Nicole Sampson

Nicole Sampson is a Professor in the Department of Chemistry at Stony Brook University. She holds membership in graduate programs in Chemistry, Biochemistry & Structural Biology, and Molecular & Cellular Pharmacology. Her research focuses on understanding protein structure-function relationships and developing chemical tools to probe biological systems, with emphasis on tuberculosis drug discovery, cholesterol metabolism, and polymer-based diagnostics.

Education: B.S. from Harvey Mudd College (1985), Ph.D. from University of California, Berkeley (1990), Postdoctoral Fellowship at Harvard University (1991-1993).

Research Interests: Her lab investigates three core areas: (1) precision polymer synthesis for studying fertilization and cholera intoxication mechanisms; (2) lipid-protein interactions in biological systems; and (3) tuberculosis drug discovery via mycobacterial steroid metabolism. Recent work includes identifying novel biomarkers for TB diagnosis and developing glycopolymer-based tools to study sperm-egg interactions.

Awards: Recipient of prestigious awards including the Camille Dreyfus New Faculty Award (1993-98), NSF CAREER Award (1996-2000), ACS Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award (2001), and election to American Chemical Society Fellowship (2017).

Lab & Collaborations: Leads the Sampson Group, collaborating with institutions globally on projects spanning chemical biology, enzymology, and infectious disease research. Active in training graduate students and postdoctoral researchers in interdisciplinary approaches to biomedical challenges.