Dr. C. Padmapriyadarsini is a Clinician by training and is currently the Director of ICMR- National Institute for Research in Tuberculosis (NIRT) (formerly known as the Tuberculosis Research Centre), Chennai.  She has a Short-term Fellowship in HIV epidemiology from University of California, Los Angeles; a Masters Degree in Clinical and Translational Research from Tufts University Boston, USA and Ph.D. in Pediatrics from Dr. MGR Medical University, Chennai. 

Over the last 20 years, she has been involved in multiple clinical studies and trials of HIV and TB among adults and children. She is the Principal Investigator of multiple collaborative, multicentric projects, both at national and international level. She has more than 85 publications in peer reviewed National and International journals and 4 book chapters to her credit.  She has been involved in framing National Guidelines for Management of Extra-pulmonary TB (INDEX TB Guidelines), Introduction of Bedaquiline for Drug resistant TB patients in India and Nutritional Guidelines for TB patients. She was awarded the Lupin-TAI Oration Award at the National TB Conference in 2016, Lucknow, and in 2020 in Indore by the TB Association of India. She is a member of the National Technical Expert Group of RNTCP under Central TB Division, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India and the Regional Green Light Committee of WHO for the South-east Asia region. She is also currently the Senate member of the Tamil Nadu Dr. MGR Medical University, Chennai.