"Did you know that spider webs are stronger than steel?"

A PhD student at ITMO’s ChemBio Cluster

Anastasia Kryuchkova

Creates wound-healing materials from spider web.

Finds inspiration in fashion,

Woody Allen films

Anastasia used to dream of being a makeup artist or barista, but she found her calling in studying the properties of spider webs.

and Italy

Don’t visit her lab if you have arachnophobia, because it’s home to more than 50 spiders! Alexandra uses spider silk to produce materials that can be used in implantology and targeted drug delivery.

For her, spiders are just as cute as kittens.

Anastasia doesn’t believe in idols — she thinks that everyone has a unique path in life.