Associate Professor | Director
Institute for Biodiversity and Environmental Research
About
Assoc Prof. Kushan specializes in plant functional & developmental biology, physiology and biology of native flora. He obtained BSc First Class (Hons.) degree from University of Peradeniya in 1992. In 1997, he completed his PhD at University of Western Australia in South West Australian native flora.
He has received numerous professional awards during his two decades of academic career. These include the University of Peradeniya Scholarship awarded for achieving best results in Bachelor of Science Hons. Degree (1992), and Overseas Postgraduate Research Scholarship (OPRS) from the University of Western Australia (1993) for his doctoral studies. In 2005, he was awarded the J. William Fulbright Senior Fellowship, USA to pursue advanced research in the areas of plant developmental biology and ecophysiology. Assoc Prof. Kushan was a recipient of the Third World Academy of Science (TWAS) Young Scientist Award for Biology. This is awarded to recognize and support outstanding achievements made by mid-career Biologists from developing countries whose research work has significantly contributed to the advancement of sciences. In 2006 he received a Fulbright Occasional Lecturer award to deliver a lecture at the University of Mississippi, National Center for Natural Products Research, USA. He was a recipient of Sri Lanka Presidential Awards for Scientific Research in years 2007 & 2008. Assoc. Prof. Kushan is an adjunct associate professor at the Old Dominion University, Virgina, USA.
Teaching Area
Principles of Plant Physiology; Skills in Biological Sciences; Plant Eco Physiology; Developmental Biology; Climate Change Biology, Economic Botany; Plants & People; Mycology; Discovery Science, Uni bridge -Sciences for University Study.
Current Research
- Investigation on angiosperm parasitic plants (aerial and root parasites) in South and Southeast Asia
- Ecophysiological attributes of parasitic plants and mycoheterotrophs, biogeography, synthesis of novel bioactive compounds and the invasive behavior of selected holoparasites
- Restoration of degraded tropical habitats with local native plant species and investigating their physiological responses to varying environmental conditions
- Exploring the impacts of alien invasive plant species (ie. Pinus and Acacia spp) on the native flora and potential arable lands
- Dye Sensitized Solar Cells
Publications
Publications
Most Recent Publications (SCOPUS/SCI Indexed)
- Jay F. Bolin, Tennakoon Kushan U, Mohamed Bin Abdul Majid, Duncan D. Cameron.2016. Isotopic evidence of partial mycoheterotrophy in Burmannia coelestis (Burmanniaceae). Plant Species Biology (Wiley- Blackwell). In press. Early view online version is available: DOI: 10.1111/1442-1984.12116
- Q V Le, Tennakoon Kushan U, F Metali, L BL Lim & J F Bolin.2016 Ecophysiological Responses Of Mistletoe Dendrophthoe curvata (Blume) Miquel (Loranthaceae) To Varying Environmental Parameters Depend On Host Associations – Journal of Tropical Forest Science 28 (1):59-67 (Early view online version is available)
- A. Suhaili, R Sukri & Tennakoon Kushan U. 2016. comparison of seedling emergence and soil seed bank composition of an Acacia plantation and AN adjacent tropical Heath forest in Brunei Darussalam. Biotropia. In press.
- Zolkepli Z, Andery Lim, P Ekanayake, Tennakoon Kushan U. 2015. Efficiency enhancement of cocktail dye of Ixora coccinea and Tradescantia spathacea in DSSC. Journal of Biophysics. Article ID 582091, 8 pages DOI.org/10.1155/2015/582091.
- Nurul Kahrani Ishak, Zohrah Sulaiman, Tennakoon Kushan U. 2015. Comparative Study on Growth Performance of Transgenic Rice Nipponbare (Over-Expressing OsNHX1) and its Wild-type under Different Salinity Regimes. Rice Science (Elsevier) 22(5): 931- 934. doi:10.1016/j.rsci.2015.06.002
- Q V Le, Tennakoon Kushan U, Metali F, Lim LBL, Bolin JF. 2015. The Impacts of Cuscuta australis infection on photosynthesis of the host Mikania micrantha under drought conditions. Weed Biology & Management (Wiley)15: 138-146. doi:10.1111/wbm.12077
- F Metali1, KA Salim, Tennakoon Kushan U and DFRP Burslem. 2015. Controls on foliar nutrient and Al concentrations in a tropical tree flora: phylogeny,soil chemistry and interactions among elements.New Phytologist. 205 (1), 280-292. DOI: 10.1111/nph.12987
- Q V Le, Tennakoon Kushan U, Metali F, Lim LL, Bolin JF. 2015. Host specific variation in photosynthesis of an obligate xylem-tapping mistletoe Dendrophthoe curvata (Blume) Miquel in Bornean heath forest. Nordic Journal of Botany (Blackwell Publishing Ltd.) Early view online version DOI: 10.1111/njb.00628.
- Andery Lim, Noramaliyana Haji Manaf, Tennakoon Kushan U, Lim LBL, Bandara S, Ekanayake P. 2015. Higher performance of DSSC with dyes from Cladophora spp. As mixed co-sensitized through synergistic effect. Journal of Biophysics. Online version: Article ID 510467- 8 pages. Doi: dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/510467.
Books
- Wahab Rodzay & Tennakoon Kushan U. 2013. Biodiversity and Environmental Research at the Kuala Belalong Field Studies Center, Universiti Brunei Darussalam: A Bibliography. Published by the Universiti Brunei Darussalam. ISBN 978-99917-1-252-9
- Dzulkiflee Anis, Tennakoon Kushan U & Malai Abdullah. 2011. Life Underneath the Canopy. In conjunction with the 25th anniversary of the Universiti Brunei Darussalam. Published by the Universiti Brunei Darussalam. ISBN 99917-1-242-