Hey hey hey! I’m Niba and these are my notes! I tell the stories of science through multimedia: articles, photos, social media, podcasts, but mostly through videos. I was born, raised, and am now on Ramaytush Ohlone land (San Francisco, CA).

Notes By Niba explores the science of beauty. If you've wondered how henna dyes your skin, how we use artificial intelligence in fashion, or what makes manuka honey so special - come check it out here!

Before this, I earned degrees in Genetics (B.S., M.S.), Toxicology, and Diversity Studies. To learn more about my science, click here.

Now I work at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, creating videos, social media, and more! Previously, I was a Mass Media Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences (AAAS) at SciShow, won the Jackson Wild science filmmaking fellowship, wrote articles for Stanford, and way more! Full breakdown here.

Science is important and relevant everywhere, but it has excluded certain communities and the specialized technical language can be confusing. Through accessible and engaging content, I hope to encourage curiosity in our community.

By exploring the science of cosmetics, fashion, and skincare; Notes By Niba enables viewers to optimize their beauty routine.

Plants are our silent MVPs, giving us everything from food to medicine to fashion. That means it’s critical to be able to detect, learn from, and innovate with our green friends. Our past, present, and future depends on plants.

Research Projects

  • Graduate Thesis Project

  • Graduate Research Project

  • Undergrad Honors Thesis

  • My main research project in Dr. Philip Benfey’s lab investigated how stem cells express genes to develop.

    Plants have stem cells for their entire life, which eventually become specialized cells - my PhD thesis project is to discover how one stem cell at the tip of plant roots becomes two very different cells. Because gene networks control every biological process, my research benefits many other fields. For example, many human diseases are caused by impaired networks (ex. cancer).

    Scientific specifics: My research looks into the SCARECROW plant gene, which forms two tissues – the cortex and endodermis. This is done by a certain kind of cell division, where one cell becomes a cortex cell and the other becomes an endodermal cell. Without the SCARECROW gene, the original cell never divides and is just one fat mutant cell that acts like BOTH a cortex and an endodermis at the same time. Just like how the SCARECROW in Wizard of Oz doesn’t have brain tissue, these plants are also missing a tissue. But we don’t know what the proper SCARECROW expression is to form these two tissues. My research is to determine what kind of SCARECROW gene expression–not just the amount but also at what time–is needed to form cortex and endodermis. By using existing gene modules, I can create different gene circuits to figure out what kind of SCARECROW expression will make the cell divide and get the proper tissues in plant roots. I can see this division in real time in living plants with a super powerful microscope in my laboratory.

  • I investigated below-ground plant growth by identifying a hormone which determines where and how to grow into soil. Link to Research Paper.

    Scientific specifics: investigated a molecular pathway controlling cellular elongation during circular rice root tip movement. Identified key contributor to be the regulation of transport of the plant hormone auxin using hormone treatments, gene expression analysis, and mutant analysis.

  • In my final year at UC Davis, I executed independent project investigating how tomato roots change their polymer composition to cope with water stresses in Dr. Siobhan Brady’s lab.

    Scientific specifics: Executed independent research project investigating suberin response to water stresses. Analyzed root exodermal composition of suberin and lignin by confocal microscopy and image analysis. Identified tomato genes responsible for suberin biosynthesis and regulation using CRISPR/Cas9 in conjunction with hairy root transformation system.