Researcher

Dr Chaturaka Rodrigo

My Expertise

Dengue fever, Viral hepatits, Malaria, Leptospirosis, RNA virus phylogenetics

Fields of Research (FoR)

Infectious Diseases

Biography

Chaturaka is a NHMRC investigator (Viral Immunology Systems Program, Kirby Institute), Senior Lecturer (Department of Pathology, School of Medical Sciences) and a physician. His research focus is on infectious diseases (Hepatitis C, Malaria, Dengue, Coronaviruses and Leptospirosis) and evolutionary biology of RNA viruses. He is also interested in evidence based medicine as an author affiliated to Cochrane Infectious Diseases Group, Liverpool,...view more

Chaturaka is a NHMRC investigator (Viral Immunology Systems Program, Kirby Institute), Senior Lecturer (Department of Pathology, School of Medical Sciences) and a physician. His research focus is on infectious diseases (Hepatitis C, Malaria, Dengue, Coronaviruses and Leptospirosis) and evolutionary biology of RNA viruses. He is also interested in evidence based medicine as an author affiliated to Cochrane Infectious Diseases Group, Liverpool, UK. He is currently an associate editor for BMC Infectious Diseases, PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Systematic Reviews and Cochrane Clinical Answers.

My Grants

Investigator Initiated Research grant, Seqirus Australia (Industry grant), Prevalence of missed Q fever in Australia, 2021-2022

H2Seq: Viral genomics for public health interventions in HIV and HCV - Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF), 2021 - 2026

NHMRC Investigator grant (Emerging Leader 1 category), 2020 - 2024

SOMS Early Career Research support grant 2018 -2019

Research Infrastructure Support Scheme (3 grants) , UNSW 2017, 2018

My Qualifications

MBBS MRCP(UK) MD PhD FHEA

My Awards

Paper of the Month, December 2020, School of Medical Sciences, UNSW
Award for Adaptability and Innovation in Pathology teaching, 2020, School of Medical Sciences, UNSW
Paper of the Month, January 2020, School of Medical Sciences, UNSW
University award for teaching excellence (early career and rising star), UNSW Sydney, 2019
Robert Dixon award for the best presentation (Hepatitis) at the annual workshop of the Australian Centre for HIV and Hepatitis Virology Research. Canungra, QLD, Australia 2019
Award for teaching excellence (early career staff), Faculty of Medicine, UNSW Sydney 2018
University International Postgraduate Research Award / Scholarship for PhD studies, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. 2014 – 2017
Top-up scholarship for PhD studies, School of Medical Sciences, UNSW Sydney. 2014-2017
Robert Dixon award for the best oral presentation at the annual workshop of the Australian Centre for HIV and Hepatitis Virology Research. Barossa Valley, SA, Australia 2017
Paper of the Month, October 2016, School of Medical Sciences, UNSW
Australasian Viral Hepatitis Conference Scholarship. Gold coast, Australia. 2016
New Investigator Scholarship, 5th International symposium on hepatitis care in substance users. Oslo, Norway. 2016
Victorian infectious diseases reference laboratory (VIDRL) educational grant (Hepatitis). Awarded at the annual workshop of the Australian Centre for HIV and Hepatitis Virology Research. Hunter Valley, NSW, Australia 2015
Training fellowship. Cochrane infectious diseases group. Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom. 2014
Excellence award for the most outstanding junior researcher of Sri Lanka awarded by the Committee of Vice-chancellors and Directors (CVCD). 2012
Award for scientific publications by the President of Sri Lanka 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017
University Research Award for best researcher in Faculty of Medicine, 2014. University of Colombo, Sri Lanka

My Research Activities

Vulnerability to severe dengue infection, Next generation sequencing, molecular epidemiology and evolutionary analysis of RNA viruses, Host immunity against RNA virus infections

My Research Supervision

Areas of supervision

Honours, ILP and PhD students

Currently supervising

PhD Students

1. Mr. Nasir Riaz (joint primary supervisor), Optimizing novel sequencing platforms for viral quasi-species sequencing, Kirby Institute, UNSW

2. Mr. Arunasingham Abeysingham (joint primary supervisor), Characterization of transmitted founder variants in early HCV infection, School of Medical Sciences, UNSW

3. Dr. Hossain Sazzad (secondary Supervisor), Dynamics of hepatitis C transmission in NSW prisons, Kirby Institute, UNSW, 2018-2021

4. Dr. Braulio Valencia Arroyo (joint primary Supervisor), Influence of host immunogenetics in determining the disease phenotype in RNA virus infections, Kirby Institute, UNSW, 2018-2021

5. Mr. Anurag Adikari (secondary supervisor), Identification of protective anti-HCV antibodies in subjects that clear infection to inform vaccine design, School of Medical Sciences, UNSW