Associate Director, Bioinformatics
Pillar Biosciences
Lavanya Rishishwar is the Associate Director of Bioinformatics at Pillar Biosciences, where he leads the development and translation of next-generation sequencing analytics for oncology diagnostics. His work spans end-to-end bioinformatics solutions, from variant calling and interpretation of cancer gene panels to scalable pipelines optimized for clinical laboratory deployment. He has collaborated with government, industry, and academic partners to bolster laboratory preparedness and deliver rapid, actionable genomic insights, including in tumor and ctDNA analyses. A passionate mentor and educator, Lavanya has trained the next generation of bioinformaticians and advocates for bridging computational innovation with patient-centric oncology care. His published research in human and microbial genomics underscores his commitment to translating data into impact. He holds a B.Tech. in Bioinformatics from the Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology, and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Bioinformatics from Georgia Institute of Technology. At Pillar Biosciences, he now applies that multidisciplinary foundation to accelerate precision oncology and help clinicians deliver better outcomes.