From growing up in India, leaving her family to chase her dreams, being a highly successful woman in a male-dominated field, to researching treatments for HIV with CRISPR, Dr. Prasad does it all. We thoroughly enjoyed our conversation with her! Samiksha Prasad, Ph.D. joined Nova Southeastern University in 2017 as an Assistant Professor of Microbiology and Immunology. Currently, she teaches bacteriology and virology in multiple HPD colleges and also serves as the Biomedical Informatics Thread Director at the Kiran C Patel College of Allopathic Medicine. Dr. Prasad has three years of experience as a facilitator using multiple learning modalities within integrated, preclinical medical education curricula. She also has an active research program focused on human microbiome research, as well as analyzing the CRISPR/Cas9 technology as an applicable tool in Medical Interventions for HIV treatment and Duchene Muscular Dystrophy Syndrome. She serves as a member on a number of committees, including the NSU MD Diversity Committee, Pre-Clerkship Curriculum Committee, Medical Education Research Committee, and Student Progress and Advising Committee. Dr. Prasad earned her Bachelor’s in Technology Engineering Degree in Genetic Engineering from Allahabad Agriculture University, India, and her Ph.D. in Microbiology and Cell Science at University of Florida. She continued on at the University of Florida to complete postdoctoral research on Parasitic Proteomics and Immunology. During this time, she also taught undergraduate, graduate, and medical science courses at University of Florida, Santa Fe College and Polk State College. Dr. Prasad enjoys teaching and research and firmly believes that more than
imparting knowledge, it is important to promote critical thinking and scientific thought. — Hosts: Daniel Epstein & Raj Kavadi Producer: Timothy Crowe Music: Foximusic.com