Devleena Samanta

Devleena Samanta is an Assistant Professor of Chemistry, an Associate Member of the Livestrong Cancer Institutes, and a member of the Texas Materials Institute at The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin). Her research centers on developing nanoscale tools to sense and control biocatalysis, advancing fundamental chemistry while enabling new applications in biology, medicine, and sustainability. She is the first UT Austin faculty member to receive the prestigious Packard Fellowship in chemistry, and her contributions have been recognized with numerous honors, including a Scialog Fellowship, the Outstanding Researcher Award from the International Institute for Nanotechnology (IIN), and selection as a Hanna Gray Fellow Finalist by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. In addition to her research, Devleena is a dedicated teacher and mentor. She has received two teaching awards at UT Austin, as well as the Outstanding Mentor Award from the IIN. For her contributions to UT Austin, she was appointed the William H. Tonn Endowed Professorial Fellow for the 2024-2025 academic year. She also serves on the Early Career Advisory Board of the Beilstein Journal of Nanotechnology, a diamond open access journal.

Devleena earned her Ph.D. in Chemistry from Stanford University in 2017 under the mentorship of Professor Richard N. Zare. She was supported by a Winston Chen Stanford Graduate Fellowship and a Center for Molecular Analysis and Design Fellowship. She then trained with Professor Chad A. Mirkin at Northwestern University as an IIN Postdoctoral Fellow.

The Samanta Lab develops nanoscale tools to create programmable strategies for sensing and controlling biocatalytic activity. By integrating synthetic nanomaterials with nature’s own nanomaterials, such as proteins and DNA, we design hybrid structures that open new possibilities in precision diagnostics, therapeutic development, and sustainable chemistry.