Niki Spahich headshot

Niki Spahich, PhD

Niki Spahich earned her PhD in genetics and genomics from Duke University, where she studied Haemophilus influenzae membrane proteins that contribute to respiratory infections. She later explored Staphylococcus aureus metabolism during her postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Prior to joining The Scientist, Niki taught biology, microbiology, and genetics at various academic institutions. She also developed a passion for science communication in written, visual, and spoken forms, which led her to start Science Riot, a nonprofit dedicated to teaching scientists how to communicate to the public through the lens of comedy. Niki is currently the manager of The Scientist's Creative Services Team.

Articles by Niki Spahich, PhD

Graphic depicting a tumor being targeted by a drug

Great Anticancer Potential Comes in a Small Package 

Abstract, colorful illustration of the human brain

A Gene Therapy to Treat the FOXG1 Brain Disorder 

Salmonella living within macrophages can survive antibiotic treatment and potentially give rise to resistance by two different mechanisms that slow or arrest their growth.

Slow Bacterial Growth Enables Antibiotic Resistance

Graphic of multiple colorful bacterial types making up a microbiota

Searching for New Bacterial Therapeutics Amongst Microbial Neighbors

Cross-section of soil showing roots within and green plants above.

Getting to the Root of the Plant Microbiota

Image of The 84-Gun Danish Warship "Dronning Marie" in the Sound by Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg, a painting that depicts one large and two small Danish ships in the sea.

Uncovering Secrets of Historic Paintings in the Modern Laboratory

3D cubes showing letters representing the four DNA bases (adenine, guanine, cytosine, and thymine) and small DNA helices.

Discovering the Functions of Noncoding Sequence Variants

3D rendered spheroids floating on a blue background.

Developing Homogenous 3D Neural Cultures for High Throughput Screening

Creativity concept with a brain exploding in colors.

Understanding the Symphony of Human Brain Development

Children running through a field.

Aimless Monocytes Underlie a Rare Lung Disease

Bacteriologist Melinda Grosser holds the book <em >House of Mirth&nbsp;</em>by Edith Wharton and an agar art plate that recreates the book cover.

Where Books Meet Bacteria

Colorful assortment of genes in a glass jar and hands entering the picture presenting different numerical guesses.

How Many Genes Do Humans Have?

Lenses of a fluorescent microscope illuminate a sample on a microscope slide.

A Colorful Approach to Tracking Cellular Cargo

Exploring the Past, Present, and Future of Brain Organoids 

Advanced Spatial Tools Map Hematopoietic Stem Cell Niches

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3D illustration of a gold lipid nanoparticle with pink nucleic acid inside of it. Purple and teal spikes stick out from the lipid bilayer representing polyethylene glycol.
February 2025, Issue 1

A Nanoparticle Delivery System for Gene Therapy

A reimagined lipid vehicle for nucleic acids could overcome the limitations of current vectors.

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Enhancing Therapeutic Antibody Discovery with Cross-Platform Workflows

Enhancing Therapeutic Antibody Discovery with Cross-Platform Workflows

Considerations for Cell-Based Assays in Immuno-Oncology Research

Considerations for Cell-Based Assays in Immuno-Oncology Research

An illustration of animal and tree silhouettes.

From Water Bears to Grizzly Bears: Unusual Animal Models

Sex Differences in Neurological Research

Sex Differences in Neurological Research

Products

Photo of a researcher overseeing large scale production processes in a laboratory.

Scaling Lentiviral Vector Manufacturing for Optimal Productivity

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Collage-style urban graphic of wastewater surveillance and treatment

Putting Pathogens to the Test with Wastewater Surveillance

An illustration of an mRNA molecule in front of a multicolored background.

Generating High-Quality mRNA for In Vivo Delivery with lipid nanoparticles

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Tecan introduces Veya: bringing digital, scalable automation to labs worldwide