Jelena Samonina

Education

M.S. Organic Chemistry, Warsaw University, Poland, 2006
Ph.D. Organic Chemistry, Warsaw University, Poland, 2010
Visiting Research Fellow, National Institutes of Health, MD, 2012
Postdoctoral Research Associate, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, 2012 – 2014
Postdoctoral Fellow, Stanford University, CA, 2014 – 2016

Biography

Dr. Jelena Samonina joined the faculty of the University of Virginia’s Department of Chemistry in 2019. She earned her M.S. and Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from Warsaw University and completed postdoctoral training at the University of Virginia and Stanford University before joining the faculty at Washington and Lee University.

Dr. Samonina’s work advances chemistry education through the design of scalable, evidence-based teaching practices for large-enrollment STEM courses. Her teaching and scholarship focus on metacognition, student learning, and exam preparation, with particular emphasis on helping students become more effective, self-regulated learners. She has developed structured metacognitive learning cycles that integrate mock exams, reflective study plans, and confidence-based assessment to strengthen student performance, calibration, and long-term learning.

Dr. Samonina has led multiple course redesign initiatives in organic chemistry and biochemistry and contributes to faculty development through the UVA Center for Teaching Excellence. She is also the founder and director of international programs including UVA in the Netherlands: Applied Organic Chemistry II and UVA in Belgium: Applied Biochemistry for Pre-Health, which connect chemistry education with global and societal perspectives.

Dr. Samonina’s broader scholarly interests include innovative, student-centered approaches to STEM teaching and the integration of generative AI into higher education. Her earlier research explored topics at the interface of organic and polymer chemistry, nanomaterials, and medicine, including applications in drug delivery, imaging, and diagnostics.