Rene Sabala

Rene Sabala is a 2025-2029 Self Graduate Fellow pursuing a Ph.D. in inorganic chemistry at the University of Kansas. He graduated from California State University, Chico with a B.S. in chemistry (2025). There, he worked on the design and synthesis of small molecules to increase the efficacy of anthelmintic drugs and develop potential therapeutics for Alzheimer’s disease. At the University of Kansas, he will continue to expand his horizons, utilizing his passion for synthesis and molecular design during his doctoral research in Professor Misha Barybin’s lab. Sabala’s current work is geared towards functional materials. Specifically, focusing on the design, synthesis, complexation, and characterization of molecular building blocks derived from the molecule azulene. He aims to develop materials that can be used in conductors and rectifiers to further the technological advancement in the field of molecular electronics. 

Mentor: Misha Barybin, Ph.D. Chancellors Club Teaching Professor, Chemistry.