Dr Ruchira Ranaweera

Grant Funded Researcher (LevelA)

School of Agriculture, Food and Wine

Faculty of Sciences, Engineering and Technology

I am a Postdoctoral researcher at The University of Adelaide working in the International Flavour Research Centre, Adelaide. I have completed my Bachelor’s and Masters degree in Food Science and Technology specilised in food quality management. I worked in the food industry for 5+ years in quality assuarance. My PhD at the University of Adelaide investigated a rapid method for authentication of Australian red wines using fluorescence spectroscopy and machine learning classification.
Currently, I am involved in flavour research project of plant based meat products in colaboration with V2 Foods, in understanding the dynamics of different meat preparation methods vs plant based products using advanced analytical techniques.

My Research
Career
Publications
Grants and Funding
Contact

As a rapid, straightforward, selective, and sensitive method that yields a molecular fingerprint of wine, fluorescence spectroscopy was identified as a promising method to investigate wine authentication. Several original research studies were subsequently performed with the aim of understanding the potential of applying fluorescence spectroscopy in combination with multivariate data analysis and machine learning for wine authentication.

Appointments

Date	Position	Institution name
2022 - ongoing	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 and understand spoken
Sinhala; Sinhalese Can read, write, speak, understand spoken and peer review

Language	Competency
English	Can read, write, speak and understand spoken
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

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

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, 109335-1-109335-8. DOI
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 Scopus1 WoS1
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 Scopus26 WoS28 Europe PMC6
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 Scopus16 WoS19 Europe PMC5
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 Scopus11 WoS11 Europe PMC3
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 Scopus1 WoS3

Book Chapters

Year	Citation
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 Scopus6

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: Grant Funded Researcher (LevelA)
Phone: 83136539
Email: ruchira.ranaweera01@adelaide.edu.au
Campus: Waite
Building: Plant Genomics Centre, floor Level One
Room: 1.41
Org Unit: Food Science

Dr Ruchira Ranaweera

Appointments

Awards and Achievements

Language Competencies

Education

Certifications

Research Interests

Journals

Book Chapters

Conference Papers

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