Krisana was born in 1952 at Koh Samui, Surat Thani to parents in the medical profession. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Pharmacy from Chiang Mai University in 1975; Master of Science in Pharmaceutical Analysis from Strathclyde University, U.K. in 1978; and Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Chemistry from the University of Bath, U.K. in 1981. She was also awarded an Honorary Doctor of Science from the University of Bath in 2009.