Rate My Professor Thilina Herath Mudiyanselage

Thilina Herath Mudiyanselage is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Biomedical Sciences, Health Sciences Division at the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand. Currently working in the Ireton Lab, his research specializes in microbial pathogenesis, focusing on how bacterial pathogens such as Shigella flexneri, Listeria monocytogenes, and enteropathogenic Escherichia coli exploit host cellular processes, particularly the exocyst complex, to facilitate cell-to-cell spread, pedestal formation, entry into host cells, and modulation of immune responses. His investigations also extend to viral pathogens and parasite-host interactions, including the antiviral effects of Toxoplasma gondii proteins and foot-and-mouth disease virus interference with interferon signaling.

Herath Mudiyanselage earned his Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Otago in 2022, with a thesis titled 'Role of host exocytosis in cell-to-cell spread of Shigella flexneri,' examining how Shigella subverts host polarized exocytosis for intercellular dissemination. Previously, he completed a Master's degree at Chungnam National University, College of Veterinary Medicine in Daejeon, South Korea (2015-2018), and a Bachelor's degree in Animal Science from the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka (2010-2014). Key publications include 'The host GTPase Dynamin 2 modulates apical junction structure to control cell-to-cell spread of Listeria monocytogenes' (2024), 'SIAH1 modulates antiviral immune responses by targeting deubiquitinase USP19' (2024), 'Exploitation of the host exocyst complex by bacterial pathogens' (2023), 'Listeria monocytogenes Co-Opts the Host Exocyst Complex To Promote Internalin A-Mediated Entry' (2022), 'Shigella flexneri subverts host polarized exocytosis to enhance cell-to-cell spread' (2021), 'Foot-and-mouth disease virus VP1 targets the MAVS to inhibit type-I interferon signaling and VP1 E83K mutation results in virus attenuation' (2020), and 'Dense Granule Protein-7 (GRA-7) of Toxoplasma gondii inhibits viral replication in vitro and in vivo' (2017). His research outputs have accumulated 136 citations.