Profile

•  Enthusiastic biologist with superior written/verbal communication and analytical/problem-solving skills.
•  Scientist with demonstrated expertise in bioinformatics, RNA biology, single cell biology, and microscopy.
•  Effective team leader with strong track record of organizing the production of timely results.
•  Highly motivated self-starter who excels in fast-paced environments.
•  Fully committed to performing groundbreaking research in environments that foster creativity and ingenuity.

Technical Skills

 Bioinformatics / Data Science

• NGS data analysis (STAR, Bowtie 2, SAMtools, bedtools, Picard, etc.)
• eCLIP-seq, RNA-seq, small RNA-seq
• Databases (NCBI, Ensembl , UCSC Genome Browser, etc.)
• Bioinformatics file types (FASTA, FASTQ, BED, GTF, GFF3, SAM, BAM, etc.)
• ML basics (unsupervised, supervised, reinforcement learning, etc.)
• Cloud-based computing basics (AWS)
• Command-line operations and shell scripting
• Python (Pandas, Numpy, Scikit-learn, Mathplotlib, etc.)
• R (Bioconductor, Tidyverse, Rmd, etc.)
• Web applications (Streamlit, Heroku, Shiny apps, etc.)
• Relational databases (MySQL)
• Version control (Git)
• Agile project management (Scrum, Jira)

 Molecular Biology

• DNA/RNA extraction
• PCR, RT-qPCR, and oligonucleotide design
• Molecular cloning (Gibson assembly)
• CRISPR/Cas9 and gRNA design
• RNA interference
• Fluorescent activated cell sorting (FACS)
• NGS library preparation
• IP, SDS-PAGE and western blotting
• Protein/antigen expression and purification
• Affinity purification of antibodies

 Microscopy

• Immunofluorescence
• Microscopic techniques (confocal/SIM)
• Microscopic data analysis (ImageJ/Imaris/LAS)

 In vivo Biology

• Drosophila genetics and husbandry
• Drosophila tissue culture

Soft Skills

•  Excellent communication: Written, verbal
•  Teamwork: Collaboration, cooperation, coordination, conflict management
•  Adaptability: Self-confidence, self-motivation, self-management, curiosity, optimism
•  Problem-solving: Analysis, logical reasoning, observation, persuasion, negotiation, decision making
•  Creativity: Imagination, questioning, design, experimenting, innovation
•  Work ethic: Integrity, responsibility, discipline, dependability, time-management
•  Interpersonal skills: Empathy, networking, mentoring, patience, tolerance
•  Leadership: Project management, listening, humility, versatility, trust, generosity
•  Attention to Detail: Organization, critical observation
•  Time-management: Goal-setting, prioritizing, plan setting, self-starter

Professional and Research Experience

 2022.02-Present    Bioinformatics Engineer, Alamar Biosciences, Fremont, CA, USA

• To be updated

 2021.04-2022.01    Probe Design Scientist, Advanced Cell Diagnostics, Newark, CA, USA

• Designed and in silico validated RNAscope/BaseScope probes using existing algorithms
• Developed and established novel algorithms to streamline downstream probe order preparation and design file handling steps
• Managed and maintained the MySQL core database
• Frequently communicated with customers before and after probe design
• Conducted a series of coding training sessions to improve coding skills of the Probe Design and Genomics Technical support team members (8+ participants)

 2015.08-2021.03    Graduate Student, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA

• Academic advisor: Dr. Nick Sokol
• Molecularly identified and functionally characterized novel classes of cytoplasmic messenger-ribonucleoprotein complexes (mRNPs) in Drosophila intestinal stem cells
• Authored 11 papers (8 already published, 1 pre-print, and 2 more in preparation)
• Implemented and deployed computational pipelines for RNA-seq/RIP-seq, eCLIP-seq and small RNA-seq data analysis with detailed documentation
• Discovered molecular mechanisms underlying intestinal stem cell maintenance by creatively combining microscopy, FACS, transcriptomic analysis, RT-qPCR and in situ hybridization
• Assembled and led two undergraduate research groups
• Acquired extensive microscopy expertise on multiple platforms to characterize mRNP ultrastructure
• Developed a novel, dissection-free method to biochemically profile stem cells in intact animals
• Performed RIP- and CLIP-seq transcriptomic analyses of stem cells

 2013.08-2015.03    Undergraduate Researcher, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka

• Academic advisors: Dr. C. D. Wijayarathna and Dr. P. Soyza
• Determined antibacterial and antioxidant properties of extracts prepared from the endemic plant Oldenlandia umbellate using various biological and/or colorimetric assays

Publications

•  Details about all my publications can be found in this section of my portfolio. Checkout my Google Scholar profile here as well.

Hobbies

•  Coding
•  Learning new topics
•  Landscape photography
•  Travel photography
•  Backpacking
•  Exploring National Parks
•  Watch sports: Formula 1, Cricket, Soccer, etc.
•  Play: Cricket