Hi, I am Kasun Bodawatta, a Marie Curie Postdoctoral fellow at Westerdahl group. During my position at Lund, I will be leading the “BornThisWay” project, where we aim to untangle the interaction between gut microbes and adaptive immune system during malaria infections in passerine birds.
I am an evolutionary and community ecologist with a main interest in understanding the drivers of organismal community assemblies and host-microbe symbioses. My research has three focus areas that complement each other. First, using birds as a model system, I investigate drivers and consequences of symbiotic microbial communities and host-parasite (haemosporidian blood parasites) interactions. Second, I explore how biotic and abiotic factors impact assemblies of environmental microbial communities using subterranean ecosystems as a model environment. Third, I am interested in method development in terrestrial environmental eDNA tools to survey organismal communities.
During my free time, I enjoy bird watching and wildlife photography.
