Thesis title: A Combinatorial Strategy for Novel Regulatory Networks and Modified Metabolic Pathways in Nicotiana Benthamiana Principal Supervisor: Prof Peter Waterhouse Associate Supervisor/s: Dr Julia Bally, and Dr Satomi Hayashi Expected final thesis submission date: Before 31 December 2026 CAB Research program: Genetics and Molecular Biology
Chamilka Ratnayake is currently engaged as a PhD candidate at the QUT’s Centre for Agriculture and the Bioeconomy under the supervision of Laureate Prof Peter Waterhouse, Dr Julia Bally, and Dr Satomi Hayashi. She is conducting research on mixing and matching metabolic pathways in Nicotiana Benthamiana, an allotetraploid model plant native to Australia.
She has completed her bachelor’s special (hons) degree in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry at the University of Colombo (Sri Lanka). Her undergraduate dissertation focused on cloning the laccase gene of Rigidoporus microporus in Trichoderma reesei and formulation of a cost-effective rice straw-derived culture medium to produce bioethanol.
After her bachelor’s degree, she was employed as a Teaching Assistant at the Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science in University of Colombo, and as a Research Assistant at the Allery Immunology and Cell Biology Unit (AICBU) at the Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of SRI Jayewardenepura (Sri Lanka).