Rakshanya Sekar

Rakshanya Sekar is a final-year Medical Research PhD candidate at The Australian National University (ANU), affiliated with the ANU College of Science and Medicine, Biology Teaching & Learning Centre, and Eccles Institute of Neuroscience. As a casual session academic, she contributes to teaching and mentoring at the Research School of Biology. Her primary research focuses on developing extracellular vesicle-based therapeutics for age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and investigating mechanisms of retinal degeneration, including pyroptosis and inflammation. She actively promotes diversity in STEMM through roles as Neuroscience HDR representative, Future Research Talent ambassador, and organizer of the Brainteaser outreach event.

Her research interests span neurodegenerative diseases, immunology, and oncology, with a focus on interdisciplinary approaches combining molecular biology and clinical applications. Recent work explores gliotic responses in neurodegeneration and the role of retrotransposons in oral cancers.

• Awards: None explicitly listed.
• Grants/Advising: No grants or advisee students mentioned.
• Labs/Teams: Clear Vision Research Lab (primary affiliation).