Thilina Jayawardena, PhD

Availability

I welcome inquiries regarding research collaborations, trainee mentoring, and seminar or guest lecture opportunities. Please contact via email.

Area of Study / Keywords

Translational Chemical Biology; Bioactive Molecules; Natural Products; Molecular Cell Biology; Disease Models

About

I am a translational chemical biologist working at the interface of natural products, chemical biology, and molecular disease mechanisms. My research focuses on how bioactive small molecules and endogenous metabolites regulate molecular pathways in disease-relevant models, with an emphasis on mechanistic validation. I have interdisciplinary training spanning natural product chemistry and molecular cell biology, with experience across academic research environments in Canada and internationally. I am interested in collaborative, lab-based research programs where chemistry enables biological discovery with clear translational relevance.

Research

My research interests lie in translational chemical biology, with a focus on understanding how bioactive molecules regulate molecular and cellular pathways in disease-relevant systems.
Current areas of interest include:

• Bioactive small molecules and natural products
• Chemical modulation of cellular signaling pathways
• Molecular mechanisms underlying disease phenotypes
• Disease-relevant cellular and translational models
• Mechanistic validation of biological activity

My work integrates chemical biology with molecular and cell biology to bridge fundamental discovery with translational relevance.

Teaching

I am interested in contributing to teaching and mentoring activities in molecular biology, chemical biology, and translational biomedical sciences.
My experience includes mentoring undergraduate and graduate trainees in laboratory-based research settings, as well as providing informal instruction in experimental design, data interpretation, and scientific communication.

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