Yamuna Krishnan


Yamuna Krishnan is a professor at the Department of Chemistry, University of Chicago, where she has worked since August 2014. She was earlier a Reader in National Centre for Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bangalore, India. Krishnan won the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for science and technology, the highest science award in India in the year 2013 in the Chemical Science category. In 2024, she was named the Louis Block Professor of Chemistry and the College.

Early life and education

Krishnan was born to P.T. Krishnan and Mini in Parappanangadi, in the Malappuram district of Kerala, India. She grew up in Chennai, India. As a child, she met S. Krishnaswamy, Vice Chancellor of Madurai Kamaraj University, who fostered her interest in science. From a young age, she conducted her own informal home expiriments.
Krishnan earned her Bachelor's in Chemistry from the University of Madras, Women's Christian College, Chennai, India in 1993. She secured a Master's of Science in Chemical Sciences in 1997 and a PhD in Organic Chemistry in 2002, both from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. Krishnan worked as a postdoctoral research fellow and an 1851 Research Fellow from 2001 to 2004 at the Department of Chemistry at the University of Cambridge, UK.

Professional experience

Krishnan was a Fellow 'E' at National Centre for Biological Sciences from 2005 to 2009, at the TIFR in Bangalore, India, and then tenured Reader 'F' from 2009 to 2013 at the National Centre for Biological Sciences, TIFR, Bangalore, India. In 2013, she was promoted to Associate Professor 'G' at the National Centre for Biological Sciences, TIFR, Bangalore, India and moved to University of Chicago as a professor of chemistry in August 2014.

Research

Krishnan's current research interests are in the areas related to structure and dynamics of nucleic acids, nucleic acid nanotechnology, cellular and subcellular technologies.
Her lab tries to understand the functions from DNA beyond that of its traditional role as genetic material. They develop versatile, chemical imaging technology using self-assembled DNA nanostructures to quantitatively image second messengers in real time, in living cells and genetic model organisms.

Awards and recognition