Dr Anusha Seneviratne is an Immunologist specialising in Vascular Disease with an interest in environmental modulators of inflammation. She is researching how air pollution increases atherosclerotic vascular disease, whether naturally-derived anti-inflammatory compounds can provide protection, and developing more clinically-relevant models of human vascular disease to replace the use of mouse models. Her previous research focused on macrophage activity in atherosclerotic vascular disease and the protective role of plant-derived drug compounds.

She is the founder of "Girawa" - an international planetary health education project for youth in Global South countries. She is a member of the Education Working Group of the Planetary Health Alliance. She contributed to Non-Communicable Diseases report for the World Health Organization and the São Paulo Declaration on Planetary Health. She has also experience of working in the Cell and Gene Therapy industry.

Environmental Modulators of Vascular Inflammation

Dr Seneviratne is studying the cellular and molecular mechanisms behind how environmental exposures modulate inflammation in the body such as air pollution, infectious diseases and medicinal plants. Her current focus is on how ultrafine air particulates and chemical toxins exacerbate cardiovascular inflammation in the context of Atherosclerosis, and whether natural anti-inflammatory compounds can dampen inflammation triggered by harmful exposures.

She is also developing novel multiomics imaging methods to examine the correlation between metallomics, transcriptomics and proteomics. 

Seneviratne & Miller (2025) Atherosclerosis, 406: 119240

Collaborators:

• Dr Mark Miller (University of Edinburgh)
• Dr Ian Mudway (Imperial College London)
• Professor Claudia Monaco (University of Oxford)
• Dr Rachel Smith (UK Health Security Agency)
• Dr Rafael T.M. De Rosales (King's College London)
• Professor Irina Udalova (University of Oxford)
• Dr Kalpana Surendranath (University of Westminster)
• Dr Fabrizia Ratto (RHUL)
• Dr Tom Prescott (Kew Gardens)
• Professor Robin Williams (RHUL)
• Dr Darshani Singhalage (Uva Wellassa University, Sri Lanka)
• Dr Anne Majumdar (RHUL)

I am offering research projects as part of the MSc in Biological Sciences Research. If interested, please contact me for further discussion. 

The impact of air pollution on cardiovascular disease and mortality in South Asia

Dr Seneviratne is collaborating with cardiologists in Sri Lanka (Dr Tharanga Fernando, Anuradhapura Teaching Hospital) to study how air pollution levels influence cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in Sri Lanka, and whether such trends are linked to seasonal variations and weather patterns such as pollution being blown from neighbouring countries. 

She is interested in advising on air quality and public health policy in the UK and internationally to improve health outcomes from environmental exposures.

Development of clinically-relevant models of human atherosclerosis

Dr Seneviratne is developing in vitro models derived from human cells to study atherosclerosis in a more clinically relevant way, and to eventually replace the use of animal models, which do not always accurately represent the immune cell composition of atherosclerotic plaques and fibrous cap rupture. She is working in collaboration with:

• Professor Deepak Kalaskar (UCL) to develop a 3D printed model of atherosclerosis and study immune cell repsonses in healthy arteries.
• Mepsgen and Peptimatrix to develop a 2D vascular barrier model and study vascular immune cells responses to external stimuli and potential therapeutics. 

Planetary Health Education

Dr Seneviratne founded the Girawa Project in 2020 establishing a Planetary Health education programme for secondary school students in Sri Lanka, Brazil and Kenya. Girawa is an organizational member of the Planetary Health Alliance. Through this project she uses pedagogical approaches to improve planetary health education for secondary level students globally and is currently researching the effectiveness of Youth Clubs and "Educommunication" as a means of Planetary Health education and interaction between youth of different countries, in collaboration with Dr David Channon (RHUL), the Foundation of Goodness in Sri Lanka, Planetary Health Brazil led by Professor Antonio Saraiva, University of São Paulo (USP) and the Planetary Health Alliance.

This project has been supported by Research England funding via an RHUL Social Purpose Research and Knowledge Exchange Grant.

Dr Seneviratne holds a BSc in Biomedical Sciences and an MRes in Biomedical Sciences, specialising in Cardiovascular Science from Imperial College London.

Her PhD, based at the prestigious Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology under the supervision of Professor Claudia Monaco, and funded by Imperial's British Heart Foundation Centre of Research Excellence, uncovered a novel molecular mechanism by which macrophages perform efferocytosis in atherosclerosis, and how this is impaired by the transcription factor IRF5 driving necrotic core formation.

Seneviratne et al. Circulation (2017) 136: 1140-1154

Her post-doctoral research at the National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, also funded by the British Heart Foundation, demonstrated the protective effect of the anti-diabetic French Lilac plant-derived drug Metformin and Heme on macrophage activity in atherosclerotic disease via activation of the AMPK-ATF1 signalling pathway. She also developed novel in vivo models to study the role of AMPK-ATF1 signalling and CREB in the resolution of acute inflammation and subdural haematomas.

Dr Seneviratne leads teaching of human anatomy and physiology for the Department of Health Studies, with an emphasis on environmental and social determinants of health for the BSc Health Studies and MSc Occupational Therapy degrees.

BSc Health Studies Module Lead for:

HE1003 Introduction to Human Science

HE2000 Evaluating Evidence

HE2005 Physical and Mental Conditions

Member of Planetary Health Alliance

Member of British Society of Immunology