Dr. (Mrs) Gayani RajapakseLecturers as (Gr I)
Department of Zoology and Environmental Management
Faculty of Science
University of Kelaniya
Kelaniya 11600
Sri Lanka
Telephone: 2914479
Fax: + 94 11 2911485, 2903415
E- mail: gayani@kln.ac.lk
University of Kelaniya
Kelaniya 11600
Sri Lanka
Telephone: 2914479
Fax: + 94 11 2911485, 2903415
E- mail: gayani@kln.ac.lk
Qualifications
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BSc (Honours) First class in Zoology (Majoring Parasitology) at University of Colombo, Sri Lanka
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Ph.D. (Cell and Molecular Biology) - University of Houston, USA
Research Interests
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Immunology
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Cell biology
Selected Recent Research Publications
- Bado I, Nikolos F, Rajapaksa G, Gustafsson J-Å and Thomas C (2017) Somatic loss of estrogen receptor beta and p53 synergize to induce breast tumorigenesis, Breast Cancer Research,19:79, DOI: 10.1186/s13058-017-0872-z
- Rajapaksa G, Thomas C and Gustafsson J-Å (2016) Estrogen signaling and unfolded protein response in breast cancer, The Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, doi:10.1016/j.jsbmb.2016.03.036
- Rajapaksa G, Nikolos F, Bado I, Clarke R, Gustafsson J-Å and Thomas C (2015) ERβ decreases breast cancer cell survival by regulating IRE1/XBP-1 pathway, Oncogene, 4(31):4130-41.
- Bado I, Nikolos F, Rajapaksa G, Gustafsson J-Å and Thomas C (2016) ERβ decreases the invasiveness of triple-negative breast cancer cells by regulating mutant p53 oncogenic function, Oncotarget, doi: 10.18632/oncotarget.7300
- Nikolos F, Thomas C, Rajapaksa G, Bado I, Gustafsson J-Å (2014) ERβ regulates NSCLC phenotypes by controlling oncogenic RAS signaling. Molecular Cancer Research, 12:843–854
- Thomas C, Rajapaksa G, Nikolos F, Hao R, Katchy A, McCollum C, Bondesson M, Quinlan P, Thompson A, Krishnamurthy S, Esteva F and Gustafsson J-Å (2012) ERβ1 represses basal breast cancer EMT by destabilizing EGFR, Breast Cancer Research,14(6) R148.
- Rajapaksa RPGK, De Silva V, Atukorala I, Wijayaratne LS and Udagama - Randeniya PV (2009) Immunological, Socioeconomic and disease characterization aspects of Rheumatoid arthritis patients in Sri Lanka, Indian Journal of Rheumatology, 4(1), 3 –10
Publications - Conference Papers and abstracts
- Rajapaksa G, Nikolos F, Bado I, Thomas C, Gustafsson J-Å (2013) ERβ1 increases the sensitivity of breast cancer cells to ER stress by down-regulating the IRE-1 pathway of the unfolded protein response, Proceedings of Gordon Research Conference-Hormone-dependent cancer, Smithfield, RI
- Rajapaksa G, Nikolos F, Thomas C, Gustafsson J-Å (2012) ERβ regulates XBP-1 pathway of unfolded protein response in breast cancer, Proceedings of the 94th Endocrine Society Annual Meeting, Houston, Texas
- Rajapaksa G, Nikolos F, Thomas C and Gustafsson J-Å (2011) ERβ sensitizes breast cancer cells to endoplasmic reticulum stress-regulated apoptosis, 102nd annual meeting of American Association for Cancer Research, Orlando, Florida
- Rajapaksa G, Nikollo F, Thomas C, Gustafsson J-Å (2011) ERβ regulates cellular-resistance to endoplasmic reticulum stress in breast cancer, Proceedings in the Cancer Prevention & Research Conference in Texas, pp90
- Bado I, Nikolos F, Rajapaksa G, Gustafsson J-Å and Thomas C (2015) ERβ decreases the invasiveness of triple-negative breast cancer cells by regulating mutant p53 gain-of-function, Proceedings of the 106th American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, PA
- Thomas C, Rajapaksa G, Nikolos F, Gustafsson J-Å (2014) ERβ1 decreases breast cancer cell survival by decreasing the unfolded protein response, Proceedings of 105th American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA
- Nikolos F, Rajapaksa G, Bado I, Thomas C, Gustafsson J-Å (2013) ERβ1 inhibits the non-small lung cancer cell growth by repressing growth factor signaling, Proceedings of Gordon Research Conference-Hormone-dependent cancer, Smithfield, RI
Click here for the full list of publications
Fellowships, awards and distinctions
- Best Scientific Research Paper in Clinical Immunology at the Third Biennial Scientific Session of the Allergy and Immunology Society of Sri Lanka, as judged by a panel of international referees (2006)
- The Gulamhusein A. J. Noorbhai Gold Medal for Best Undergraduate Research Project in Zoology, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka (2006)
- Graduate Student Travel Award by the Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Houston, USA (2013)
- Doctoral Student Tuition Fellowship by the Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Houston, USA (2009-2014)
Membership in Professional Societies
- American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
- American Association of Cancer Research (AACR)
- The Endocrine Society
- Allergy and Immunology Society of Sri Lanka (AISSL)
- Sri Lanka Association for the Advancement of Science (SLAAS)