Sanjeewa Gamagedara, Ph.D.

Sanjeewa Gamagedara, Ph.D., received his B.S. (Hons) degree in chemistry from the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, and a Ph.D. in analytical chemistry from Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla, Missouri. The main goal of his research is to apply analytical chemistry techniques in aiding the betterment of human health. His research is mainly focused on the investigation of biomarkers for the non-invasive early diagnosis of cancer. Other than that, Gamagedara has research expertise in metabolomics, microfluidics, environmental analysis, and pharmaceutical analysis. He utilizes various analytical instruments like LC-MS/MS, HPLC, CE, GC-MS, Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy, Lab-on-a-Chip devices for his research projects. Currently, Gamagedara teaches Instrumental Analysis Lecture and Lab classes. 

• Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry (2012) from Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla, Missouri.
• B.S. (Hons) in Chemistry (2006) from the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka

• 2020-Present: Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry, University of Central Oklahoma, Edmond, OK
• 2015-20: Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry, University of Central Oklahoma, Edmond, OK
• 2013-15: Visiting Assistant Professor, Hartwick College, Oneonta, NY
• 2012-13: Pharmaceutical Scientist, Analytical Research Labs, Oklahoma City, OK
• 2007-12: Graduate Research Assistant, Missouri University of Science & Tech, Rolla, MO
• 2006-07: Assistant Lecturer, Department of Chemistry, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka

Temporary Appointments:

• 2022-Present: Graduate Faculty (Temporary) Hudson College of Public Health, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK
• 2022: Adjunct Professor, Department of Chemistry, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Honolulu, HI
• 2012: Adjunct Professor, Department of Science, Oklahoma State University-OKC, Oklahoma City, OK

• CHEM 3453 – Fundamentals of Instrumental Analysis
• CHEM 3453L- Fundamentals of Instrumental Analysis Laboratory
• CHEM 2104 – Quantitative Chemical Analysis
• CHEM 2104L– Quantitative Chemical Analysis Laboratory
• CHEM 3621 –  Professionalism in Chemistry II (Developed this course)
• CHEM 4892 – Capstone for Chemistry (Developed this course)
• CHEM 4910 – Quality Assurance Quality Control (Developed this course)
• CHEM 1223 – General Chemistry II
• CHEM 1112 – General Chemistry I Lab
• CHEM 1232 – General Chemistry II Lab
• CHEM 1014L– Introductory Chemistry Lab

• Educational Administrators’ Academy - Class of 2023, Educators' Leadership Academy, University of Central Oklahoma
• The Neely Excellence in Teaching Award - 2022, University of Central Oklahoma
• Teacher-Scholar - 2022, Center for Excellence in Transformative Teaching & Learning - UCO
• Research Opportunity Award – 2022, Oklahoma IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (OK-INBRE)
• Academic Leadership Fellow - 2021, Educators' Leadership Academy, University of Central Oklahoma
• UCO Faculty Merit-Credit Award for Research, Creative & Scholarly Activities - 2020, University of Central Oklahoma
• Distinguished Teacher-Scholar - 2019, Center for Excellence in Transformative Teaching & Learning - UCO
• Travel Award - 2019, Oklahoma IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (OK-INBRE)
• Research Opportunity Award – 2017, Oklahoma IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (OK-INBRE)
• Freedman Award for Student-Faculty Collaborative Research (Physical & Life Sciences) – 2014, Hartwick College, New York
• John W. Claypool Award for Biomedical Research – 2012, Center for Bone and Tissue Repair and Regeneration, Missouri University of Science and Technology, Missouri
• Marilyn and Richard Vitek Graduate Fellowship for Outstanding Performance in Analytical Chemistry – 2011, Department of Chemistry, Missouri University of Science & Technology, Missouri.
• Agilent Travel Award - 2011 for Midwestern Universities Analytical Chemistry Conference, Missouri.

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS:

1. Chuan Wang, Sanjeewa Gamagedara, Honglan Shi, Craig D Adams,Terry Timmons, Yinfa Ma "Investigation of Occurrence and Removal of Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products in Natural Water by using Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry" Water Research (2010) 45:1818-1828.
2.  Sanjeewa Gamagedara, Stephen Gibbons, Yinfa Ma, "Investigation of Urinary Pteridine Levels as Potential Biomarkers for Non-invasive Diagnosis of Cancer" Clinica Chimica Acta. (2011) 412:120-128.
3.  Sanjeewa Gamagedara, Yinfa Ma “Biomarker analysis for prostate cancer diagnosis using LC-MS and CE-MS” Bioanalysis (2011) 3(18): 2129-2142.
4.  Sanjeewa Gamagedara, Honglan Shi, Yinfa Ma, “Quantitative Determination of Taurine and Related Biomarkers in Urine by Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry” Analytical & Bioanalytical Chemistry (2012) 402(2):763-70.
5. Casey Burton, Sanjeewa Gamagedara, Yinfa Ma, “A Novel Enzymatic Technique for Determination of Sarcosine in Urine Samples” Analytical Methods (2012) 4: 141–146.
6. Sanjeewa Gamagedara, Anthony Kaczmarek, Yongqing Jiang, Xiaoling Cheng, Maduka Rupasinghe, Yinfa Ma, “Validation Study of Urinary Metabolites as Biomarkers for Prostate Cancer Detection” Bioanalysis (2012) 402: 763-77.
7.  Casey Burton, Sanjeewa Gamagedara, Yinfa Ma, “Partial Enzymatic Elimination and Quantification of  Sarcosine from Alanine using Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry” Analytical & Bioanalytical Chemistry (2013)  405: 3153-3158.
8.  Danielle M. West, Ruipu Mu, Sanjeewa Gamagedara, Yinfa Ma, Craig Adams, Todd Eichholz, Joel G. Burken, Honglan Shi, “Simultaneous detection of perchlorate and bromate using rapid high-performance ion exchange chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry and perchlorate removal in drinking water” Environmental Science and Pollution Research (2015) 22:8594-8602.
9. Nichole Maughan, Luan Nguyen, Sanjeewa Gamagedara* "Microfluidic Separation and Electrochemical Detection of Serotonin using a Portable Lab-on-a-Chip Device" Analytical & Bioanalytical Electrochemistry(2015) 7(1):1-11.
10. Sanjeewa Gamagedara*, Oscar Baawuah, Luan Nguyen “Paper Microfluidic Method to Quantify Taurine in Urine Samples: A College Level Introductory Chemistry Experiment” The Chemical Educator (2015) 20:134-137.
11. Yinfa Ma, Sanjeewa Gamagedara “Biomarker Analysis for Oncology” Biomarkes in Medicine (2015) 9(9):845-850.
12. Ting-An Yen, Kaushalya Dahal, Barry Lavine, Zayed Hassan, Sanjeewa Gamagedara*, “Development and Validation of High-Performance Liquid Chromatography Method for Quantitative Determination of gentisic acid and Related Renal Cell Carcinoma Biomarkers in Human Urine” Microchemical Journal  (2018) 137: 85-89
13. Matthew Benton, Mohammad Robiul Hossan, Prashanth Reddy Konari, Sanjeewa Gamagedara "Effect of Process Parameters and Material Properties on Laser Micromachining of Microchannels" Micromachines(2019) 10(2):123
14.  Kritika Shakya, Patricia Rayas-Duarte, Zorba Hernandes, Sanjeewa Gamagedara, Kanika  Bhargava "Gluten Free Tortillas of Finger Millet (Eleusine coracana) fortified with Chickpea (Cicer arietinum)"Advances in Food Technology and Nutritional Sciences (2019) 5(1):19-25
15. Kaushalya Dahal, Sanjeewa Gamagedara, Nuwan Perera, Barry K. Lavine "Analysis of gentisic acid and related renal cell carcinoma biomarkers using reversed-phase liquid chromatography with water-rich mobile phases", Journal of Liquid Chromatography & Related Technologies (2019) 42:19-20, 681-687
16. Tyler Cook, Yinfa Ma, Sanjeewa Gamagedara*, “Evaluation of Statistical Techniques to Normalize Mass Spectrometry-Based Urinary Metabolomics Data” Journal of Pharmaceutical & Biomedical Analysis (2020) 177:112854
17. Rashmi V. Amarender, Kanika Bhargava, Aaron T. Dossey, Sanjeewa Gamagedara, "Lipid and protein extraction from edible insects–Crickets (Gryllidae)" LWT - Food Science and Technology (2020) 125:1092222
18. Oumma Halima, Fares Z. Najar, Asfia Wahab, Sanjeewa Gamagedara, Akibul Islam Chowdhury, Steven B. Foster, Nazma Shaheen, Nagib Ahsan, “Lentil allergens identification and quantification: An update from omics perspective” Food Chemistry: Molecular Sciences (2022) 4: 100109
19. Safaa H. Ali, Tyler Cook, Salam H. Ewaid, Sanjeewa Gamagedara*, "Development of a Water Quality Index Using Sparse Principal Component Analysis for the Tigris River in Iraq"  Water Resources (2023) 50:152–167
20. Nagib Ahsan, Luca Fornelli, Fares Z. Najar, Sanjeewa Gamagedara, Mohammad R. Hossan, Shyama P. Rao, Ujwal Punyamurtula, Andrew Bauer, Steven B. Foster, "Proteomics evaluation of five economical commercial abundant protein depletion kits for enrichment of diseases-specific biomarkers from blood serum" Proteomics (2023) https://doi.org/10.1002/pmic.202300150

American Chemical Society (ACS)
2020 - Present    Member, UCO Board of Academic Appeals
2018 - Present    Member, UCO Research Advisory Council
2021 - 2023   Faculty Senator, UCO Faculty Senate
2017 - 2022   Staff Senator, UCO Staff Senate