Dr. Lakshmi Krishnan is vice-president of life sciences of the National Research Council Canada (NRC). 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 vaccine technologies and novel biologics for the improvement of human health. Over the course of her career, she has represented the NRC and the Government of Canada at various national and international joint committees and has been invited as a guest speaker on many occasions. In her current role, she is committed to health innovation and sustainable bioeconomy.

Dr. Krishnan joined the NRC in 1997 and, as a scientist, built expertise in immunology research at the Institute for Biological Sciences (IBS), in the areas of vaccine adjuvants and host pathogen interactions. Prior to her current appointment, she was the director general of the Human Health Therapeutics (HHT) Research Centre from 2018 to 2022; program lead for vaccines and immunotherapy from 2015 to 2018; director of research and development for immunobiology at HHT from 2016 to 2018; and a research officer from 1997 to2014 at IBS and HHT. 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 has published over 75 primary research articles in peer-reviewed journals in the field of vaccine technologies, host-pathogen and cancer immunity, and is listed as an inventor on several patents. She has significant experience in technology transfer to industrial clients and at the same time has a strong academic background, having mentored several graduate students who have gone on to have successful research careers. She is member of the board of the Canadian Cancer Research Alliance, National Synthetic Biology Steering Committee and also chaired the Federal Vaccine Research Innovation and Development Director General Committee, which consists of membership from 13 different federal departments across the Government of Canada.

Dr. Krishnan received her master's degree in biomedical genetics from the University of Madras  and her PhD in immunology from the National Institute of Immunology in India, following which, she completed postdoctoral studies at the University of Alberta through an Alberta Heritage Foundation scholarship. In her spare time, Dr. Krishnan enjoys travel and outdoor activities with her family and she also volunteers with several not-for-profit organizations for mentoring leadership skills among youth.