Ms Anjali Vithanage, a PhD candidate at the Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya has won the third prize in the International PhD Research Pitch Competition organized by the International Union of Food Science and Technology (IUFoST).

IUFoST is a country-membership organization and the global voice of food science and technology. It is the only representative for the discipline of Food Science and Technology elected to the International Science Council (ISC) by its interdisciplinary peers.

The five-minute presentations at the PhD Pitch Competition featured the depth and breadth of the ongoing research work by the PhD candidate finalists selected among the researchers in research institutes/universities around the world as they are related to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. 

Ms. Anjali Vithanage earned her BSc (Honors) Degree in Animal Science from the Uva Wellassa University, Sri Lanka. Then she joined the research group of Senior Prof. Kapila Seneviratne and Prof. Nimanthi Jayathilaka in the Department of Chemistry to read for the PhD. She utilizes her expertise in Animal Science to study the effect of edible oils on enhancing the intestinal absorption of small polar antioxidants and the resulting effects on the antioxidant activity including inhibition of oxidative macromolecular damage using animal models. Her work involves chemical, cell, and molecular analysis utilizing chromatography techniques, gene expression analysis, and immunohistochemistry.