Lakshmi R

I am a researcher, science writer, author, poet, humanitarian, and mother of two.

On the professional front I have donned multiple hats from being a drug discovery scientist at AstraZeneca India to being a science consultant and presently a scientific writer at the MBI (Mechanobiology Institute), National University of Singapore (NUS). I obtained a doctorate in Cell and Molecular Biology from the State University of New York at Buffalo, USA, and also received the Dean’s award for outstanding dissertation research from Roswell Park Cancer Institute, USA for the same.

My career was initially fueled by my childhood ambition of being a cancer drug discovery researcher. Later on, my career shaped around my life changes in a positive manner, exposing my inherent communication and leadership skills as well as an analytical and philosophical mind. A write-up on my talk “Changing Lanes and Shifting Gears in Science Careers” can be found at: https://goo.gl/AGKEJU

Today I am driven by a passion to contribute to the society and this is reflected in my initiatives to uplift women, promote science, and reduce the gender gap in science. Recently I represented the Mechanobiology Institute women in science group at the Gender Summit 10, Tokyo (http://gender-summit.com/gs10-speakers/1599-dr-lakshmi-ramachandran; http://gender-summit.com/gs10-speakers/1599-dr-lakshmi-ramachandran).

I have also co-authored a unique memoir-cum recipe book- Roomies/Foodies-( https://goo.gl/j7JYx1 ) under my pen name Lakshmi Ashwin. Additionally I have been part of social projects to reduce noise pollution levels in Bangalore and had set-up a voluntary platform for women in my community to showcase their talents and achievements.