Ruchira Ranaweera

Research Interests

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

Dr Ruchira Ranaweera

Postdoctoral Research Fellow

School of Public Health

College of Health

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.

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

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

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)

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

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 WoS7
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 WoS5
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 Scopus63 WoS54 Europe PMC27
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 Scopus45 WoS39 Europe PMC18
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 Scopus62 WoS50 Europe PMC26
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 Scopus9 WoS7

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

Research Training Program Scholarship

Wine Australia supplementary scholarship 

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