Dr. Anastasia Zhurikhina started her academic journey in applied mathematics and physics, fascinated by how complex systems could be modeled and understood. But biology kept pulling her in, leading her to a Ph.D. in Bioinformatics and Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech, where she explored vascular biomechanics and cerebral cavernous malformations (CCM) through a mix of computational modeling, RNA-seq analysis, and experimental techniques.
Now a postdoctoral researcher at the BAKAR Aging Research Institute at UCSF, she studies how extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling and mechanotransduction shape cellular aging. Her work combines single-cell technologies, high-dimensional data analysis, and functional genomics to uncover the molecular forces driving tissue degeneration.
With a background spanning biophysics, machine learning, and experimental biology, she thrives in developing creative multimodal approaches to dissect complex biological problems. She has built platforms like EdgeProps to track cellular dynamics and BudTrack for analyzing morphogenetic timing, always looking for new ways to extract meaning from messy biological data.
When she’s not unraveling the mysteries of aging, she’s likely practicing flamenco, aerial acrobatics, or getting lost in sci-fi worlds over a good cup of tea.