Anika Du Plessis
Prebiotic origin of reaction networks, In vitro reaction networks for molecular information processing, Robot Lab
About me
Anika obtained her Master’s degree in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology at the beautiful Stellenbosch University in South Africa. Her research-based master’s investigated the possibility of the formation of protometabolic reaction networks in an in silico hydrothermal vent setting. She is interested in discovering the border between life and non-life and the mechanisms that govern the separation. For her PhD project she will be investigating how complex chemistry in the formose reaction could be used for reservoir computing. In her free time she loves cooking, chess and reading.
Interests
Origin of Life, Prebiotic Chemistry, Reservoir Computing, Molecular Information Processing, Computational Biology
Education
B.Sc. in Biochemistry and Microbiology, 2021 North West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa
B.Sc(Hons) in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, 2022, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa
MSc in Bioinformatics and Computational BIology, 2025, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa