Lakshmi Krishnan, Ph.D.

Vice-President of Life Sciences (acting)
National Research Council Canada (NRC)

Dr. Lakshmi Krishnan was appointed acting Vice-President of Life Sciences in July 2020. In this capacity, she oversees the Human Health Therapeutics, Aquatic and Crop Resource Development and Medical Devices research centres.

As a globally recognized Life Sciences researcher Dr. Krishnan has been a leader for driving innovation in the area of novel biologics treatments for the improvement of human health. In her current role, she is committed to Health Innovation and sustainable bio-economy.

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), Director of R&D for Immunobiology (2016 to 2018), and Director General of the Human Health Therapeutics Research Centre (2018-2020). As an expert researcher in the field of vaccine development, infectious diseases and cancer, 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 is member of the board of the Canadian Cancer Research Alliance, National Synthetic Biology Steering Committee and 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 75 primary research articles in peer-reviewed journals, and is listed as an inventor on several patents.