Both of Venki's parents were scientists, and his father was head of the Department of Biochemistry at the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda. At the time of his birth, Ramakrishnan's father was away from India doing postdoctoral research with David E. Green at the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the US. Venki's mother obtained a PhD in psychology from McGill University in 1959. completing it in only 18 months, and was mentored by Donald O. Hebb.
