Biography
Dr. Lakshmi Krishnan is the Director General of the NRC's Human Health Therapeutics Research Centre. As a globally recognized researcher and expert in the field of infectious diseases and cancer, she is committed to the development of novel therapeutics and innovative solutions for the improvement of human health.
Dr. Krishnan joined the NRC in 1998 and, as a research officer, built expertise in immunology research at the Institute for Biological Sciences, in the areas of vaccine adjuvant development and host pathogen interactions. Prior to her current appointment, she was the Program Lead for Vaccines and Immunotherapy (2015 to 2018) and Director of R&D for Immunobiology (2016 to 2018). Possessing extensive research expertise in the fields of vaccinology and therapeutics development, over the course of her career Dr. Krishnan has been the recipient of numerous competitive research grants from various agencies including the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR), the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH – USA). She also chairs the Federal Vaccine Research Innovation and Development committee, which consists of membership from 13 different federal departments across the Government of Canada.
Dr. Krishnan received her Master's degree in Bio-medical Genetics from the University of Madras (India) and Ph.D. in Immunology from the National Institute of Immunology in India, following which, she completed post-doctoral studies at the University of Alberta through an Alberta Heritage Foundation scholarship. She serves as an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Ottawa and has mentored many graduate students. She also volunteers with several organizations for mentoring leadership skills among youth, and has published over 70 primary research articles in peer-reviewed journals, and is listed as an inventor on several patents.