Randy Hamchand, M.S. Chemistry, University of Connecticut

Randy Hamchand was born and raised in Middletown, CT and attended the University of Connecticut where he obtained a B.S. in Chemistry with honors, a B.S. in Biological Sciences, and minors in Mathematics, Molecular Cell Biology, and Psychology. Following his undergraduate studies, Randy remained at UConn where he was awarded an NSF Bridge to the Doctorate Fellowship and ultimately acquired an M.S. in Chemistry. Randy conducted his undergraduate research with Dr. Harry Frank under whom he isolated and characterized pigments (carotenoids) from the plumages of exotic South American birds. Moreover, Randy performed his Master’s research in Dr. Christian Brückner’s lab where he extracted and characterized porphyrinoids, and other oligopyrrolic compounds, from sources including avian eggshells, hedgehog quills, corals, and feathers. Randy’s research in the Crawford lab entails finding naturally occurring ligands for orphan GPCRs.