Mirela investigates the extent to which we can change healthcare to make it a personal process. Her research focuses on microfluidic biochips, devices that enable direct interaction of humans with their microbiome for diagnosis purposes. So far, Mirela has built systems based on biochips to serve as personal laboratories that people can use to develop customized bio-protocols ("bio-apps").

Mirela is an active contributor to the DIYBio movement, having led and co-founded community wetlabs in Copenhagen (Biologigaragen) and in Berlin (>top). In this context, she organizes interactive performances, art installations and open workshops that engage the public with living materials (e.g., bacteria, viruses, fungi).

Mirela received her PhD from the Technical University of Denmark and was postdoc at Hasso Plattner Institute in Germany. Since 2019, she leads the "Living Matter" research group at University of Colorado, Boulder.