Senani N.H. Rathnayake

Senani N.H. Rathnayake is a Research Fellow at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), Faculty of Science. He completed his PhD at UTS (2019-2024) and held a Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Groningen (2023-2024). His primary research focuses on respiratory diseases, particularly the molecular mechanisms of smoking-induced lung damage, COPD, and asthma. Key areas include gene expression profiling, epigenetic changes, and cellular responses to cigarette smoke exposure.

Research Interests:

• Transcriptomic and epigenetic alterations in lung diseases
• Smoking cessation effects on airway biology
• Genetic regulation of COPD biomarkers (e.g., sRAGE)
• Sex chromosome influences on respiratory disease susceptibility

Awards & Fellowships:

• 2023 TSANZ Past Presidents Scholarship Award
• 2022-2023 European Respiratory Society Short-Term Fellowship

Recent Research Trends: His articles emphasize smoking's impact on bronchial epithelial cells, including transcriptomic shifts, mucus barrier dynamics, and CRISPR-based gene-editing applications. Recent work explores Y-chromosome effects on COPD and asthma pathogenesis.

Professional Engagement:

• Co-chair of the 2023 TSANZ Annual Scientific Conference
• Member of Australian Society for Medical Research, European Respiratory Society, and Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand