Nick Riley

Nick Riley is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Washington, with adjunct appointments in Biochemistry and Genome Sciences. His research focuses on developing mass spectrometry and chemical glycobiology tools to study glycocode regulation in cancer progression and metastasis. He leads the Riley Research Group, supported by cutting-edge instrumentation funded by the Boris and Barbara L. Weinstein Endowed Chair.

Education:

• Bachelor's degrees in Chemistry and Psychology (University of South Carolina)
• PhD in Chemistry under Prof. Josh Coon (University of Wisconsin-Madison)
• Postdoctoral research with Prof. Carolyn Bertozzi (Stanford University)

Research Interests: His work combines mass spectrometry, bioinformatics, and chemical biology to investigate glycobiology's role in health and disease. Key areas include proteomic technologies (e.g., electron transfer dissociation), glycoproteomics, mucin-domain glycoproteins, and cell-type selective in vivo labeling. Recent achievements include defining the human mucinome and studying plasma secretome contributions to cancer.

Awards & Grants:

• NIH K00/K99 awards, NSF Graduate Fellowship
• American Society for Mass Spectrometry Research Award
• Endowed Chair funding enabling advanced instrumentation acquisition

Labs & Affiliations: Collaborates with the Cancer Consortium, Molecular Engineering & Sciences Institute, and Biological Physics programs. His group emphasizes training the next generation of scientists in mass spectrometry and glycobiology.