Meet Sri Lankan Researcher- Pevindu Abeysinghe

What are you currently working on and what encouraged you to pursue your research topic?

I’m currently working on Reproduction Biology — Epigenetics of Dairy Cow fertility at The Queensland University of Technology.. Dairy Cow fertility has been declining rapidly due to increased milk production without considering the functional traits responsible for reproduction & fertility. Even though many researches have been conducted to find the underlying genetics, still the issue persists.

I believe it’s the epigenetics, noncoding RNA’s including miRNA, lncRNA which are the translation controllers of the genes responsible for this issue. Since no one has started to look for it, I was encouraged to find the mystery of declined dairy cow fertility using an epigenetic approach.

You can find my published works here.

What’s one of your biggest personal achievements so far?

So far my biggest personal achievement is to get selected to complete my Doctoral degree in a world-renowned university in my interested research field.

To any budding researcher, I would say: Never give up on your dreams at any time. Be patient and keep faith in your dream.

What motivated you to be a researcher?

It was my childhood dream to be a scientist one day and to involve in exploring unknown boundaries. As a teenager, I had a keen interest in general chemistry and I was fortunate to get selected to the Science faculty of a Sri Lankan government University.

During that time I was more focused on plant biotechnology and chemistry and that laboratory experience drove me towards my interest to become a researcher. Exciting novel outcomes from my university laboratories motivated more to pursue my career as a researcher.

According to your opinion, what are the changes that the Sri Lankan education system needs to do, in order to meet the requirement of the international industry and academia?

Reduce the “time” gap of O/L and A/L and re-module the higher education system to complete a bachelor’s degree before a student hits 20 years old.
Focus on current ongoing researches rather than stagnate on older topics.