Dr Ruchira Ranaweera

Postdoctoral Research Fellow

School of Public Health

Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences

Dr Ruchira Ranaweera is a postdoctoral research fellow in the School of Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Unit, working at the Adelaide Exposure Science and Health laboratory (www.ua.edu.au/aesh). She is a multidisciplinary researcher with expertise in analytical chemistry, experience across food science, wine chemistry as well as numerous environmental contaminant projects. Dr Ranaweera graduated with a bachelor’s and master’s degree in food science and technology, specialising in food chemistry and completed her Ph.D. at the University of Adelaide, investigating a rapid method for authentication of Australian red wines using fluorescence spectroscopy and machine learning classification. Her interdisciplinary research skills and collaborations are reflected in her current role.

Career
Publications
Grants and Funding
Contact

Appointments

Date	Position	Institution name
2025 - ongoing	Research Fellow	University of Adelaide
2023 - 2025	Research Associate	University of South Australia
2022 - 2023	Grant Funded Researcher (LevelA)	University of Adelaide
2017 - 2017	Quality Assurance	The Mitolo Group
2015 - 2017	Quality Assurance Coordinator	Baiada Poultry

Awards and Achievements

Date	Type	Title	Institution Name	Country	Amount
2023	Award	2022 University of Adelaide Doctoral Medal	University of Adelaide	Australia	-
2022	Award	2022 Harold Woolhouse Prize	University of Adelaide	Australia	-
2022	Award	Dean’s Commendation for Doctoral Thesis Excellence.	University of Adelaide	Australia	-
2021	Award	K.P. Barley Prize	University of Adelaide	Australia	-
2021	Award	Best Wine Student	Wine Communicators of Australia	Australia	-

Language Competencies

Language Competency

English Can read, write, speak, understand spoken and peer review

Sinhala; Sinhalese Can read, write, speak, understand spoken and peer review

Language	Competency
English	Can read, write, speak, understand spoken and peer review
Sinhala; Sinhalese	Can read, write, speak, understand spoken and peer review

Education

Date	Institution name	Country	Title
2018 - 2021	University of Adelaide	Australia	PhD
2010 - 2011	Cardiff Metropolitan University	United Kingdom	MSc
2005 - 2010	University of Sri Jayewardenepura	Sri Lanka	BSc (Sp)

Certifications

Date	Title	Institution name	Country
2021	Project Management Fundamentals	Australian Institute of Management	Australia
2021	Statistical Methods in MATLAB	MathWorks (United States)	United States

Research Interests

Analytical Spectrometry Food Sciences Quality Management Wine Chemistry and Wine Sensory Science

Journals

Year	Citation
2023	Ranaweera, R. K. R., Bastian, S. E. P., Gilmore, A. M., Capone, D. L., & Jeffery, D. W. (2023). Absorbance-transmission and fluorescence excitation-emission matrix (A-TEEM) with multi-block data analysis and machine learning for accurate intraregional classification of Barossa Shiraz wine. Food Control, 144, 1-8. DOI Scopus9
2022	Ranaweera, R. K. R., Gilmore, A. M., Bastian, S. E. P., Capone, D., & Jeffery, D. (2022). Spectrofluorometric analysis to trace the molecular fingerprint of wine during the winemaking process and recognise the blending percentage of different varietal wines. OENO One, 56(1), 189-196. DOI Scopus7 WoS2
2021	Ranaweera, R. K. R., Gilmore, A. M., Capone, D. L., Bastian, S. E. P., & Jeffery, D. W. (2021). Authentication of the geographical origin of Australian Cabernet Sauvignon wines using spectrofluorometric and multi-element analyses with multivariate statistical modelling. Food Chemistry, 335, 1-8. DOI Scopus60 WoS33 Europe PMC21
2021	Ranaweera, R. K. R., Gilmore, A. M., Capone, D. L., Bastian, S. E. P., & Jeffery, D. W. (2021). Spectrofluorometric analysis combined with machine learning for geographical and varietal authentication, and prediction of phenolic compound concentrations in red wine. Food Chemistry, 361, 1-9. DOI Scopus44 WoS23 Europe PMC15
2021	Ranaweera, R. K. R., Capone, D. L., Bastian, S. E. P., Cozzolino, D., & Jeffery, D. W. (2021). A review of wine authentication using spectroscopic approaches in combination with chemometrics. Molecules, 26(14), 4334-1-4334-15. DOI Scopus57 WoS17 Europe PMC19
2021	Souza Gonzaga, L., Bastian, S. E. P., Capone, D. L., Ranaweera, R. K. R., & Jeffery, D. W. (2021). Modelling Cabernet-Sauvignon wine sensory traits from spectrofluorometric data. OENO One, 55(4), 19-33. DOI Scopus7 WoS3

Book Chapters

Year	Citation
2024	Ranaweera, R., Gilmore, A., & Jeffery, D. (2024). Fluorescence Spectroscopy for Red Wine Authentication. In M. Á. Pozo-Bayón, & C. Muñoz González (Eds.), Wine Analysis and Testing Techniques (pp. 23-38). Springer. DOI
2021	Ranaweera, R., Souza Gonzaga, L., Capone, D., Bastian, S., & Jeffery, D. (2021). Authenticity and traceability in the wine industry: From analytical chemistry to consumer perceptions. In A. Cifuentes (Ed.), Comprehensive Foodomics (pp. 452-480). Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier. DOI Scopus10

Conference Papers

Year	Citation
2020	Ranaweera, R., Gilmore, A., Capone, D., Bastian, S., & Jeffery, D. (2020). Application of fluorescence spectroscopy with multivariate analysis for authentication of Shiraz wines from different regions. In Proceedings of the XIIIth International Terroir Congress, as published in IVES Conference Series (pp. 1-5). Villenave d'Ornon, France: International Viticulture & Enology Society.

Research Training Program Scholarship

Wine Australia supplementary scholarship

Position: Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Phone: 83134264
Email: ruchira.ranaweera@adelaide.edu.au
Campus: Waite
Building: Davies Building, floor Ground Floor
Room: G11
Org Unit: Public Health

Dr Ruchira Ranaweera

Appointments

Awards and Achievements

Language Competencies

Education

Certifications

Research Interests

Journals

Book Chapters

Conference Papers

Connect With Me

External Profiles