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Instructor

Vagarshak Begoyan

Bio

Vagarshak is a Ph.D. chemist specializing in organic chemistry and chemical biology, with a focus on oligonucleotide and mRNA-based technologies in the biotech industry. He earned his Ph.D. in Chemistry from Michigan Technological University and his B.S. in Microbiology from University of California, Davis, where he also developed a strong foundation in the life sciences.

During his graduate training, he gained experience teaching undergraduate general and organic chemistry labs and lectures. In his professional work, Vagarshak applies organic chemistry principles to the design and synthesis of complex biomolecules, with particular expertise in nucleoside and nucleotide chemistry, reaction design, and synthetic problem-solving. His teaching approach emphasizes building a strong conceptual understanding of reaction mechanisms and reactivity, while connecting course material to real-world applications.

He believes chemistry becomes more approachable when broken down into clear, intuitive steps, and encourages students to actively engage with the material through practice and discussion. Outside of teaching and research, he enjoys reading fantasy and science fiction, playing board games and Dungeons & Dragons, spending time outdoors, and woodworking.