Krithika Venkataraman is a scientist, storyteller, and community-builder
about
the official bio
Krithika Venkataraman is a biomedical scientist and programme strategist with 14+ years of combined experience across research, philanthropic grantmaking, and collaborative programme delivery. Most recently, she served as a Scientific Programme Officer at the Simons Foundation, where she led global, multi-institutional neuroscience collaborations and co-managed convening and fellowship initiatives that supported researchers across various career stages and backgrounds. Previously, she was the Rita Allen Foundation’s inaugural Civic Science Associate based at The Rockefeller University, where she designed a platform to support academic scientists by integrating user-centred design with practical resources for lab leadership, career development, and project management—drawing on stakeholder interviews and institutional insight to map real-world barriers to research success. Krithika received her B.A. from Smith College, where she conducted research on gene regulation in mosquito-borne parasites that cause lymphatic filariasis. She was awarded a Ph.D. from The Rockefeller University for her dissertation on reproductive resilience and behaviour in disease-vector mosquitoes in response to climate fluctuations, and her domain expertise spans the breadth of the biomedical sciences.
the backstage pass
Krithika Venkataraman was born in Chennai, India, and spent her childhood between Brussels, Belgium, and Bengaluru, India. She has since lived in several cities, including London, New Haven, Northampton, New York City, and Jersey City. Outside of her life as a scientist, Krithika enjoys devouring audiobooks and getting lost in the spectacle of live theatre and music. Previously, she trained as a Bharathanatyam dancer for over a decade, and she now performs contortions through pottery and yoga. She has a penchant for places that lie next to water bodies, for night lights that pattern a city skyline, and for warmth—from a kind word on a tough day, inspiring discourse, or a soothing cup of tea under a weighted blanket after soaking in a thunderstorm.