The Vice Chancellor’s Awards for Research Excellence acknowledge academic staff members who make contributions to the University community through their outstanding research works. This year, seven awards were awarded during the Postgraduate Convocation 2022 on the 12th  of January 2024 at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall.

Prof. Chamari Hettiarachchi from the faculty of science was awarded the Vice Chancellor’s Awards for Research Excellence – 2022.

Chamari Madhu Hettiarachchi is a Professor of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry affiliated with the Department of Chemistry at the Faculty of Science. She earned her BSc Honors in Botany from the University of Colombo in 1996 and completed her PhD in Molecular Biology & Biochemistry in 2003 at the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), affiliated with Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, India. Following her doctoral studies, she served as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Gothenburg University from 2004 to 2006 and as a Visiting Scientist at the Department of Biological and Environmental Science at Gothenburg University, Sweden from 2011 – 2012. Since 2014, she has been serving as a visiting scientist at the Department of Pharmacognosy,  Uppsala University, Sweden.

Professor Hettiarachchi has an impressive academic record, with approximately 60 international peer-reviewed journal publications, 170 presentations at national and international conferences, 3 book chapters, and one book to her credit. She holds both a local and an international patent. Her significant contributions to research have earned her numerous awards, including the Presidential Award for Scientific Research in 2008 and 2017, the NRC Merit Award in 2018, the NSF SUSRED Award in 2003 and 2020, University of Colombo Senate Award in 2019, University of Colombo Senate Commendation Award three times, Faculty of Science Research Excellence Award thrice, and Faculty of Science Award for Excellence in Academic Outreach on four times.