Gayani Weeraratne: Plant Physiology First Author

Gayani Weeraratne, first author of “APYRASE1/2 mediate red light–induced de-etiolation growth in Arabidopsis seedlings”

Current Position: Senior research and development scientist, Natural products

Education: PhD in plant biology, University of Texas at Austin
Non-scientific Interests: Reading, baking, and gardening

Brief bio:

I am always fascinated by the diversity and the complexity of the plant kingdom. As an undergraduate I had a great interest in studying molecular mechanisms of plants. During my PhD training under Prof. Stanley J. Roux, I had the opportunity to characterize native Arabidopsis thaliana apyrases from young seedlings and their response to red light treatment. At present, I am developing natural ingredients for cosmetic products.