{"id":206,"date":"2015-10-01T06:05:51","date_gmt":"2015-10-01T06:05:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/science.sjp.ac.lk\/zoo\/?page_id=206"},"modified":"2026-03-10T14:22:18","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T14:22:18","slug":"ms-k-v-k-gunathilake","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/science.sjp.ac.lk\/zoo\/academic-staff\/ms-k-v-k-gunathilake\/","title":{"rendered":"Dr. K. V. K. Gunathilake"},"content":{"rendered":"<section class=\"wpb-content-wrapper\"><p>[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"206\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-4316 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/science.sjp.ac.lk\/zoo\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/11\/Varuni3.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"238\" height=\"317\" srcset=\"https:\/\/science.sjp.ac.lk\/zoo\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/11\/Varuni3.jpg 238w, https:\/\/science.sjp.ac.lk\/zoo\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/11\/Varuni3-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/science.sjp.ac.lk\/zoo\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2023\/11\/Varuni3-40x53.jpg 40w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 238px) 100vw, 238px\" \/><\/td>\n<td width=\"433\">\n<h4><span class=\"given-name\">Prof. Varuni Gunathilake<\/span><\/h4>\n<h5 class=\"org\">B.Sc. (USJ), Ph.D. (Colombo)<\/h5>\n<h5 class=\"org\"><strong>Professor<\/strong><br \/>\n<em>varunig@sjp.ac.lk\u00a0<\/em><\/h5>\n<h5 class=\"org\">Research Interests: Marine Biotechnology, Immunology,\u00a0Sponge identification and taxonomy<\/h5>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/scholar.google.com\/citations?user=KqEhafcAAAAJ&amp;hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-282\" src=\"https:\/\/science.sjp.ac.lk\/zoo\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2015\/09\/google-scholar_98212.png\" alt=\"google-scholar_98212\" width=\"30\" height=\"30\" \/><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.researchgate.net\/profile\/Varuni_Gunathilake3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.researchgate.net\/profile\/Varuni_Gunathilake3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-294\" src=\"https:\/\/science.sjp.ac.lk\/zoo\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2015\/09\/rg2.png\" alt=\"rg2\" width=\"30\" height=\"30\" \/><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.researchgate.net\/profile\/Varuni_Gunathilake3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u00a0\u00a0<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5141-8173\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-1898 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/science.sjp.ac.lk\/zoo\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2015\/09\/ORCID1.png\" alt=\"orcid1\" width=\"30\" height=\"30\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><strong><br \/>\nQualifications:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\n<ul>\n<li>B. Sc. (Special) degree in Zoology, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka<\/li>\n<li>Ph.D., University of Colombo, Sri Lanka<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Special Achievements\/Awards:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Youth Progress Award, offered by Asia Federation of Laboratory Animal Science (AFLAS), 2025.<\/li>\n<li>\u00a0Best oral presentation of the biannual sessions of 42<sup>nd<\/sup> proceedings of Allergy and Immunology society of Sri Lanka, 2016<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Research projects:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>RC\/URG\/SCI\/2024\/38 &#8211; Characterization and formulation of sea weed \u2013based body lotion with sun protective activity, from <em>Gracilaria corticata (<\/em>2024-2026)<\/li>\n<li>ASP\/01\/Re\/SCI\/2017\/20 &#8211; In 2017 \u2013 \u201cIdentification and molecular characterization and chemical characterization of extract\/s of <em>Haliclona (Soestella)<\/em> sp, a Novel Sri Lankan marine sponge.\u201d (2017-2022)<\/li>\n<li>ASP\/01\/Re\/SCI\/2021\/41 &#8211; \u201cExtraction, Isolation and application of collagen from <em>Holothuria atra<\/em>, and development of a membrane.\u201d (2021)<\/li>\n<li>ASP\/01\/Re\/SCI\/2022\/29 &#8211; \u201cUtilization of <em>Decapterus macarellu<\/em>s (Perciformes: Carangidae), for food and selected medicinal uses.\u201d(2022-2024)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Membership in Professional Societies:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>President of \u00a0Sri Lanka Association for Laboratory Animal Science (SLALAS) (2025\/2026)<\/li>\n<li>President \u2013Elect of the Society for Animal Testing in Sri Lanka (SAAT_SL) (2025\/2027)<\/li>\n<li>Honorable Secretary of Section D of Sri Lanka Association for the Advancement of Science (SLAAS) (2024)<\/li>\n<li>Honourable vice treasurer SLALAS in 2018\/2019 and 2020\/2021<\/li>\n<li>Honourable treasurer of Sri Lanka Association for Laboratory Animal Sciences (SLALAS)2022\/2023<\/li>\n<li>Honurable secretary of the Society of Alternatives for Animal Testing, Sri Lanka (SAAT-SL) for 2022\/2024<\/li>\n<li>Life member of Sri Lanka Association of the Advancement of Science (SLAAS), since 2011<\/li>\n<li>Life member of Sri Lanka Association for Fisheries and Aquaculture Research (SLAFAR), since 2018.<\/li>\n<li>Life member of Sri Lanka Association for the laboratory animal Science (SLALAS), since 2015<\/li>\n<li>Life member of Society for Alternatives in Animal Testing in Sri Lanka.<\/li>\n<li>Life member of Institute of Biology, Sri Lanka (IOBSL) ,since 2018<\/li>\n<li>Member of Sri Lanka Association of Young Academics (SLAYS), since 2018.<\/li>\n<li>Life member of the Nutrition Society of Sri Lanka<\/li>\n<li>Member of Ethics Review Committee\/Faculty of Graduate studies\/USJ (Since 2023)<\/li>\n<li>Member of Ethics Review Committee\/Faculty of Indegenious Medicine , University of Colombo (Since 2020)<\/li>\n<li>Member of Ethics Review Committee\/Faculty of Allied Health\/USJ (Since 2025)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Other National Contributions:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Executive Committee Member of National\u00a0Sector\u00a0Committee on Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (NSCFAR) 2022<\/li>\n<li>Member of the Sri Lanka Council for Agricultural Research under National Committee on Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Sector -NCFARS-2021<\/li>\n<li>Member of Resource pool of expertise for research review and roadmap development, Ministry of Science and Technology<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Research publications:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>(Last updated on 15th October, 2025)[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_raw_html]JTNDc2NyaXB0JTIwc3JjJTNEJTIyaHR0cHMlM0ElMkYlMkZiaWJiYXNlLm9yZyUyRnNob3clM0ZiaWIlM0RodHRwcyUzQSUyRiUyRmJpYmJhc2Uub3JnJTJGZiUyRlhXaGJYTlhMQVFCNGc0c1BnJTJGRHJfVmFydW5pLmJpYiUyNmpzb25wJTNEMSUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRnNjcmlwdCUzRQ==[\/vc_raw_html][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/section>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Prof. Varuni Gunathilake B.Sc. (USJ), Ph.D. (Colombo) Professor varunig@sjp.ac.lk\u00a0 Research Interests: Marine Biotechnology, Immunology,\u00a0Sponge identification and taxonomy \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Qualifications: B. Sc. (Special) degree in Zoology, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/science.sjp.ac.lk\/zoo\/academic-staff\/ms-k-v-k-gunathilake\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Dr. K. V. K. Gunathilake<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"parent":153,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_ti_tpc_template_sync":false,"_ti_tpc_template_id":"","footnotes":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/science.sjp.ac.lk\/zoo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/206"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/science.sjp.ac.lk\/zoo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/science.sjp.ac.lk\/zoo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/science.sjp.ac.lk\/zoo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/science.sjp.ac.lk\/zoo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=206"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/science.sjp.ac.lk\/zoo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/206\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4728,"href":"https:\/\/science.sjp.ac.lk\/zoo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/206\/revisions\/4728"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/science.sjp.ac.lk\/zoo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/153"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/science.sjp.ac.lk\/zoo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=206"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}