Prof. Nicholas Stephanopoulos

Nick was born in Athens, Greece, but grew up outside of Boston, Massachusetts. He obtained his A.B. in chemistry from Harvard University, followed by a one-year stint to earn a Master’s in chemical engineering at MIT. He then pursued doctoral studies at the University of California, Berkeley, working with Prof. Matthew Francis. His research focused on using site-specific bioconjugation chemistry to modify viral capsid nano-scaffolds, in order to create materials for energy, biomedicine, and nanotechnology. After earning his PhD in 2010, he went to Northwestern University for postdoctoral studies, supported by both NIH Ruth Kirschtein and International Institute for Nanotechnology fellowships, working with Prof. Samuel Stupp on self-assembling peptide nanomaterials and their applications to regenerative medicine.

At both Berkeley and Northwestern, Nick became interested in integrating proteins and peptides with DNA nanotechnology. In 2015, he began his independent career at Arizona State University, with a goal to merge these molecules into a new class of hybrid nanomaterials, with applications across a range of fields. In May 2021 he was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure in the School of Molecular Sciences and the Biodesign Institute’s Center for Molecular Design and Biomimetics, and has affiliate appointments in Biomedical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, The Biomimicry Center, and the Global Security Initiative at ASU. Since coming to ASU, Nick has received the 2016 Air Force (AFOSR) Young Investigator Award, the 2018 Elsa U. Pardee Foundation Award for Cancer Research, the 2018 NSF CAREER Award, and the 2018 NIH New Innovator Award. In August 2023, Nick was appointed the Associate Director of the Center for Molecular Design and Biomimetics.