Research Profile

Research Fellow in Mechatronics for Medical Devices | The Moazen Lab| PI: Prof. Mehran Moazen

Nov 2023 - Present

Mechanical Engineering, University College London, UK

Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Surgical Robotics | STORM Lab| PI: Prof. Pietro Valdastri

Dec 2021 - Oct 2023

School of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, University of Leeds, UK

• Leading Robotics research at the STORM Lab.

- Applied engineering research to design and develop of soft magnetic continuum robots, and the magnetic manipulation of such robots for application in minimally invasive surgical procedures.

- Conducting foundational scientific research to create a new navigation mechanisms of tethered long slender soft robotic structures in endoluminal.

• Manager of research, dissemination, and administrative activities of Leeds EPSRC Minimal Invasive Technologies for Pancreatic Cancer Treatment project. Coordinating the research of RAs, PhD, and MSc students. Total budget £1.5M.

• Adviser/mentor MSc and PhD students at the STORM Lab.

- Direct supervision of 5 PhD/MSc/MRes students, resulting in 5 publications.

- Lead bi-weekly group meetings with all lab PhD/MSc/MRes students with engineering projects providing guidance.

• Management of external collaboration projects: Ultrasurge , devise the technical aspects of collaborative works between PDRAs in other groups and my team members.

• Presentation of research outcomes in stake holder meetings: e.g. Edinburgh University, Birmingham University.

• Research collaborations: Prof. Koko Lam (Glasgow); Prof. Arianna Menciassi (SSSA, Pisa, Italy) – Applications of Magnetic Soft Continuum Robots

Senior Lecturer in Mechatronics | Sep 2016 - Nov 2021

Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka

• Successfully secured £80k+ in research funding as PI and Co-I for Robotics, Mechatronics, and Controls projects.

• Lab supervisor of Computational Sensing and Smart Machines Laboratory (CSSM)

- Initiated, staffed and equipped the lab, developed hands-on sessions and experiments for undergraduate and postgraduate students.

- Conducted consultancy services to industries and provided support for departmental research activities. 

- Managed research in sensors, Actuators, orthotic devices and robotics

- Produced 5 MSc by research degrees, 1 PhD degree and 12+ undergraduate capstone projects .

- Produced 4 journal papers and 10+ conference publications by the team.

• Research collaboratiohns:

Prof. Thrishantha Nanayakkara, Dr. Thilin Lalitharathne (Imperial College London): - Workshop – Soft Robotics for Biomedical Applications (2021)
Prof. Isuru Godage (Texas A&M), Dr. Kumara Jayawirama (University of Ruhuna, Sri Lanka): - Workshop on Soft Robotics (2020)

Visiting Researcher | Morph Lab | PI: Thrishantha Nanayakkara | Oct 2014 - Jan 2015

Department of Informatics, Kings' College London, UK

Explored a soft tactile sensor that operates based on magnetic field measurements and its application in texture classification through palpation.