Danika Bannasch obtained her Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from Princeton University under the direction of Dr. Shirley Tilghman. She then attended the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of California at Davis and received her DVM in 1998. While in Veterinary school she performed post-doctoral research in Dr. Jasper Rine’s Lab at UC Berkeley. After completing her DVM, Danika trained at Stanford University for one year in the Pediatrics/Genetics program. She is now an assistant professor of genetics in the Department of Population Health and Reproduction in the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of California at Davis. She has a partial clinical appointment and is the chief of the Genetics service at the teaching hospital. The Genetics service at UC Davis provides counseling and information to breeders, owners and veterinarians about inherited diseases in companion animals.
In her spare time Danika trains and competes in conformation, agility, obedience and hunt tests with her Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever Kefi. Danika shares her life with her husband Mike and their four dogs; Gromit (Shelter dog), Lucy (Whippet), Mika (Dalmatian) and Kefi (NSDTR).