Dr. Harshi Weerakoon

Senior Lecturer

Department of Biochemistry

Faculty of Medicine and Allied Sciences

Rajarata University of Sri Lanka

MBBS (Peradeniya), PGDipApStat, MPhil (Peradeniya), PhD (Queensland)

Awards

Award for best oral presentation on ‘Learning style and English literacy on 2^nd MBBS examination performance of undergraduates at Faculty of Medicine and Allied Sciences, Rajarata university of   Sri Lanka, Saliyapura: a descriptive cross-sectional study’ at the scientific sessions of Colombo conference on Medical Education 2021

Dean’s award for scientific publications - 2020

Award for best oral presentation on ‘Comparison between transcriptome and proteome response in human T-cells during activation’ at 5^th Rajarata International Research conference (RIRC) - 2019

Award for best poster presentation on ‘Integrated time-series analysis of proteomic and transcriptomic profiles for activated human T-cell function’, at the 3rd Queensland Mass Spectrometry Symposium, Brisbane, Australia - 2018

Student presentation award for the oral presentation on ‘Temporal quantitative proteomics of human CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T-cell activation using tandem mass spectrometry and SWATH’ at the 23^rd Lorne proteomics symposium, hosted by Australasian Proteomics Society (APS) – 2018

QIMR Berghofer PhD Top-up scholarship - 2016 - 2018

University of Queensland International (UQI) scholarship in support of PhD candidature in University of Queensland, Australia - 2015

National Research Council (NRC) merit award for scientific publication – 2015

Dean’s award for scientific publications - 2015

National Research Council (NRC) merit award for scientific publication - 2014

Dean’s award for scientific publications - 2014

Prize for commendable oral presentation for the presentation on ‘Chemical composition of gallstones in patients with gallstone disease’, at the 36th Annual Academic Sessions, Kandy Society of Medicine, Sri Lanka -2014

Prize for best poster presentation on ‘Changing pattern of colorectal carcinoma’, at the annual academic sessions, college of surgeons of Sri Lanka -2009

Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene(RSTMH) small grant award for early career    researchers - 2021

Rajarata University research grant - 2021

Postgraduate research fellowship from Rajarata University of Sri Lanka to conduct the M.Phil research project on Chemical composition, clinical manifestations and aetiopathogenesis of gallstones in a cohort of patients with gallstone disease – 2011, 2013

Full papers

• Weerakoon, Harshi, John J. Miles, Ailin Lepletier, and Michelle M. Hill. A high-resolution mass spectrometry based proteomic dataset of human regulatory T cells. Data in Brief40 (2022): 107687.

• Weerakoon H, Straube J, Lineburg K, Cooper L, Lane S, Smith C, Alabbas S, Begun J, Miles JJ, Hill MM, Lepletier A. Expression of CD49f defines subsets of human regulatory T cells with divergent transcriptional landscape and function that correlate with ulcerative colitis disease activity. Clin Transl Immunology. 6;10(9) (2021): e1334.

• Weerakoon, H., Aetiopathogenesis of gallstone disease in Sri Lanka; what do we know?. Anuradhapura Medical Journal, 15(1) (2021).

• Weerakoon, H., Potriquet, J., Shah, A.K. et al. A primary human T-cell spectral library to facilitate large scale quantitative T-cell proteomics. Sci Data 7, 412 (2020).

• H.T.W. Weerakoon, A. Navaratne, J.G.S. Ranasinghe, R. Sivakanesan, K.B. Galketiya, S. Rosairo. Chemical characterization of gallstones; an approach to identify the aetiopathogenesis of gallstone disease in Sri Lanka. PLoS One 10(4) (2015): e0121537.

• Harshi Thilanka Welegedara Weerakoon, Shirani Ranasinghe, Ayanthi Navaratne, Ramaiah Sivakanesan, Kuda B Galketiya, Shanthini Rosairo. Serum lipid concentrations in patients with cholesterol and pigment gallstones. BMC Research Notes. 7:548 (2014).

• Harshi TW Weerakoon, Jamburagoda GS Ranasinghe, Ayanthi Navaratne, Ramaiah Sivakanesan, Kuda B Galketiya, Shanthini Rosairo. Can the type of gallstones be predicted with known possible risk factors?: a comparison between mixed cholesterol and black pigment stones. BMC Gastroenterology 14:88 (2014).

Thesis

PhD - Integrated Proteomic and Transcriptomic Analysis of Human T-cell Function

MPhil - Chemical composition, clinical manifestations and aetiopathogenesis of gallstones in a cohort of patients with gallstone disease

Senior lecturer in Medical Biochemistry - Faculty of Medicine and Allied Sciences, Rajarata University of Sri Lanka, Saliyapura, Anuradhapura,  Sri Lanka: May 2015 – Todate

Lecturer in Medical Biochemistry - Faculty of Medicine and Allied Sciences, Rajarata University of Sri Lanka, Saliyapura, Anuradhapura,  Sri Lanka: May 2011 – May 2015

Clinical presentation, risk factors and chemical composition of renal stones in Kurunegala District, Sri Lanka: A prospective cross-sectional study

Establishment of Leishmania Spp culture and the evaluation of host-immune responses among patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis in Sri Lanka

Chemical composition and aetiopathogenesis of gallstones in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka: Role of gut microbiome and toxic heavy metals

Senior lecturer in Medical Biochemistry - Faculty of Medicine and Allied Sciences, Rajarata University of Sri Lanka, Saliyapura, Anuradhapura,  Sri Lanka: May 2015 – Todate

Lecturer in Medical Biochemistry - Faculty of Medicine and Allied Sciences, Rajarata University of Sri Lanka, Saliyapura, Anuradhapura,  Sri Lanka: May 2011 – May 2015

Clinical presentation, risk factors and chemical composition of renal stones in Kurunegala District, Sri Lanka: A prospective cross-sectional study

Establishment of Leishmania Spp culture and the evaluation of host-immune responses among patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis in Sri Lanka

Chemical composition and aetiopathogenesis of gallstones in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka: Role of gut microbiome and toxic heavy metals