Makaya grew up in Logansport, Indiana. She completed her B.S. at Saint Mary’s College, where she worked in Dr. Elsa Hinds laboratory to develop a synthetic methodology for the trifluoromethylation of amines and alcohols through a copper-mediated process. She joined the Brown lab in 2024 and is working on Boron-directed C-H functionalization reactions. In her free time, Makaya enjoys running, reading, and traveling.
“Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.” – Albert Einstein