Dr. Harkas interest in research began when Dr. Aarti Raja introduced Tiny Earth to his freshman Biology I lab. This spark of interest lead to the completion of Honors Thesis under the guidance of Dr. Raja which was presented at the 2018 Tiny Earth Symposium. He graduated in 2018 with a Bachelor’s in Science in Biology and minors in Chemistry, Mathematics, and Physics. He then graduated from NSUMD in May 2022 and will be starting his surgical residency in June 2022. His current research interests include critical care, sepsis, trauma, and medical education.