Dr Dilini Rathnayake

Dilini is an immunologist working under the antiviral immunity group led by Dr Gabriela Khoury. Her research involves profiling cellular immune responses in immunocompromised and other high-risk cohorts to SARS-CoV-2. 
She completed her BSc (Honours) in Immunology and Molecular Biology at the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka in 2017. She completed her PhD from the Department of Medicine at the Peter Doherty Institute at the University of Melbourne in 2022. Her PhD studies focused on the role of antibody, complement, and innate immune cells in immunity to malaria infection among pregnant women and children. 
Following her PhD, Dilini joined the Department of Infectious Diseases at the University of Melbourne as a ‘Research Assistant’ to study SARS-CoV-2 specific T cell responses following COVID-19 vaccination. Following her passion in infectious diseases, she joined the antiviral immunity group at the Burnet Institute in January 2023 as a ‘Research Officer’. 

• 2021-2022: Research Assistant, Peter Doherty Institute, Australia
• 2017-2018: Temporary Lecturer, Faculty of Science, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka 

• 2022: PhD (Innate immunity and Parasitology), The University of Melbourne, Australia
• 2017: BSc (Honours), Immunology and Integrative Molecular Biology, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka

• 2021: Annual Meeting Travel Award of the American Society for Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.
• 2019: Best Publication for year 2019 offered by the Ceylon College of Physicians in collaboration with Royal College of Physicians, London, Annual Conference, 2020, Colombo, Sri Lanka.
• 2017: Best Undergraduate Honours Research Project in Immunology and Integrative Molecular Biology Discipline