Professor Dayanthi Nugegoda

Research interests

• Ecotoxicology and environmental biology with a focus on aquatic ecotoxicology, pesticides, trace metals, Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs), cyanobacterial toxins and their effects on fish and invertebrates
• Biomonitoring of environmental contamination using fish and invertebrates in water and earthworms in soil
• Development of toxicity tests using Australian species
• Enzymes and hormones as biomarkers of environmental exposure to xenobiotics
• Effect of dryland salinity on freshwater ecosystems
• Bioremediation of metal contaminated and salinised sites
• Minimising nutrient pollution from aquaculture and evaluating water quality with a focus on reclaimed and recycled water

Scholarships, awards and fellowships

• 2008/09: Visiting Fellowship, Flinders Research Centre for Coastal & Catchment Environments (FR3cE), Flinders University
• 2003: RMIT Faculty of Life Sciences: Research Supervision Award.
• 1999 - 2003: 5 Visiting Research Fellowships (2-4 months each) from the GSF National Research Centre for Environment and Health, Munich Germany to collaborate on the research project “Biomarkers of pollution in fish from contaminated sites in the Yangtze River region, China“ with the Institute of Ecological Chemistry.
• 1985/86: Drapers Company/Queen Mary College Award for Postgraduate Study, University of London.
• 1982 – 1985: Open Commonwealth Scholarship awarded by the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission of the U.K.
• 1982: Fulbright-Hayes Graduate Student Award for study in the U.S.
• 1977: Scholarship for the Best Results in the First Examination in Natural Sciences, University of Colombo

ecotoxicology; environment; pollution; toxicity; toxic chemicals; biota; water; Environmental Impact Assessment; pesticides; trace metals; coal seam gas; coal; oil, hydrocarbons; chemicals; aquatic; marine; freshwater; algal blooms; cyanobacteria; endocrine disruption; EDCs; toxicants; sustainability; ecosystem; fish; invertebrates; yabbies; hydra;

Teaching commitments

Professor Nugegoda’s teaching commitments include undergraduate and Masters courses in Ecotoxicology, and Aquatic Resources Management. She is the course coordinator for Ecotoxicology and Animal Structure and Function and teaches into Animal Diversity, Marine Biology, Ecology and other related courses in Environmental Biology. She is also coordinator of the Environmental stream in the Master of Biotechnology degree.

Administrative responsibilities

• RMIT Animal Ethics Committee (since 2007)
• RMIT representative on the Council of the Queenscliff Marine Consortium (since 2002)
• Member of the RMIT (Vietnam-Australia) 5-member Water Research Team led by the Pro Vice-Chancellor Research and Innovation to conduct Water Environment Workshops in Hanoi, Hue and Ho Chi Min City in 2002
• Current collaborative research team member since 2005
• Representative on the University International Student Staff Advisory Network (since 2000)
• Member of the International Student Working Party convened and led by the Chair of the Research and Graduate Studies Committee (2001-2002)
• Departmental Representative on the Faculty of Life Sciences Higher Degrees Committee (2001 - 2004)

• Bachelor of Science (Honours, first class), University of Colombo (Sri Lanka), 1980
• Doctor of Philosophy, University of London, Kings College and Queen Mary College (United Kingdom), 1986

• On the Global Bioaccumulation Advisory Group, Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) appointed to the Steering Committee 2008.
• Elected to the Pesticide Policy Advisory Group for the Forest Stewardship Council of Australia 2008-2009
• International Reviewer Research Grants Council of Hongkong and International assessor National Research Council of South Africa (since 2006)
• Appointed to the expert advisory panel on ecotoxicology for the Great Barrier Reef Marine Parks Authority 2005.
• Member of the Sri Lanka Association for the Advancement of Science
• Member of the Asian Fisheries Society
• Member of the Australasian Society for Ecotoxicology. Elected Representative for the State of Victoria 2000 – 2006 and Vice President 2007-2009
• Scientific Member of the Society for Ecotoxicology and Chemistry (SETAC), USA (since 1995)
• Member of the Australian Society of Limnology
• RMIT representative on the Council of the Victorian Marine Sciences Consortium

Professor Nugegoda is deeply committed to international issues, being an alumnus of the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka and the University of London, U.K. and having work experience in Sri Lanka, the UK, Germany, China, Singapore and Vietnam.