Cherbrolu is from Frisco, Texas.[3] She attended Independence High School.[4] In 2019, after recovering from influenza, Cherbrolu developed an interest in treating viral diseases.[5]
In 2020, as a 14 year old freshman, she won the 3M Young Scientist Challenge and $25,000.[6][4] Although Anika's project originally aimed to find a treatment for the influenza virus, after the pandemic she refocused her research to COVID-19.[4] Her work uses in-silico methodology to find lead molecules that can selectively bind to the spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.[7] These discovered molecules are able to hinder the spread of the virus into human body cells.[5]