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Nika Shakiba

@nikashakiba.bsky.social
67 followers 23 following 2 posts

Asst Professor, School of Biomedical Engineering, UBC; stem cell engineer and synthetic biologist with a passion for science outreach and communication. shakiba.bme.ubc.ca

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Reposted by Nika Shakiba
Nozomu Yachie @nzmyachie.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Maybe it’s time to say goodbye to UMAP and other low-dimensional embeddings (at least in many single-cell analyses). We developed MILK to encode single-cell populations into tree representations at unprecedented scales. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... Here’s what MILK is: 🧵
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Nika Shakiba @nikashakiba.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
[Plz 📢] A little late to the party, but check out our perspective on how cellular heterogeneity can be your friend😊 or foe😠 in cell therapy manufacturing🧫. Shout out to Yeganeh, Hourieh, Enzo, Ali, Yonatan: www.cell.com/cell-systems... @sbmeubc.bsky.social
cell.com
Harnessing heterogeneity for the rational design of cell manufacturing
Dorri Nokoorani et al. argue that heterogeneity can be harnessed as a design feature in the quality-by-design toolkit to optimize the yield, quality, and robustness of bioprocesses for manufacturing s...
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Reposted by Nika Shakiba
Nozomu Yachie @nzmyachie.bsky.social · 25/10/2025
Please 🔁! #MASSIV will be held in Vancouver from January 19-22, 2026. 4-day meeting on #synbio x #tissueengineering. Some trainee-focused events. >50 talks (10 from abstracts), posters, panel & publishing insights sessions. www.massivconference.com Abstract deadline: Nov 14
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Reposted by Nika Shakiba
Marissa Lithopoulos @mlithopoulos.bsky.social · 14/10/2025
🚨THIS WEEK!!! 🔥Only a few tickets left here: bit.ly/sciencestanduptickets @sbmeubc.bsky.social @nikashakiba.bsky.social @canacn.bsky.social @scienceinvancouver.com #Vancouver #scicomm
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Reposted by Nika Shakiba
Marissa Lithopoulos @mlithopoulos.bsky.social · 22/09/2025
Join us for Science, Stand-Up, & Song on Oct 16th @sbmeubc.bsky.social !🙌 This one-of-a-kind variety show includes expert stem cell scientists, amazing comedians, and music throughout! 👩‍🔬🎤🎵 🎟 bit.ly/sciencestanduptickets @nikashakiba.bsky.social @scienceinvancouver.com
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Reposted by Nika Shakiba
Carl T. Bergstrom @carlbergstrom.com · 14/09/2025
1. What does a Cold War-era game theory problem known as the silent duel have to do with high-risk research strategies, publication in Cell/Nature/Science glamor journals, and the academic job market? Kevin Gross and I tackle these questions in our latest arXiv preprint: arxiv.org/abs/2509.06718
How competition propels scientific risk-taking
Kevin Gross∗
Department of Statistics
North Carolina State University
Raleigh, NC USA
Carl T. Bergstrom†
Department of Biology
University of Washington
Seattle, WA USA
(Dated: September 9, 2025)
In science as elsewhere, attention is a limited resource and scientists compete with one another
to produce the most exciting, novel and impactful results. We develop a game-theoretic model to
explore how such competition influences the degree of risk that scientists are willing to embrace in
their research endeavors. We find that competition for scarce resources—for example, publications
in elite journals, prestigious prizes, and faculty jobs—motivates scientific risk-taking and may be
important in counterbalancing other incentives that favor cautious, incremental science. Even small
amounts of competition induce substantial risk-taking. Moreover, we find that in an “opt-in” contest,
increasing the stakes induces increased participation—which crowds the contest and further impels
entrants to pursue higher-risk, higher-return investigations. The model also illuminates a source of
tension in academic training and collaboration. Researchers at different career stages differ in their
need to amass accomplishments that distinguish them from their peers, and therefore may not agree
on what degree of risk to accept.
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Reposted by Nika Shakiba
Science in Vancouver @scienceinvancouver.com · 27/06/2025
🎉 @ubcmedicine.bsky.social scientists have been awarded >$1.8 million from the @stemcellnetwork.ca for projects advancing #StemCell and #RegenerativeMedicine. Congratulations Drs. Timothy Kieffer, Fabio Rossi, Kelly McNagny, Megan Levings, Peter Zandstra, & @nikashakiba.bsky.social! bit.ly/3IiXjs1
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Nika Shakiba @nikashakiba.bsky.social · 06/06/2025
Do you think about cellular heterogeneity? We can relate! Excited to share our latest review @cp-cellsystems.bsky.social on the topic, brought together by an amazing team that debated key definitions to bring this together. #wheeloffate 🧫 @sbmeubc.bsky.social www.cell.com/cell-systems...
cell.com
A systems view of cellular heterogeneity: Unlocking the “wheel of fate”
Movasat et al. explore cellular heterogeneity through a systems biology lens, conceptualizing it from the cell’s perspective and summarizing systems and synthetic biology tools for capturing heterogen...
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Reposted by Nika Shakiba
Carl de Boer @carldeboer.bsky.social · 20/03/2025
Last call for a postdoc position in single cell analysis/perturb-seq with @nikashakiba.bsky.social at UBC in beautiful Vancouver Canada! ubc.wd10.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/ubcfac...
Sunset on UBC campus
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Reposted by Nika Shakiba
Marissa Lithopoulos @mlithopoulos.bsky.social · 13/03/2025
Science, Stand-Up, & Song March 26th at Chill x Studio👩‍🔬 Dr. Nika Shakiba is working towards the development of new engineered cell therapies! 🙌 Tickets: sciencestandupandsong.eventbrite.ca @nikashakiba.bsky.social @sbmeubc.bsky.social Please share!😊 #Vancouver #scicomm #LiveMusic #comedy
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Reposted by Nika Shakiba
Marissa Lithopoulos @mlithopoulos.bsky.social · 11/03/2025
Science, Stand-Up, & Song March 26th at Chill x Studio👩‍🔬 Meet one of the awesome scientists on the panel- Dr. Nika Shakiba! 🙌 Tickets: sciencestandupandsong.eventbrite.ca @nikashakiba.bsky.social @sbmeubc.bsky.social Please share!😊 #Vancouver #scicomm #LiveMusic #comedy
sciencestandupandsong.eventbrite.ca
Science, Stand-Up, & Song
Science Education Fundraiser: 5 hilarious comedians, 3 brilliant scientists, & 1 host to provide music along the way!
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