Dr Ryka Walanda is a lecturer and medical doctor pursuing a career as an Indonesian civil servant with research interests relating to genetics, degenerative diseases (hypertension and diabetes mellitus), and wound care.

She is undergoing a PhD in Medical Genetics at The University of Newcastle, Australia under the supervision of Professor Murray Cairns and Dr. Laura Greco, working on the HOPES Trial (Hypertension Optimised by Pharmagenic Enrichment Scoring Trial)