Anika is a graduate student in the Molecular Engineering and Sciences Ph.D. program at the University of Washington. She received her B.S. in Biochemistry from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she worked with Dr. Hiroshi Maeda. In the Kuchina Lab at ISB, Anika is utilizing microbial split-pool ligation transcriptomics to study host-pathogen interactions. Transcriptomic analyses of single bacterial cells allow for gene expression profiling within systems where bacteria may act as both a host for bacteriophages and pathogen against eukaryotic cells. Preliminary work investigates how bacteriophages modulate the human gut microbiome.

In her free time, Anika enjoys hiking, road biking, and dancing. She grew up in Kingston, Ontario and Ann Arbor, Michigan.