Ambalika Khadria is a biochemist-turned-filmmaker and mental health advocate.
Ambalika earned her PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where her research resulted in multiple first-author manuscripts. Her interdisciplinary approach to science and communication earned her first prize in the Chemistry category of Science Magazine and AAAS’s international Dance Your PhD competition in 2014. Her work and story have been featured in Science, C&EN, NPR, ASBMB, NC Science Festival, Vital Signs (UNC), UW News, Hindustan Times, and Women in Film Circuit, among other platforms.
As a scientist-turned-filmmaker, Ambalika has been invited to speak about career transitions, interdisciplinary storytelling, and creative approaches to communicating science at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the Association for Women in Science in Philadelphia, Gargi College at the University of Delhi, the Mid-Atlantic Directors and Staff of Scientific Cores (MAD SSCi), the University of Washington, Seattle, and ASBMB conferences.
Her creative work spans documentary, science communication, dance, and music. She has produced an hour-long documentary exploring a contemporary Indian dancer’s depiction of sexual harassment, as well as short science films. She has choreographed and directed stage productions exploring anxiety, depression, evolution, mental health, and Indian mythology, including a modern interpretation of the Ramayana and a 30-member stage rendition of Laila Majnu that blended Indian and contemporary dance and music. Her theatrical work has been presented at the Overture Center, Yoni Ki Baat, and other events in Madison, Wisconsin.
Through NinePlus Voices, a social awareness movement she founded, Ambalika runs two programs focused on suicide loss. Survivor Story Share involves interviewing suicide loss survivors across the globe to understand varied experiences of grief, identity, stigma, healing, and remembrance. A Conversation Through Art uses art to encourage awareness and dialogue around suicide loss and grief. These experiences have deeply informed her filmmaking, particularly her approach to listening, representation, and the ethics of telling stories rooted in lived experience.
Her feature documentary 49 to 51 is part of A Conversation Through Art. The film explores the often-overlooked lived experience of people left behind after a suicide, centering grief as an evolving character. Ambalika shot, directed, and edited the film, weaving observational footage, visual art, music, and intimate reflections into a story about grief, resilience, and the complicated ways love persists after loss. For her first feature, she assembled a global crew from people she had encountered through different walks of life. 49 to 51 is scheduled to have its World Premiere at Tasveer Film Festival, the world’s only Oscar-qualifying South Asian film festival. The film was also selected as a 2026 Flatiron Film Project semifinalist.
Ambalika’s work continues to sit at the intersection of science, art, mental health, and human connection, creating thoughtful spaces for conversations that are often difficult, misunderstood, or left unheard.