Khiara completed her bachelor’s degree in Molecular Biology at Princeton University, conducting her thesis research on the targeted modification of biomolecules using CRISPR-Cas13 and genetic code expansion technologies in Dr. Cameron Myhrvold’s lab. She first encountered genetic code expansion during the COVID-19 pandemic, leveraging these approaches to study viral trafficking in the lab of Dr. Raphaël Gaudin at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique.

Later, as a recipient of the Henry Richardson Labouisse ’26 Prize, she focused on optimizing a single-cell RNA sequencing approach to investigate malaria parasite persistence in asymptomatic hosts with Dr. Silvia Portugal’s team at the Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology. 

These experiences sparked her interest in the emergence, evolution, and engineering of biological function. She looks forward to further exploring and harnessing these processes during her PhD.

Outside the lab, Khiara enjoys long-distance running and hiking.