Nika Shakiba
About
Nika Shakiba is an Assistant Professor in the School of Biomedical Engineering (SBME) at the University of British Columbia and a Canada Research Chair in Cellular Engineering. Her research focuses on understanding the “social lives” of pluripotent stem cells, examining how these cells interact to influence one another’s survival and cell fate decisions, both in culture and during embryonic development. Her lab uses systems and synthetic biology to understand the genetic rules that encode cooperative and competitive interactions between stem cells. Leveraging genetic engineering, her lab seeks to program these interactions to drive predictable growth and differentiation outcomes and enable robust bioprocesses for manufacturing stem cell-derived cell therapies. Nika is a big believer in outreach and mentorship. Beyond her research and teaching, she is passionate about providing equity in mentorship & advice access through her latest project, Advice to a Scientist.