Dr Marika Salonna is a molecular biologist with a background in evolutionary and developmental biology. She completed a BSc in Biological Sciences and an MSc in Cellular and Molecular Biology before earning her PhD in Molecular Biology at the University of Bari, Italy.

During her PhD, she investigated the evolution of Yamanaka factors across deuterostomes, using Botryllus schlosseri as a model organism to explore the conserved ancestral roles of these genes in chordate pluripotency. Her work also included the use of DNA barcoding for tunicate species identification and phylogenetic reconstruction.

Following her PhD, Marika joined the University of Aberdeen as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow, where her research focused on the canonical Wnt signalling pathway - specifically the evolutionary diversification of TCF/LEF transcription factors and the roles of their alternative transcripts during Xenopus embryonic development. She later transitioned into a Teaching Fellow role at the University of Aberdeen before joining the University of Glasgow in June 2025 as a Lecturer (Scholarship of Teaching and Learning) in Molecular Biosciences.