Chemical biology · UC Berkeley

Nicholas Foster

Targeted protein degradation in the Nomura Research Group. I also build the software the lab runs on.

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01About

I study chemistry and chemical biology at UC Berkeley, with a minor in data science. In the Nomura Research Group I work on targeted protein degradation: making degraders at the bench, and building the data tooling to make sense of the screens.

The PROTAC degrader MZ1, from crystal structure 5T35, bound to both the VHL E3 ligase and the second bromodomain of BRD4, the ternary complex that marks BRD4 for destruction.

5T35 · MZ1 bridges BRD4 and VHL

02Work

03CV

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Research

  1. Sep 2025 – now

    Nomura Research Group UC Berkeley

    Research Assistant

    Synthesizing E3 ligase-recruiting PROTACs and analogs for targeted protein degradation, and building cheminformatics and machine-learning tooling that ranks chemoproteomic screening hits.

  2. May – Aug 2023

    Bradley University Peoria, IL

    Research Intern

    Developed a Cu(I)–PDMS catalyst for mild-condition CuAAC click chemistry, optimized with ¹H NMR, LC-MS, and flash chromatography; presented at the Bradley Summer Research Symposium.

Industry

  1. Jun – Aug 2025

    J.P. Morgan New York

    Investment Banking Summer Analyst, Healthcare

    M&A and capital-markets work for biopharma and medtech clients (IPOs, follow-ons, strategic reviews), with comparable-company, precedent-transaction, and DCF analysis across therapeutics and diagnostics.

  2. Dec 2024 – Jun 2025

    Cateena Partners Charleston, SC

    Senior Private Equity Analyst

    Led the brokered search: 100+ acquisition targets sourced, diligence on $1M–$10M deals, and three active LOIs. Wrote the onboarding manual and workflow automation for 8+ analysts.

Leadership

  1. Jan 2026 – now

    Berkeley Student Cooperative

    Executive Board, Finance Committee & Health Manager

    Co-developed the turnaround plan that reversed a ~$500K annual operating loss for a student-housing nonprofit serving 1,250+ members.

  2. Spring 2025

    Investment Banking Panel UC Berkeley

    Founder & Lead Organizer

    Brought seven managing directors from J.P. Morgan, Lazard, Moelis, and others to 250+ students; it now runs every year.

Also Committee Chair, BioBusiness Initiative at Berkeley · Executive Committee, American Red Cross (blood drives, volunteer training) · Undergraduate Business Group · Berkeley Swim Club

04Contact

fostermnicholas@gmail.com