Vani Nilakantan, PhD is a nationally recognized clinical research executive and founder/partner of Sikara Consultancy LLC, with more than 30 years of experience building high‑performing research enterprises across major U.S. health systems. Her career includes senior leadership roles at regional and national integrated large health systems where she led large‑scale research portfolios, unified fragmented infrastructures, and advanced clinical trial excellence, regulatory rigor, and data/AI governance. She completed her PhD from the University of Kentucky and has 30 peer-reviewed publications in national journals and over 50 national presentations.

In her previous role at  CommonSpirit Health, one of the nation’s largest health systems, Vani served as System Vice President of Research, directing strategy across 18 states, 92 care sites, and 700+ active studies while establishing enterprise‑wide analytics, regulatory oversight, and academic partnerships. Prior to that, Vani was the VP Research at Allina Health where she unified system‑wide research operations, managed $25M+ in annual research activity, and led Minnesota’s only COVID‑19 vaccine trial site, featured on CBS and NBC News. Earlier, at Aurora Health, she expanded sponsored research funding and oversaw translational and clinical programs, and at MCW she held multiple faculty roles supported by NIH and AHA funding.

Through Sikara, Vani now partners with community health systems, life sciences, and technology innovators to strengthen research infrastructure, modernize data and AI capabilities, enhance clinical trial readiness, and build sustainable, equity‑centered research ecosystems. She continues to serve on national committees, editorial boards, and advisory groups, contributing to the advancement of research quality, innovation, and workforce development.