I obtained the B.Sc. (Special) degree in Botany with second class (upper division) Honors from the University of Ruhuna, Sri Lanka in 1991. Having joined the University of Ruhuna in 1991 as a member of staff at the Dept. of Botany, in 1993 I was awarded an ABOS scholarship under the link project between the University of Ruhuna and the Vrije Universitiet Brussels, Belgium to read for a M. Sc. degree in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology. My M. Sc. research was concerned with the molecular characterization of gene(s) involved in the interaction between the phytopathogens and the antagonistic bacteria. Ph. D. dissertation was on conservation genetics of mangroves: morphology and DNA polymorphism in a geographical context. Upon my return to Sri Lanka in 1999, with a Ph. D. in conservation genetics, I had been serving as senior lecturer till 2012. I have been serving as a professor since 2013 at the Dept. of Botany, University of Ruhuna, Sri Lanka where I joined as an Assistant Lecturer. My particular research interests lie on isolation and characterization of natural products from plants for different pharmaceutical properties, use of molecular biotechnological tools in tissue culture, genetic diversity, population biology, and conservation genetics of plant populations. I have research papers published in international/national peer reviewed journals, presented oral and poster presentations at both national and international conferences and symposia. I have been awarded different grant (International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), India, 2002; Pakistan, 2006; Overseas Special Training Programme (OSTP), Sri Lanka; Faculty Research grants’ TWAS Research grants) and Scholarships/Fellowships (ABOS, 1993; Titular Fellowship, 2009; Commonwealth Academic Fellowship, 2012; Endeavour Research Fellowship, 2015) from different countries.