BIO:
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​Dr. Gayan Wijeratne started his independent research career at The University of Alabama at Birmingham in 2018, where he developed a vibrant research program in bioinorganic chemistry from 2018-2023. In 2023, Dr. Wijeratne joined the faculty of The University of Alabama, where he currently serves as an Assistant Professor in Chemistry. He is a native of Kandy, Sri Lanka, and received his bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka. He pursued his doctoral degree in the laboratory of Professor Timothy A. Jackson at The University of Kansas, and postdoctoral studies in the laboratory of Professor Kenneth D. Karlin at Johns Hopkins University.

EDUCATION:

Postdoctoral Research Associate, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD (2015–2018)
Ph.D. (Honors), University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS (2015)
B.Sc. (Chemistry Honors), University of Colombo, Colombo 07, Sri Lanka (2009)

PROFESSIONAL INTERESTS:

Research: Bioinorganic Chemistry Concerning Dioxygen (O2) Activation and Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) Interconversion; Bio-inspired Synthetic Structural/Functional Models of Metalloenzyme Active Sites; Mechanistic Interrogations of Metalloprotein Biochemistries Involving O2 and NOx’s; Metallobiochemistry Implicated with Human Pathogenesis and Therapeutics; Structural (Geometric and Electronic), Spectroscopic and Computational Analysis of Transient Reaction Intermediates; Designing and Developing Bio-inspired Environmentally Benign (Green), Cheaper Catalysis for Industrially/Synthetically Indispensable Transformations, and/or Next Generation Alternative Energy Applications

Teaching: Inorganic and Bioinorganic Chemistry, Inorganic Structure and Spectroscopy, Metalloenzymes – Structure and Function, Bio-inspired Model Chemistry, Environmentally Benign (Green) Catalysis, and Pathways to Careers in Chemistry

AWARDS & HONORS:

NIH R35 MIRA ESI Outstanding Investigator Award, 2024
​NSF CAREER Award, 2021
Doctoral Dissertation Honors, University of Kansas, 2015
Higuchi Doctoral Progress Award for the most superior, post-comprehensive graduate student, University of Kansas, 2015
Amini/Bailey Scholarship for Research Accomplishments, University of Kansas, 2014
Emily V. Berger Scholarship for Outstanding Incoming Graduate Student, University of Kansas, 2010
Prof. R. S. Ramakrishna Memorial Gold Medal for Inorganic Chemistry, University of Colombo, 2009
C. E. Simithraarachchy Scholarship from the Old Boys’ Association of Trinity College, Kandy, Sri Lanka, 2007

AFFILIATIONS:
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Society of Biological Inorganic Chemistry
Society of Porphyrins and Phthalocyanines
UAB O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center
UAB Center for Nanoscale Materials and Biointegration
UAB Center for Free Radical Biology
American Association for the Advancement of Science
American Chemical Society – Division of Inorganic Chemistry (ACS-DIC)
Sri Lankan Association for the Advancement of Science