Nicole Sonnert

Nicole is an associate on the engineered biology investment team at Playground, where she identifies groundbreaking companies and helps support portfolio companies. Originally from Cambridge, MA, Nicole completed a dual degree engineering program at Mount Holyoke College and Dartmouth College, studying Biomathematics and Chemical Engineering. Afterward, she joined Adimab, L.L.C. as a pre-doctoral researcher in biotechnology, contributing to antibody discovery efforts for high-profile partner campaigns.
Nicole continued her academic journey at Yale University, earning a Ph.D. in Microbiology as both a Gruber and NSF Graduate Research Fellow. Her groundbreaking work focused on mapping direct interactions between human proteins and bacteria from the microbiome, with her dissertation research published on the cover of Nature.
Her interest in venture capital was sparked through a fellowship with Canaan Partners, and she served on the board of the Yale Biotech Club, where she directed venture capital programming.
When not working, Nicole likes to hike, row, paint, and make pottery.