Dr Vaishnavi Ananthanarayanan
- Ph.D. Biophysics July 2010- Jan 2014
Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, Germany
- B.E. (Hons.) Computer Science and M.Sc. (Hons.) Biological Sciences (dual degree) Aug 2004- Aug 2009
Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, India (CGPA: 9.28/10)
Dr. Vaishnavi Ananthanarayanan is an EMBL Australia Group Leader at Single Molecule Science, School of Medical Sciences.
She graduated with a Ph.D. in Biophysics from the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, Germany in 2014. Prior to this, Vaishnavi pursued a dual degree - M.Sc. Biological Sciences and B.E. Computer Science at BITS, Pilani, India. She started her independent group in 2014 at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore with her Dept. of Science and Technology (India) INSPIRE Faculty Award. She transitioned to an Assistant Professor position in the same institute in 2017. She was awarded the Dept. of Biotechnology (DBT, India) Innovative Young Biotechnologist Award in 2015, Science and Engineering Research Board (India) Early Career Research Award in 2016, and was elected Associate of the Indian Academy of Sciences in 2018. In 2019, she was inducted to the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) as a Young Investigator and was granted the Wellcome Trust/DBT India Alliance Intermediate Fellowship. Most recently, her work was recognised with the Indian National Science Academy’s Medal for Young Scientists 2020 and the American Society for Cell Biology (WICB) Junior Award for Excellence in Research 2021. In June 2020, she co-founded BiasWatchIndia, an initiative to document representation of women, and to combat gender-biased panels at Indian science conferences.
- Publications
- Media
- Grants
- Awards
- Research Activities
- Engagement
- Teaching and Supervision
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2020 |
Medal for Young Scientists, Indian National Science Academy |
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2019 |
Member of the Editorial Advisory Board, Journal of Cell Science |
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‘Cell Scientist to Watch’, Journal of Cell Science |
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Women Excellence Award, Science and Engineering Research Board (India) |
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RI Mazumdar Young Investigator Award |
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BITS Alumni Association Global 30 Under 30 Award |
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2018 |
EMBO Young Investigator |
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Wellcome Trust/DBT – India Alliance Intermediate Fellowship |
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Associate of the Indian Academy of Sciences |
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2016 |
Early Career Research Award, Science and Engineering Research Board (India) |
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2015 |
Innovative Young Biotechnologist Award, Department of Biotechnology (India) |
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2014 |
INSPIRE Faculty Award, Department of Science and Technology (India) |
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2007 |
JNCASR Summer Research Fellowship Rajiv Gandhi National Talent Science Research Fellow |
Cells employ tiny machines called ‘motor proteins’ to carry out a myriad of functions including maintenance of cellular organisation, transport of substances across the cell, and generation of forces required for cell division. These activities of motor proteins are facilitated by polymers inside the cell termed ‘microtubules’. Microtubules function as tracks for motor movement, and alternately as ropes which motor proteins pull on. Several cellular processes require a coordination of motor proteins and microtubules. Scientists have gained a wealth of information by replicating cellular processes involving motors and microtubules outside living cell, in what are called ‘in vitro’ experiments. However, understanding the complex intracellular milieu within which motors operate to organise the cell remains an elusive quest. A thorough investigation of processes regulating motors and microtubules therefore lets us see how these processes unravel in both contexts of health and disease (including neurodegeneration and cancers), where they go rogue.
- Our main research themes are:
- Regulation of motor proteins
- Cytoskeleton-organelle interactions
- Intracellular organisation
- Cellular decision making
- In vivo single-molecule imaging
My Research Supervision
Postdoctoral Fellows
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Mar 2021 – present |
PhD Students
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starting May 2021 |
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Aug 2019 – present |
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Dec 2019 – Nov 2020* |
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Aug 2018 – Nov 2020* |
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July 2015 – Nov 2020 |
Master’s Students
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Dec 2017 – Nov 2020 |
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July 2017 – June 2018 |
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July 2017 – July 2018 |
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Sept 2016 – Nov 2017 |
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July 2016 – July 2017 |
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July 2015 – July 2017 |
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July 2015 – June 2016 |
Undergraduate Students
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Jun 2019 – Aug 2019 |
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May 2019 – July 2019 |
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Aug 2018 – Sept 2018 |
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Aug 2017 – Aug 2018 |
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July 2018 – Aug 2018 |
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May 2018 – July 2018 |
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May 2018 |
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May 2017 – July 2017 |
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May 2017 |
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Sept 2016 – Dec 2016 |
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May 2015 – July 2015 |
My Teaching
Courses
- Cell Mechanics (2019)
30 hours of teaching in a semester to a class of ~25 Undergraduate and Graduate students.
- Biology and Physiology for Engineers (with Prof. Siddharth Jhunjhunwala, BSSE, 2018 – 2020)
7.5 hours of teaching in a semester to a class of ~25 Graduate students.
Invited Instructor
- Introduction to image analysis: A hands-on introduction to image analysis on Fiji/ImageJ. Taught at:
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- RCB Bioimaging Workshop, Regional Centre for Biotechnology, India, 2018
- International Workshop on Modern Biophysical Tools and Techniques, IIT Bombay,India, 2017
- QIP Course on Modern Biophysical Tools and Techniques, IIT Bombay, India, 2017
- Workshop of Biennial Meeting of the Indian Society of Developmental Biologists, IISER Pune, India, 2017
- Cytoskeleton and Motor Proteins (As a part of the Bioengineering Workshop held at, Indian Institute of Science, 2018)
- Advances in Cell Biology – Protein Trafficking (As a part of Indian Science Academies’ Refresher Course for College Teachers)