After studies at different European institutions in Romania, France and Italy, she received a doctoral degree in Romance Languages from the University of Pittsburgh. Her research focuses on the medieval moral theories in France and Italy as reflected in the literature in Old French and Old Italian texts. She has published articles in many prestigious international journals. Her book, titled The Rose and Geryon: The Poetics of Fraud and Violence in Jean de Meun and Dante, was published in 2014 by the Catholic University of America Press. Professor Baika is currently teaching French and Italian languages, and Western Civilization (Ancient and Medieval). In her classes, she aims at stimulating her students’ curiosity and enthusiasm not just for the linguistic systems, but also for the cultural contexts (history, art, society, and current events) of France and Italy.