In a country where barely 11% of universities (1,2,3) are headed by women, Anuradha Vaidya’s ascent within academia holds a certain narrative power. As the Director of Symbiosis School of Biological Sciences and the Head of Symbiosis Centre for Stem Cell Research, Anuradha holds together two thriving research ecosystems under her vision. Hers is more than just a professional success story, it offers us a window into what academic leadership is like for a young woman in the country, inhabiting a space not primarily designed with her in mind.

During a conversation with Mayurika Lahiri, Associate Professor of Biology at IISER Pune, as she shared about geographic transitions, systemic challenges for women in science, and finding 'her tribe', we saw a career path with adaptability and determination to speak up for herself and for her community. From training in the UK and the USA to establishing her research lab in Pune, Mayurika's story underscores that considerable personal strength is required to navigate systemic and cultural challenges.

In the next interview in this series, we spoke with Sudha Rajamani, a Professor at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune, whose career spans biochemistry, astrobiology, and now, strengthening the community of Indian women in science.

In the series of interviews with members of the PowerBio collective, IndiaBioscience is documenting the personal accounts of women in Indian science, to understand how individual journeys converged into a shared purpose. These conversations help us understand what led to the creation of this collective. In this interview, we spoke with Meenal Kowshik, a microbiologist and the Dean of Administration at BITS-Pilani, Goa.

Nearly 100 women from diverse scientific institutions across India came together in 2025 to discuss inclusivity, representation, and the advancement of women in academia. IndiaBioscience facilitated the event, after which we spoke with a few founding members of PowerBio, a collective that initiated the discussions leading up to the main event at IIT Bombay. Through our article series Resilience and Representation in Research, we are sharing insights from these conversations and highlight the meaningful discussions shaping this movement.