Staff Profile

Faculty of Dental Sciences

Faculty of Dental Sciences

University of Peradeniya



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     Department of Basic Sciences
     Faculty of Dental Sciences

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piyarathnenadisha@dental.pdn.ac.lk, Nadisha.piyarathne@abdn.ac.uk

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     +94 081 239 7352, +94 071 565 1845



  Biography:

I graduated with BDS First Class Honors (2014) topping the batch of D/08 from University of Peradeniya and was awarded the Best Student of the Year 2014, by the Sri Lanka Dental Association. Following, opted for a research and academic career by joining the Faculty of Dental Sciences, University of Peradeniya in 2015 as a probationary lecturer in the Basic Sciences Department. In 2018, I was able to secure a Elphinestone Scholarship from the University of Aberdeen.

I completed my Doctoral Degree with University of Aberdeen in 2022, under the theme of ‘Salivary Biomarkers and Risk Factors in Oral Cancer and Oral Potentially Malignant Disorders’ two highly cited publications in peer-reviewed indexed Q2 journals.

As a recognition for the my enthusiasm for research, the University of Aberdeen offered me a ‘Honorary Research Fellowship’ for 2023-2026 period. I am currently working as a senior lecturer and Secretary of the Center for Research in Oral Cancer at the Faculty of Dental Sciences, University of Peradeniya.


 Research Awards, Grants & Patents:

Awards
  • Elphinstone Scholarship, University of Aberdeen, 2018
  • General Convocation, University of Peradeniya; Sri Lanka. 2015
  • • Prof. Brito Muthunayagam gold medal
    • Dr. Ranjan Abesinghe prize for Dental surgery
    • Lakshman Samaranayake award for excellence in oral medicine and oral pathology
    • Gold medal for excellence in Restorative dentistry
  • Sri Lanka Dental Association – Gold Medal for the Best student of the year 2014
  • Commendable Oral Pathology Project at Oral Pathology open day, University of Peradeniya (2014)
Grants
Co-investigator for the study “Applications of white light images and artificial intelligence for the early detection of oral cancer in Sri Lanka” which received a competitive 2.5 Mn LKR worth Multi-disciplinary Research Grant -2022 from the University of Peradeniya. In collaboration with Faculty of Engineering, University of Peradeniya, and Cancer Research Malaysia (local and foreign collaboration).

 Research Interests

  • Oral cancer
  • Systematic review
  • Molecular and Digital Diagnostics
  • Salivomics

  •  Ongoing Research Projects

  • Multidisciplinary projects:
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  • Systematic reviews
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  • Student projects
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     Research Enrolment and Opportunities

    I am open to research collaborations for multi-disciplinary projects and systematic reviews









     Publications (Recent)

    1. Piyarathne NS, Weerasekera M, Fonseka, P.F.D., Karunatilleke, A.H.T. S, Liyanage, R. L. P. R., Jayasinghe, R.D., De Silva, K., Yasawardene, S., Gupta, E., Jayasinghe, J.A.P.., Abu-Eid, R. Salivary Interleukin Levels in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma and Oral Epithelial Dysplasia - Findings from a Sri Lankan Study. Cancers, 2023, 15 (5), 1510. doi:10.3390/cancers15051510. (Impact factor – 6.5, 2023).
    NP role: Study design, participant recruitment, sample collection, laboratory analysis (ELISA), data analysis, manuscript writing, collaborating with multiple groups.
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