Maharani Chakravorty, was trained as a plant physiologist but later moved to biochemistry. She earned her post-doctorate training in the laboratory of Prof. B.L. Horecker at the School of Medicine at New York University. She had her formal training in bacterial genetics and bacterial viruses in Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, USA. In 1967, she became the first Indian to be trained in the DNA-RNA hybridization technique at an International Cell Research Organisation (ICRO)-organized course at Naples. Her major scientific contribution is in the field of host-virus interaction and genetic engineering. She served at the Banaras Hindu University in various capacities, including Professor and Head of the Molecular Biology Unit. After her superannuation she worked as Emeritus Scientist in the National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases, Kolkata.