Biography
Before beginning Malvika’s graduate studies at UW Genome Sciences, where she is co-advised by Dr. Lea Starita and Dr. Douglas Fowler, she earned a degree in Molecular and Cellular Biology from UC Berkeley. After undergrad, she worked at Ultima Genomics and Maze Therapeutics, two biotech companies that deepened her interest in genomics and ultimately inspired her to pursue graduate research. Her work focuses on developing innovative algorithms to reinterpret variant effects. In the lab, she writes code to analyze variant effect data, quantify the likelihood of pathogenicity across diverse variants, and advance the democratization of MAVE data interpretation. Beyond research, she is passionate about science communication and fostering curiosity in others. Through her work, she strives to bridge the gap between data-driven insights and real-world clinical impact.
Employer
University of Washington