Laksiri Weerasinghe is currently a senior lecturer, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Applied Sciences, University of Sri Jayewardenepura (USJP). He obtained his BSc Honors degree in chemistry from university of Colombo, Sri Lanka. Then he earned his doctoral degree from Washington State University, USA, under the guidance of Prof. Phill Garner in the field of synthetic organic chemistry. He completed his postdoctoral studies at University of Montreal, Canada, in 2023-2014 under the guidance of Prof, Stephence Hannesian and the second postdoctoral training at Washington State University in 2014-2015 under the guidance of Prof. Ming Xian. After returning to Sri Lanka, He worked as a senior research scientist in Sri Lanka Institute of Nanotechnology (SLINTEC) for five years before joining the faculty at USJP. At SLINTEC he was the leading scientist of synthetic organic and pharmaceutical division. With a strategic research grant from the Ministry of Research and Development, he established the first bioorganic laboratory at SLINTEC with state-of-the-art facilities for peptide synthesis. His independent research interests are mainly addressing the challenges in drug discovery and drug delivery using organic synthesis and nanotechnology. In addition to small molecular synthesis, he also works on antimicrobial peptides, realizing their potential in plant science and agriculture. With his independent research contributions, he has more than 25 research papers in peer-reviewed journals, two books, one book chapter, and many conference proceedings. He received the President's Award for Scientific Research in 2018 and Support Scheme for Supervision of Research Degrees (SUSRED) award in 2023. He has been a member of the council of the Institute of Chemistry Ceylon since 2022 and the chairperson of All Island Interschool Chemistry Quiz Committee. Saranya Selvaraj began her academic journey with a Bachelor of Science in Biotechnology, Microbiology, and Biochemistry from the University of Mysore, India. Pursuing her passion for biotechnology, she obtained her Master of Science in the same field from the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, while conducting her research at the Biotechnology Unit, Industrial Technology Institute (ITI), Sri Lanka. Her education laid a strong foundation for her to explore and excel in the scientific arena. Currently, she is pursuing an MPhil in Chemistry at the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka. In addition to her studies, she serves as a graduate research assistant at the Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Applied Science, at the same university. She is also affiliated with the Centre for Scientific Computing and Advanced Drug Discovery, as well as the Idea Lab within the Department of Zoology and Environmental Science at the University of Colombo. Her research specializes in Peptide Chemistry, Material Science, and Nanotechnology, focusing on the synthesis, characterization, and manipulation of bioactive compounds at the nanoscale for therapeutic applications. She has made significant contributions through her independent research, including the publication of a few research papers and literature reviews in peer-reviewed journals, and numerous conference presentations. Saranya is currently a Visiting Lecturer at the European City Campus, Sri Lanka, and a Volunteer with ReachSci, a society offering training programs to help researchers develop skills and tackle global challenges. She combines her expertise with a passion for teaching, and mentoring students to excel in research and STEM fields.
