Usha Vijayraghavan completed her undergraduate studies at Delhi University, earning a University Gold Medal, and her master’s at the Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Research, Chandigarh, securing the top position. She obtained her Ph.D. from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), USA, in 1989 for her work on yeast genetics and continued postdoctoral research at Caltech on genetic factors regulating plant development. She joined IISc in 1990 and is now a Professor in the Department of Microbiology and Cell Biology. Her research focuses on gene regulatory mechanisms influencing cell fate and differentiation in plant and yeast models, particularly regulatory networks controlling rice flowering-stem and flower development. She is a fellow of the Indian National Science Academy and the Indian Academy of Sciences and held the JC Bose National Fellowship for ten years. Her work has earned prestigious awards, including the National Bioscience Award and the C.V. Raman Award.