Pranay Lal is a biochemist who has worked for the non-profit sector on public health, the environment, and climate change. He has worked as a caricaturist for newspapers, an animator for an advertising agency, and an environmental campaigner. His first book, Indica: A Deep Natural History of the Indian Subcontinent was named among the 50 books that define India by the Mint Lounge, and won the best non-fiction debut award at the Tata Lit Fest in 2017, and the Delhi World Book Fair Award, among others. His most recent book, Invisible Empire: The Natural History of Viruses was released in November 2021 and won the Green Lit Award 2023. Forbes Magazine and Quanta named him the most original thinker in India in 2019.