Dr Vaishnavi Ananthanarayanan is an innovative cell biologist whose research explores the intricate mechanisms of cellular organisation and a passionate advocate for equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in science.
Dr Ananthanarayanan (UNSW Sydney) studies cellular dynamics in the crowded environment of mammalian cells using advanced live-cell microscopy.
Her work has provided key insights into the regulation of motor proteins and the cytoskeleton, with important implications for diseases like neurodegeneration and cancer, where these processes often go awry.
She has received numerous accolades, including the EMBO Young Investigator Award (2019), the ASCB Junior Award for Excellence in Research (2021) and the UNSW School of Biomedical Sciences Researcher of the Year Award (2023).
Dr Vaishnavi Ananthanarayanan received the 2025 Royal Microscopical Society Life Sciences Award for her use of novel microscopy techniques in cell biology, becoming the first recipient outside Europe.
Beyond her research, Dr Ananthanarayanan is a leader in promoting inclusivity in science.
She co-founded BiasWatchIndia to combat gender-biased panels at Indian conferences and founded the EDI Journal Club at UNSW’s Single Molecule Science Node to foster discussions on enhancing inclusivity in academia.
Her international leadership in EDI is reflected in numerous peer-reviewed publications on the topic, as well as invited opinion pieces in prestigious journals, including Nature Cell Biology.
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