Nika Shakiba

Assistant Professor, University of British Columbia

Role: Scientist

Sites: CDL-Vancouver, CDL-Wisconsin

Stream: Cancer

Nika Shakiba is an assistant professor in the School of Biomedical Engineering at the University of British Columbia and an Allen Distinguished Investigator. She received her bachelor’s from the
engineering science program, and subsequently completed a PhD in stem cell bioengineering under the supervision of Dr. Peter Zandstra, both at the University of Toronto. She conducted her postdoctoral training under the co-supervision of Dr. Ron Weiss and Dr. Domitilla Del Vecchio in the Synthetic Biology Center at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Nika’s training trajectory has instilled in her a scientific philosophy that is rooted in interdisciplinary thinking and collaborations. Her independent research program is interested in the “social lives” of pluripotent stem cells: how these cells interact to influence one another’s survival and cell fate decisions, both in culture and embryonic development. Nika’s 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 also committed to training the next generation of biomedical researchers with core expertise that span life sciences and engineering. These scientific leaders will have the know-how to develop cutting-edge technologies, serve as nodes for interdisciplinary collaboration, and tackle fundamental scientific questions. She has co-developed a national workshop brining synthetic biology to stem cell trainees in the Canadian Stem Cell Network. Beyond her research and teaching, Dr. Shakiba has been actively involved in science communication and outreach, bringing the science and ethics of stem cell research to the general public and youth. She is also passionate about providing equity in mentorship and multi-directional advice-sharing through her latest project, Advice to a Scientist.