Angelika Niemz

Dr. Angelika Niemz is the Finnigan Professor of Applied Life Sciences and Dean of the Riggs School of Applied Life Sciences at Keck Graduate Institute. She holds a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Massachusetts Amherst (1999) and a bachelor's degree from the University of Konstanz, Germany (1992). Her expertise spans medical diagnostics, nucleic acid testing, and infectious disease research. Dr. Niemz has held progressive roles including Assistant Professor (2002), Associate Professor (2008), Director of Research (post-sabbatical 2009), Department Chair (2021), and Associate Dean (2022). Her research focuses on developing point-of-care diagnostic systems for infectious diseases like tuberculosis, Chlamydia, and Dengue fever, integrating isothermal amplification and lateral flow detection technologies. She has secured funding from NIH, NSF, and DoD, and organized a summer undergraduate research program at KGI.

Research Interests: Dr. Niemz specializes in translating molecular diagnostics into practical tools for global health challenges. Her work emphasizes low-cost, rapid nucleic acid testing systems for resource-limited settings, including innovations in sample preparation, isothermal amplification methods, and Raman-based sensor technologies for volatile biomarkers. Her team has developed integrated sample-to-answer platforms for tuberculosis diagnosis and mechanical bacterial lysis devices for robust pathogen detection.

Advising & Grants: Dr. Niemz has directed externally funded research projects totaling over $X million, managed multidisciplinary teams, and mentored numerous graduate students in bioengineering and applied life sciences. Her administrative leadership includes overseeing faculty development as Associate Dean and advancing interdisciplinary programs at KGI. Current initiatives focus on expanding point-of-care technologies and fostering industry partnerships in diagnostic innovation.

Labs & Teams: Her laboratory at the Riggs School develops integrated diagnostic systems combining microfluidics, molecular biology, and sensor engineering. Collaborations include partnerships with Roche Molecular Diagnostics and global health organizations to deploy field-ready diagnostic tools.