Investigating genetic regulation in the human placenta, while sipping on my flat white.
Big fan of ggplot2 and Jazz music. Jack-of-all-Trades kinda person

About Me

A PhD Candidate in the Medical Genetics Graduate Program at The University of British Columbia, I currently reside in the lovely and vibrant city of Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada.

My research interests lie in developmental, cardiovascular, and population genetics. My curiosity is driven by wanting to elucidate the genetic differences that exist between populations of different ancestries.

I firmly believe that the more you give, the more you get, and as such, I try to give back as much as I can to the community.

I’m an avid bibliophile, coffee enthusiast, and culinary aficionado. I also make and sell custom genetics-themed graphics and merchandise on Etsy!


| | | | Google Scholar


View my latest Academic CV

Last updated: October 2024


Latest Highlights:

Skills

Research Background: Genomics and bioinformatics - developmental/embryonic genetics, cardiovascular genetics, epidemiology, lung and liver cancer, RNA, biostatistics

Programming: R/RMarkdown/R Shiny, Linux/BASH, HPC, Git/GitHub, Jupyter

Database Usage: NCBI, OMIM, GEO, UCSC Genome Browser, ClinVar, GeneCards, UniProt, GTex, miRBase, RNACentral

Genomics Analysis Tools: IGV, PLINK, GEMMA, miRMaster

Data Types: GWAS Summary Statistics/SNP (UK/China Kadoorie/Japan Biobanks), RNA sequencing (total and small), single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq), DNA methylation (850/450K)

Education


PhD in Medical Genetics

The University of British Columbia, Canada
(2019 - )


Thesis Project: Characterizing small non-coding RNAs in the Human Placenta.
Dr. Wendy Robinson - BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute | Lab Website
Dr. Wan Lam - BC Cancer Research Centre | Lab Website


Publications / Awards / Communications


Awards:

  • IFPA New Investigator Award 2024 – International Federation of Placenta Associations (IFPA)

  • 4 Year Doctoral Fellowship (4YF) Award (2020-2024) – The University of British Columbia

  • The James Miller Memorial Prize - Department of Medical Genetics, The University of British Columbia

  • President’s Academic Excellence Initiative PhD Award (2020-2024) – The University of British Columbia

  • International Tuition Award (2019-2024) – The University of British Columbia

  • Diversity Scholar 2022 - RStudio PBC

  • Trainee Travel Grant 2022 - BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute

  • Virtual Knowledge Exchange Grant 2021 – BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute


Selected Publications:

View all on Google Scholar or ORCiD.


Communication:

MSc in Genetics of Human Disease

University College London, London, England
Wellcome Sanger Institute, Cambridge, London
(2017 - 2018)


Dissertation: Comparing the Genetic Architecture of Lipid Traits between Populations
Supervisor: Dr. Karoline Kuchenbaecker


Publications / Awards / Communications:

Publication: Kuchenbaecker K, Telkar N, Reiker T, et al. The transferability of lipid loci across African, Asian and European cohorts. 2019. Nature Communications; 10: 4330.

  • Polygenics Risk Scores published on EMBL-EBI’s PGS Catalog

BSc in Biomedical Genetics

The University of Newcastle upon Tyne, England
(2014 -2017)


Dissertation: Genome-wide RNAi Screening to identify new genes involved in Mitochondrial Disease


University Profile

Publications / Awards / Communications

Awards:

  • Genes and Development Summer Studentship 2016 – The Genetics Society UK

  • Faculty of Medical Sciences Undergraduate Research Scholarship 2016 – Newcastle University

  • Commendation Award – Newcastle University Student Research Scholarships and Expeditions 2016

  • Second Place Poster Award 2016 – Newcastle University Faculty of Medicine

  • ncl+ Award – Newcastle University (for extracurricular achievement)


Publications:


Professional Experience


Investment Associate

Front Row Ventures, British Columbia, Canada (October 2023 - )

  • Canada’s leading student-founder focused VC firm with a presence on 20+ university campuses across Canada
  • Deal sourcing within the BC student-start up ecosystem with extensive due diligence to bring ventures till final-decision Investment Committee meetings


Activator Co-Director / British Columbia Regional Director

Nucleate: Canada Chapter, Canada (November 2023 - )

  • Recruited to establish this trainee-run, non-profit biotech organisation pan-Canada: Leading our flagship program across Canada, fostering partnerships with life sciences firms in Canada, and securing monetary and in-kind sponsorships
  • Locally in Vancouver: Sourcing university-based and professional champions for the Chapter, partnering with university tech transfer and innovation offices, team recruitment, and program planning


Fellow - Frequency Bio

Pillar VC, Boston (August 2024)

  • A virtual bootcamp designed to explore building a biotech venture
  • Only applicant from Canada selected of 70 total worldwide


Fellow: Scientific Lead - MedTech

Nucleate Genesis, Canada (February - May 2024)

  • 12-week intensive and hands-on curriculum including venture ideation, IP, derisking, product-market fit culminating in a pitch competition
  • Developed and pitched an assay for early-cancer detection as part of a cross-continent team of three (UPenn, Georgia Tech)
  • Only student from Canada selected of 18 total, from >200 applicants


Biomedical Data Analyst

BenchSci, Toronto, Canada (April 2022 - October 2023)

  • Labelling biomedical data for the platform’s ML training model (>100k labels till date)
  • Annotating scientific publication figures for image to text (vision) training
  • Contributing to the platform’s UX design as part of the internal Discovery and Validation team


BioInnovation Scientist Trainee

adMare BiInnovations, Canada (April - June 2023)

  • Hands-on training about the Canadian life sciences industry, scaling small molecule and biologics discovery, pre-clinical and clinical development, and therapeutics commercialization


Co-Chair

Trainee Omics Group (TOG) Committee, BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute (September 2021 - Present)


Biostatistics Expert

BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute, Vancouver, Canada (Jan - June 2021)

  • Developed open access videos and resources focused on the statistical terms, concepts, and analyses undertaken in health research at all educational levels (beginner, intermediate and advanced) for the BCCHR 2021 Summer Student Research Program
  • Created an Introduction to Biomedical Data Analysis hands-on R tutorial
  • Videos available on the BCCHR website


Teaching Assistant

The University of British Columbia, Canada (Sept - Dec 2020)

  • TA for the graduate MEDG 520 Advanced Human Molecular Genetics course in the Department of Medical Genetics.
  • Instrumental in restructuring the course and assignment format for the year
  • Facilitated in transitioning this in-person, discussion-based course to a virtual environment (chose the platform for teaching and guided instructors through its usage)
  • Held real-time online tutorials on topics most requested by the students (as well as one-on-one meetings and discussions)
  • Named "the best TA he's ever worked with" by the Head of the Medical Genetics Graduate Program : “Nikita always responded promptly and thoughtfully to requests for advice. Her input and assistance helped guide the learning process. She did everything I think a good teacher should, and went above and beyond the time and effort I would expect from a TA. She was the best part of the course.”


Visiting Scholar

MIT-ADT School of Bioengineering Sciences and Research, Pune, India (Feb - July 2019)

  • Invited Visiting Lecturer (3 lectures) in Genetics for the Bachelor of Technology-Bioengineering undergraduate program


Founder

ScribblezbyNiki (June 2021 - )

  • Designing genetics/science-inspired merchandise sold on Etsy
  • Each order has received 5-star reviews

SPIRITFUL (April - September 2019)

  • Started a business selling original artwork, handling all workflow from procuring raw material, assembly, marketing, to shipping
  • 60% profit margin, 25% of profits directed to the HelpAge India NGO - a non-profit focused on the elderly


Biosciences Administration Assistant

Department of Neuroscience, University College London (Nov 2017 - Jan 2018)

  • Responsible for sorting and filing a large amount of incoming PhD applications

Community Involvement


Advisory Committee Member

Department of Medical Genetics, UBC (2019 – Present)


Research Mentor

Newcastle University and UBC (2015 – 2016 / 2020 – Present)


Executive Consultant

UBC Medical Genetics Graduate Student Association (January 2021 – Present)

  • Assisting the board with executive decisions and planning events at this departmental social and outreach association
  • Recruited panelists and moderated the Alumni Panel at the annual welcome event (received public acknowledgment), directed a fundraiser (raised ~$300), developed the website


Marketing and Social Media Lead

UBC Undergraduate 3 Minute Thesis Committee (2020 – 2021)


Volunteer

Geneskool, Genome British Columbia (October 2019 – October 2020)

  • Conducted in-person interactive activities focused on introducing and educating students (ages 10-12) about genetics and its applications at local schools in Vancouver
  • Committee Member at the Girls and STEAM Symposium 2019 hosted by BC Science World


Vice President

Newcastle South Asian Society (2016 – 2017)

  • Second-in-charge in this cultural society committee and responsible for delegating and supervising tasks
  • Oversaw event management – Corresponding with services and sponsors, locating venues, recording inventory, maintaining finances
  • Events arranged for up to 20 to 500 guests
  • Publicity Officer (2015 – 2016) – Management of all social media accounts of the committee, main email correspondent, digitization of all posters and tickets.

Workshops


Building Production-Quality Shiny Applications

rstudio::conf(2022), Washington D.C.

  • Chose this complimentary workshop awarded under RStudio’s Diversity Scholarship
  • Lead by Eric Nantz, this workshop taught best-practices to write UI and Server-side code for Shiny for R web application development


Graduate Instructional Skills Workshop

Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology, UBC

  • 4-day workshop (24-hour) consisting of teaching practice, theory application, and topical sessions specifically relevant for Teaching Assistants. Delivered 3 short lectures on the genetics of the ABO blood groups
  • Feedback from fellow team member: "Nikita, your students will be lucky to have you, you make everything so easy to understand.”


Extras

  • Judges’ Choice Award - GrasRoots Case Competition 2021, The University of British Columbia
  • UCL Business Game 2017 – University College London
  • News Reporter – Health Science Inquiry, 2019 – 2020: Published a Photo Essay ‘A Week in the Life of a Geneticist’ in their 2020 issue.