Katie Colesa is a double major in Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences at Grand Valley State University. At GVSU, she conducts research with Dr. Shannon Biros to address the separation of lanthanide and actinide metals with organic ligands. Katie joined the Demir group at MSU in May of 2023 as a part of Michigan State University’s REU program. Her research focuses on employing nuclear spin free ligands for the synthesis of lanthanide-based qubits.