About
Dr. Thilina H. Weerakkody earned his Bachelor of Science (Hons.) in Mechanical Engineering in 2016 from the University of Moratuwa in Sri Lanka. After completing his undergraduate studies, he worked as a Research Assistant at the Bionics Lab at the University of Moratuwa, where he contributed to designing and controlling Adaptive Foot Prosthetics for lower limb amputees, a project funded by the National Research Council of Sri Lanka. Dr. Weerakkody then pursued his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Iowa in 2024 under the supervision of Dr. Caterina Lamuta and Dr. Venanzio Cichella. His doctoral research focused on Modeling and Controlling Artificial Muscles for Soft Robotics, with applications in Medical, Rehabilitation, and Underwater environments.
After completing his Ph.D., Dr. Weerakkody joined the Lab of Prof. Michael van Dam in the Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology at UCLA as a Postdoctoral Scholar. His current research focuses on advancing a high-throughput radiochemistry robotic platform to optimize radiosynthesis and screen radiopharmaceuticals for positron emission tomography (PET) imaging. Dr. Weerakkody is passionate about leveraging Engineering, Robotics, and Control systems to address real-world challenges and improve global well-being.