Vik was born in Columbus, Ohio. He received his B.S. in Chemistry and Biochemistry from the University of Michigan Dearborn in 2011. After undergraduate he spent a few years working as a synthetic chemist at Cayman Chemical in Ann Arbor, MI, working on the total synthesis of prostacyclins. Vik obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan, working in the Sherman Lab where he characterized bacterial cytochromes P450 and their molecular basis for selectivity in the biosynthesis of non-symmetrical diketopiperazine dimers. Vik joined the Moore lab in March 2020 and is currently exploring the biosynthesis of sponge-derived natural products. Being from the midwest, Vik misses the cold weather, and despite the unforgiving California sun enjoys dark beer, and spicy noodle soups.