Meet the Provost

Nicole S. Sampson is the University of Rochester’s Provost, appointed to the role on February 1, 2025. Read the full news announcement.

Sampson is an experienced higher education leader and a distinguished chemical biologist whose research focuses on the molecular intricacies of mammalian fertilization, methods for precision synthesis of polymers, and finding new treatments for tuberculosis and cholera.

More about Nicole Sampson

University of Rochester Provost Nicole S. Sampson is an accomplished academic and researcher committed to providing students with a world class educational experience.

Prior to her appointment as provost, Sampson served as interim provost and as the Robert L. and Mary L. Sproull Dean of the School of Arts & Sciences. As dean, she was instrumental in advancing the strategic priorities of the school and working to identify opportunities and resources to better support students, faculty, and staff members.

Sampson earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Harvey Mudd College, a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley, and held an American Cancer Society postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard University.

Her research has been continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health since 1995, and her honors and awards include a National Science Foundation CAREER Award; the Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award and the Pfizer Award in Enzyme Chemistry from the American Chemical Society; and the Research Foundation of SUNY Research and Scholarship Award. She is also a fellow of the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study and a fellow of the American Chemical Society.She has authored more than 120 peer-reviewed articles, reviews, and issued patents. Sampson has served on the editorial advisory boards of Accounts of Chemical Research; Journal of Organic Chemistry; Biochemistry; as well as Chemical & Engineering News.

Sampson came to Rochester in 2023 from Stony Brook University where she served in various roles, including dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. She also served as chair of the Chemistry Department from 2012-2017 and founded and served from 2010-2019 as co-director of a Chemical Biology Training Program funded by the NIH. She was a founding faculty member in Stony Brook’s Institute for Chemical Biology and Drug Discovery.    An Indiana native, Sampson now lives in the City of Rochester and enjoys exploring the area on her bike or in her running shoes. She enjoys competing in sprint triathlons and enjoying the variety of culinary venues Rochester has to offer. She and her husband Peter have two adult sons.

Sampson’s Recent Publications

• Panagoda, N., Balázsi, G. and Sampson, N. S. (2024) “Mycobacterium tuberculosis Mce3R TetR-like Repressor Forms an Asymmetric Four-Helix Bundle and Binds a Non-Palindrome Sequence,” ChemRxiv. 10.26434/chemrxiv-2024-rk8q2

• Mendez, L., Kennedy, M., Bhatia, S. R., and Sampson, N. S. (2024) “Triblock glycopolymers with two 10-mer blocks of activating sugars enhance the activation of acrosomal exocytosis in mouse sperm,” 4, 165-177, ACS Bio and Med Chem Au DOI: 10.1021/acsbiomedchemau.4c00012 PMC11191571

• Mendez, L., Boadi, F., Kennedy, M., Bhatia, S. R., and Sampson, N. S. (2024) “Glycopolymers prepared by alternating ring-opening metathesis polymerization provide access to distinct, multivalent structures for the probing of biological activity,” ACS Bio and Med Chem Au DOI: 10.1021/acsbiomedchemau.00018u

• Chen, Y.-C., Yang, X, Wang, N, and Sampson, N. S. (2024) “Uncovering the role of Mycobacterium tuberculosis melH in redox and bioenergetic homeostasis: implications for antitubercular therapy,” mSphere DOI: 10.1128/msphere.00061-24 PMC11036813

• Werman, J., Chen, Y.-C., Yuan, T, Yang, X, and Sampson, N. S. (2023) “A chemoproteomic approach to elucidate the mechanism of action of 6-azasteroids with unique activity in mycobacteria,” 9, 1993-2004, ACS Infectious Disease. DOI: 10.1021/acsinfecdis.3c00296 PMC10580313

• Boadi, F., and Sampson, N. S. (2023) “Long-range kinetic effects on the alternating ring opening metathesis of bicyclo[4.2.0]oct-6-ene-7-carboxamides and cyclohexene,” 3, 233 – 240, ACS Organic and Inorganic Au DOI: 10.1021/acsorginorgau.3c00013 PMC10401671

• Yu, X.,  Li, G., Zheng, B., Youn, G., Jiang, T., Quah, SP., Laughlin, S.T., Sampson, N. S. and Bhatia, S. R. (2022) “Controlling rheology of fluid interfaces through microblock length of sequence-controlled amphiphilic copolymers,” 223, 2200110, Macromolecular Chemistry and Physics. DOI: 10.1002/macp.202200110 PMC9799073.

• Yang, X, Wipperman, M. F., Nachman S., Sampson, N. S. (2022) “Exploring the value of Mycobacterium tuberculosis modified lipoprotein as a potential biomarker for TB detection in children.” BMC Infectious Diseases 22, article #158. DOI: 10.1186/s12879-022-07140-9, https://rdcu.be/cHfoR PMC8851740

• Boadi, F. O., Sampson, N. S. (2021) “Gradient copolymer prepared from alternating ring-opening metathesis of three monomers” 12, 5613 – 5622, Polymer Chemistry DOI:10.1039/D1PY00690H

• Youn, G., Sampson, N. S. (2021) “Substituent effects provide access to tetrasubstituted ring-opening olefin metathesis of bicyclo[4.2.0]oct-6-enes,” 1, 29-36, ACS Organic and Inorganic Au. DOI: 10.1021/acsorginorgau.1c00016.

• Rosa, T.L.S.A.,  Marques,  M.A.M., DeBoard,  Z., Hutchins, K.M., Silva, C.A.M., Montague, C.R., Yuan, T., Amaral, J.J.,  Atella, G. C., Rosa, P. S.,  Mattos, K. A., VanderVen, B. C., Lahiri, R., Sampson, N. S., Brennan, P., Belisle, J. T., Pessolani M. C. V., and Berredo-Pinho, M* (2021) “Reductive power generated by Mycobacterium leprae through cholesterol oxidation contributes to lipid and ATP synthesis,” Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol. – Bacteria and Host. 11, 701, DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2021.709972.
• Yuan , Τ., Werman, J. M., Yin, X., Yang, M., Garcia-Diaz, M., Sampson, N. S. (2021) “Enzymatic β-oxidation of the cholesterol side chain in Mycobacterium tuberculosis bifurcates stereospecifically at hydration of 3-oxo-cholest-4,22-dien-24-oyl-CoA,” ACS Infectious Diseases. 7, 1739-1751. DOI: 10.1021/acsinfecdis.1c00069.