.
Advisor, 2015
