Prof. Indika Senevirathna

• Professor in Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine and Allied Sciences, Rajarata University of Sri Lanka, 12 June 2025 – Present
• Senior Lecturer in Biochemistry, Rajarata University of Sri Lanka, 2015 – 2025
• Lecturer in Biochemistry, Rajarata University of Sri Lanka, 2010 – 2015
• Visiting Lecturer in Clinical Biochemistry, Institute of Chemistry Ceylon and Spectrum Institute, 2010 – Present
• Research Assistant, Department of Biochemistry, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, 2006
• Teaching Assistant, Department of Biochemistry, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, 2005 – 2006

Administrative Appointments

• Head, Department of Biochemistry, FMAS, RUSL, February 2023 – February 2026
• Student Counselor, FMAS, RUSL, 2013-2014
• President, Student Welfare Society, 2012
• Member, Student Disciplinary Committee, FMAS, RUSL
• Member, Student Hostel Committee, FMAS, RUSL
• Member, Pre-clinical Curriculum Development Committee, FMAS, RUSL

• PhD in Molecular Microbiology and Epidemiology, Rajarata University of Sri Lanka (2017 – 2024). Thesis: Cytokine response and adverse clinical outcomes of leptospirosis and molecular epidemiology of Sri Lankan Leptospira isolates
• MSc in Molecular Medicine, Postgraduate Institute of Medicine, University of Colombo (2012 – 2016)
• MPhil in Nutritional Biochemistry, University of Sri Jayewardenepura (2008 – 2010). Thesis: Assessment of Nutritive Value and Related Biochemical Parameters of Selected Breakfast Foods
• BSc (Hons) in Human Biology, Specialisation in Biochemistry, University of Sri Jayewardenepura (2002 – 2005). Second Class Upper Division; Distinctions in Biochemistry, Parts I and III

Fellowships / Visiting Positions

• Visiting Scholar, School of Medicine, University of California San Diego, USA, 2016 (advanced molecular techniques related to leptospirosis)
• Visiting Scholar, INRS – Centre Armand-Frappier Santé Biotechnologie, Canada (advanced biotechnology research techniques)

• RUSL Excellence Awards 2024: Highest H-Index, Most Indexed Journal Articles, and Most Citations
• Vice Chancellor’s Award, Top 10 Researchers with the Highest H-Index, 2nd Place, 2023
• Vice Chancellor’s Award, Highest Number of Citations, 4th Place, 2023
• Best Oral Communication, First Place, 15th Annual Scientific Sessions, Anuradhapura Clinical Society, 2023
• Top 20 Scientists, Rajarata University of Sri Lanka, 2021 and 2023
• Presidential Merit Award for Scientific Publications, 2014, 2019, and 2021
• Early Career Researcher Travel Award, 11th International Leptospirosis Conference, Vancouver, Canada, 2019
• Dean’s Award for Scientific Publications, 2016 and 2018 – 2022
• Gold Medal, Best PGIM Trainee, MSc/Postgraduate Diploma Category, 2016
• Jewels in the Crown Award, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Sri Jayewardenepura

Research Grants

• Principal Investigator: Environmental Mapping and Culture Isolation of Leptospira from Soil and Water in Flood-Affected Regions of Sri Lanka: An Island-wide One Health Approach. Amount: LKR 3,098,852.00
• Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) Grant Program: MinION Mk1D Grant Pack, comprising the Mk1D sequencing device and associated consumables. Value: USD 2,750

Research Interests

• Leptospirosis and tropical infectious diseases
• Molecular epidemiology and microbial genomics
• Cytokine biology and host-pathogen interactions
• Molecular diagnostics and public health microbiology
• Nutritional biochemistry and biochemical analysis
• Medical education and curriculum development

Research Expertise

• Molecular biology: PCR, qPCR, DNA/RNA extraction, electrophoresis, molecular diagnostics
• Microbial genomics: whole-genome sequencing, phylogenetics, outbreak surveillance
• Bioinformatics: genome annotation, sequence alignment, BLAST, MEGA
• Data analysis: SPSS, R, GraphPad

Research Identifiers

• ORCID: 0000-0002-0343-1557
• Scopus Author ID: 57202643420
• ResearcherID: AFU-8246-2022

Full Papers in Peer-Reviewed Journals

1. Agampodi T, Kim HY, Menike D, Aswaddumage D, Sewwandi M, Warnasekara J, Jayasundara D, Senavirathna I, Kappagoda C, Zellweger RM, Agampodi S. Infectious diseases in pregnancy in Sri Lanka: gaps in surveillance, diagnosis, and policy: a scoping review. BMC Infect Dis. 2026;26(1):681. doi:10.1186/s12879-026-12650-x
2. Senavirathna I, Jayasundara D, Warnasekara J, Agampodi S, Putz EJ, Nally JE, Bayles DO, Chaurasia R, Vinetz JM. Genomic analysis of human-infecting Leptospira borgpetersenii isolates in Sri Lanka: expanded PF07598 gene family repertoire and less genome reduction than bovine isolates. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2026;20(3):e0012540. doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0012540
3. Agampodi S, Jayasundara D, Warnasekara J, Agampodi T, Senavirathna I, Menike D, Aswaddumage D, Sewwandi M, Kappagoda C, Premalal A, Kim HY, Rajapakse S, Zellweger RM. Subclinical leptospiral infections and antibody waning during pregnancy: a population-based cohort study from rural Sri Lanka. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2026;114(5):848–856. doi:10.4269/ajtmh.25-0553
4. Chaurasia R, Agampodi S, O’Bryan J, Warnasekara J, Jayasundara D, Senewirathna I, Vinetz JM. Early diagnosis of human leptospirosis by detection of antibodies to Leptospira-secreted virulence-modifying protein exotoxins. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2025 (advance online publication, 6 November 2025).
5. Kappagoda C, Senavirathna I, Jayasundara D, Warnasekara J, Agampodi T, Agampodi S. Comparative genome analysis of 25 Sri Lankan Leptospira isolates outer membrane receptors that interact with human TLR2. Evol Bioinform Online. 2025;21:11769343251389782. doi:10.1177/11769343251389782
6. Gunathilaka SS, Keragala RK, Gunathilaka KM, Wickramage S, Bandara SR, Senevirathne IS, Jayaweera AS. Use of isavuconazole in mucormycosis: a systematic review. BMC Infect Dis. 2025;25(1):25.
7. Kappagoda C, Senavirathna I, Agampodi T, Agampodi SB. Role of Toll-like receptor 2 during infection of Leptospira spp: a systematic review. PLoS One. 2024;19(12):e0312466. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0312466
8. Gunathilaka S, Bandara S, Senevirathna I, Keragala R, Wickramage S, et al. Exploring the feasibility of utilizing universal primers in detecting mucormycosis pathogens: an in-silico analysis. Diagn Microbiol Infect Dis. 2024;110(2):116463.
9. Senavirathna I, Jayasundara D, Warnasekara J, Kappagoda C, Agampodi S. Levels of cytokines in leptospirosis patients with different serovars and rfb locus. J Interferon Cytokine Res. 2024;44(2):80–93. doi:10.1089/jir.2023.0091
10. Senavirathna I, Jayasundara D, Warnasekara J, Matthias MA, Vinetz JM, Agampodi S. Whole genome sequencing data of Leptospira weilii and Leptospira kirschneri isolated from human subjects of Sri Lanka. Data Brief. 2024;52:109840. doi:10.1016/j.dib.2023.109840
11. Senavirathna I, Jayasundara D, Warnasekara J, Matthias MA, Vinetz JM, Agampodi S. Complete genome sequences of twelve strains of Leptospira interrogans isolated from humans in Sri Lanka. Infect Genet Evol. 2023;113:105462. doi:10.1016/j.meegid.2023.105462
12. Keragala KARK, Gunathilaka MGRSS, Senevirathna RMISK, et al. Efficacy and safety of co-trimoxazole in eradication phase of melioidosis; systematic review. Ann Clin Microbiol Antimicrob. 2023;22(1):74.
13. Gunathilaka M, Senevirathna R, Illappereruma SC, Keragala K, et al. Mucormycosis-causing fungi in humans: a meta-analysis establishing the phylogenetic relationships using internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences. J Med Microbiol. 2023;72(2):001651.
14. Agampodi S, Warnasekara J, Siribaddana S, Kularatna SAM, Gamage C, Jayasundara D, Senevirathna I, Srimantha S, Kappagoda C, Weerawansa P, Pilapitiya S, Lokunarangoda N, Sarathchandra C, Senanayake H, Matthias M, Vinetz J. Demographic, exposure, clinical, biochemical and diagnostic data of febrile patients recruited for the largest field study on leptospirosis in Sri Lanka. Data Brief. 2022;43:108378.
15. Warnasekara J, Srimantha S, Kappagoda C, Jayasundara D, Senevirathna I, Matthias M, Agampodi S, Vinetz JM. Diagnostic method-based underestimation of leptospirosis in clinical and research settings; an experience from a large prospective study in a high endemic setting. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2022;16(4):e0010331.
16. Warnasekara J, Srimantha S, Senavirathna I, Kappagoda C, Farika N, Nawinna A, Agampodi S. The variable presence of Leptospira in the environment; an epidemiological explanation based on serial analysis of water samples. PLoS One. 2022;17(2):e0263719. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0263719
17. Dahanayaka NJ, Agampodi SB, Seneviratna I, Warnasekara J, Rajapakse R, Ranathunga K, Matthias M, Vinetz JM, Chang Y-F. Clinical spectrum of endemic leptospirosis in relation to cytokine response. PLoS One. 2021;16(12):e0261025. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0261025
18. Jayasundara D, Gamage C, Senavirathna I, Warnasekara J, Matthias MA, Vinetz JM, Agampodi S. Optimizing the microscopic agglutination test (MAT) panel for the diagnosis of leptospirosis in a low resource, hyper-endemic setting with varied microgeographic variation in reactivity. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2021;15(7):e0009565. doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0009565
19. Senadheera SPAS, Senevirathna RMISK, Ekanayake S. Liver toxicity of raw and processed Cycas circinalis (Madu) seed flour: an animal study. Int J Multidiscip Stud. 2021;8(1):1–10.
20. Gamage U, Kumari D, Senavirathna R, Rathish D. In vitro starch hydrolysis indices of selected Sri Lankan starchy tubers. J Agric Sci – Sri Lanka. 2021;16(2):237.
21. Jayasundara D, Senavirathna I, Warnasekara J, Gamage C, Siribaddana S, Kularatne SAM, Matthias M, Mariet JF, Picardeau M, Agampodi S, Vinetz JM. 12 novel clonal groups of Leptospira infecting humans in multiple contrasting epidemiological contexts in Sri Lanka. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2021;15(3):e0009272. doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0009272
22. Senevirathna I, Jayasundara D, Lefler JP, Chaiboonm KL, Warnasekara J, Agampodi S, Matthias MA, Vinetz JM. Complete genome sequence of Leptospira interrogans strains FMAS_KW1, FMAS_KW2 and FMAS_AW1 isolated from leptospirosis patients from Karawanalla and Awissawella, Sri Lanka. J Genomics. 2020;8:49–52. doi:10.7150/jgen.43953
23. Senavirathna I, Rathish D, Agampodi S. Cytokine response in human leptospirosis with different clinical outcomes: a systematic review. BMC Infect Dis. 2020;20(1):268. doi:10.1186/s12879-020-04986-9
24. Agampodi S, Warnasekara J, Jayasundara D, Senawirathna I, Gamage C, Kularatne S, Siribaddana S, Maththias M, Vinetz J. Study protocol: characterising the clinical, epidemiological and aetiological aspects of leptospirosis in Sri Lanka: a hospital based clinico-epidemiological study. BMJ Open. 2019;9(9):e027850. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2018-027850
25. Rathish D, Senavirathna I, Jayasumana C, Agampodi S, Siribaddana S. A low GLP-1 response among patients treated for acute organophosphate and carbamate poisoning: a comparative cross-sectional study from an agrarian region of Sri Lanka. Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2019;26(3):2864–2872. doi:10.1007/s11356-018-3818-9
26. Rathish D, Senavirathna I, Jayasumana C, Agampodi S. Red blood cell acetylcholinesterase activity among healthy dwellers of an agrarian region in Sri Lanka: a descriptive cross-sectional study. Environ Health Prev Med. 2018;23(1):25. doi:10.1186/s12199-018-0717-0
27. Marikar FMMT, Thenuwara L, Senavirathna RMISK. The biscuits and rice cake: an alternative to the oral glucose tolerance test. Int J Food Nutr Sci. 2017;6(3).
28. Senavirathna RMISK, Ekanayake S, Jansz ER. Traditional and novel foods from indigenous flours: nutritional quality, glycemic response, and potential use in food industry. Starch/Stärke. 2016;68(9–10):999–1007. doi:10.1002/star.201500175
29. Thalagahage KNH, Jayaweera JAAS, Kumbukgolla WW, Senavirathne I. Detection of alkaptonuria in a 1-week-old infant. BMJ Case Rep. 2015:bcr2014208505.
30. Senavirathna R, Ekanayake S, Jansz ER, Welihinda J. Proximate composition, glycemic indices, and some factors affecting glycemic indices of underutilized tubers. Starch/Stärke. 2014;66(11–12):1041–1048.
31. Senavirathna RMISK, Ekanayake S, Jansz ER, Welihinda J. Study of the phenolics and the antioxidant capacities of some breakfast foods. Malays J Nutr. 2013;19(2):243–250.
32. Senavirathna RMISK, Johansson M, Patberiya LG, Jansz ER. Studies on dietary fibre content of four uncommon palmyrah fruit types. Vidyodaya J Sci. 2005;12:93–97.

Peer Review

Reviewer for 11 journals (26 completed reviews), including BMC Infectious Diseases, BMC Nephrology, Cytokine, Diagnostic Microbiology and Infectious Disease, Emerging Microbes & Infections, IDCases, Microbial Pathogenesis, Parasitology Research, Starch, Transboundary and Emerging Diseases, and Wei-mian yu ganran zazhi.

• Undergraduate medical biochemistry, FMAS, Rajarata University of Sri Lanka, 2010 – Present, including curriculum development, module preparation, and assessment
• Clinical Biochemistry, Medical Biotechnology, and Nutrition for undergraduates and medical laboratory technology students, Institute of Chemistry Ceylon and Spectrum Institute, 2010 – Present
• Teaching Assistant, Department of Biochemistry, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, 2005 – 2006
• Supervision of MPhil and postgraduate research in biochemistry, molecular microbiology, and related biomedical fields
• Supervision of undergraduate student research

Training in Teaching

• Staff Development Programme for Teachers in Faculties of Health Sciences, University of Peradeniya
• Workshops on best-response MCQs, curriculum development, module preparation, and research ethics
• International Workshop and Symposium on Integrating Genetics in the Medical Curriculum, Colombo, 2013
• Training workshop on student counselling, University of Peradeniya

• Environmental mapping and culture isolation of Leptospira from soil and water in flood-affected regions of Sri Lanka: an island-wide One Health approach (Principal Investigator)
• Characterising leptospirosis in Sri Lanka: clinical, cytokine, and molecular epidemiology study (protocol published in BMJ Open, 2019)
• Whole-genome sequencing and genomic analysis of human Leptospira isolates from Sri Lanka ( interrogans, L. borgpetersenii, L. weilii, L. kirschneri)
• Subclinical leptospiral infections and antibody waning during pregnancy
• Infectious diseases in pregnancy in Sri Lanka: surveillance, diagnosis, and policy
• International collaboration with the University of California San Diego on leptospirosis molecular techniques

Prof. RM Indika Sanjeewa Kumara Senavirathna
Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine and Allied Sciences
Rajarata University of Sri Lanka, Saliyapura, Anuradhapura
Email: sanjeewa@med.rjt.ac.lk
ORCID: 0000-0002-0343-1557

International Training and Conferences

• Leptospirosis Genomics Workshop, Massey University, New Zealand, 2017
• International Workshop on Molecular Biology Techniques Related to Infectious/Genetic Diseases and Human Identification, University of Kelaniya, 2015
• International Conference on Birth Defects and Symposium on Genetic Eye Diseases, Colombo, 2014

Other Professional Development

• Workshop on Medical Writing, Galle Research Network and Department of Medicine
• Workshop on Research Methodology, University of Sri Jayewardenepura