Vaishnavi Ananthanarayanan

Dr Vaishnavi Ananthanarayanan is an Assistant Professor and EMBL Australia Group Leader at the University of New South Wales (UNSW), based within the School of Medical Sciences and the Single Molecule Science initiative. She also holds an Honorary Assistant Professorship at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, where she began her independent career.

Education

• Ph.D. in Biophysics, Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden (2010–2014)
• M.Sc. (Hons.) Biological Sciences & B.E. (Hons.) Computer Science, BITS Pilani, India (2004–2009)

Research Interests

Her laboratory investigates the regulation of motor proteins and cytoskeleton-organelle interactions that underlie intracellular organisation and cellular decision-making. Using cutting-edge single-molecule live-cell imaging, super-resolution fluorescence microscopy and quantitative image analysis, she deciphers how microtubule-based motors coordinate to maintain cellular homeostasis and how their mis-regulation contributes to neurodegeneration and cancer.

Awards & Recognition

• UNSW Researcher of the Year 2023
• ASCB Junior Award for Excellence in Research 2021
• Indian National Science Academy Medal for Young Scientists 2020
• EMBO Young Investigator 2019
• Wellcome Trust/DBT India Alliance Intermediate Fellowship 2018
• Associate, Indian Academy of Sciences 2018
• Early Career Research Award, SERB India 2016
• Innovative Young Biotechnologist Award, DBT India 2015
• DST-INSPIRE Faculty Award 2014

Supervision & Mentoring

Dr Ananthanarayanan currently mentors several post-doctoral fellows and higher-degree research students at UNSW, spanning Honours, Masters and PhD levels, fostering the next generation of interdisciplinary cell biologists and biophysicists.

Teaching & Outreach

She has designed and taught courses such as Cell Mechanics and Biology & Physiology for Engineers, and regularly delivers hands-on workshops on image analysis for national and international audiences. In 2020 she co-founded BiasWatchIndia, a widely-recognised initiative to address gender imbalance on scientific panels in India.