Invited Faculty - Integration Hub
Dr. Ariangela J. Kozik, PhD, is currently a NHLBI PRIDE scholar and Research Investigator in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at the University of Michigan, where she studies microbial-immune relationships in adult asthma, with emphasis on precision approaches for asthma treatment. Her interests lie at the intersection of the human microbiome, systems biology, and inflammatory disease. She is also the Co-Founder and Vice President of the Black Microbiologists Association (BMA, also Black In Microbiology).
Ari earned a BS in Biotechnology before obtaining her PhD in Comparative Pathobiology at Purdue University. After completing undergraduate research on phage diversity and doctoral study on the gut microbiome in Inflammatory Bowel Disease, she received an NIH NRSA postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Michigan where she studied the relationship between the respiratory microbiome and asthma heterogeneity.
Ari believes that increasing public engagement with science and the scientific process is critical to a just society, and her science communication efforts have included audiences from elementary school students to adults. Her work to promote equity in STEM is centered on racial justice and the needs of trainees with dependents. Launched in 2020, BMA has established a community of over 250 Black microbiologists across career stages and sectors and presented two virtual week-long conferences. She has also launched two organizations to support trainees with dependents.
Ari serves on the Health Equity and Diversity Committee of the American Thoracic Society, and also promotes research on the reciprocal impact of social inequity and microbiomes through her work with the Microbes and Social Equity Working Group.
