Madhavika N. Serasinghe Ph.D.

Cancer biologist with eighteen years of experience in biomedical research (areas of expertise: cancer signalling, cell death, drug resistance, cancer metabolism, melanoma, mitochondrial biology, drug and biomarker discovery), conduct, management and oversight of scientific research, grant writing and management, mentoring and teaching, and scientific writing and editing. Exceptional presentation, interpersonal, and communication skills. Strong collaborative network in the cancer research and cell death communities. Experienced in organizing and hosting international scientific conferences and management of core equipment, training, and knowledge distribution.

• Success conceiving, planning, and directing multiple individual and collaborative research projects in cancer biology, mitochondrial biology and metabolism as evidenced by peer reviewed publications.
• 2017 NCI K22 (transition career development) award for the study of novel mechanistic, prognostic and therapeutic interfaces in melanoma
• Established skills educating and developing scientific support staff and undergraduate, graduate, and medical students
• Setting up and managing the departmental Seahorse metabolism core, training programs and knowledge distribution

Manager, Seahorse Mitochondrial Bioenergetics and Metabolism Facility, Shared Resources, ISMMS (2016-2021)

• Set up the Seahorse Mitochondrial Bioenergetics and Metabolism facility at ISMMS
• Trained personnel
• Consulted on projects and conducted collaborations
• Managed shared equipment and reagents
• Managed billing and finances
• Organized training programs
• Reviewed and edited manuscripts

• Member, Executive Organization Committee, International Cell Death Society (ICDS) 25th Anniversary Meeting (Cell Death Through the Ages), ISMMS, NY, 2018
• Member, Executive Organization Committee, International Cell Death Conference (From Zero to Sixty), ISMMS, NY, 2015

• Member, International Cell Death Society 2010-present
• Member New York Academy of Sciences 2010-present
• Member ISMMS Women in Science 2010-2021
• Member American Society for Cell Biology 2004-2009

• K22- Transition Career Development Award, National Cancer Institute (2017-2021)

• Pre-doctoral student travel award, American Society for Cell Biology, 2006
• Student of the Year, Department of Plant Sciences and Biotechnology2002
• Sir. Nigel Ball medal in Plant Biochemistry, 2003
• Prof. B.L. de Silva medal for Plant Physiology, 2003
• Prof. B.A. Abeywickrema medal for Botany, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka, 2003
  

• 2014 Member: Federal Experts Security Advisory Panel (FESAP) on biological select agents and toxins (BSAT).
• 2014 Member; Veterans Health Administration Office of the Deputy Under Secretary for Health for Policy and Services Ebola Virus Working Group, Department of Veterans Affairs Washington, DC.
• 2014 Member: PhD Candidate Committee, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Canada.
• 2012 Member: PhD Candidate Committee, Department of Dairy Sciences, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA.
• 2011 Member; American Dairy Science Assn. Animal Health Committee 

• Serasinghe M.N. Mitochondrial Fission in Human Disease: Implications on BRAFV600E Mutant Melanomagenesis, Prognosis, and Therapy. World Congress in Targeting Mitochondria, Germany, 2018
• Serasinghe M.N. The Role of Mitochondrial Biology in Cancer: From Oncogenic Transformation to Therapeutic Intervention. Tisch Cancer Institute Seminar Series, ISMMS, 2018
• Serasinghe M.N. Mechanistic and Therapeutic Implications of Mitochondrial Shape and Function in BRAFV600E Mutant Melanoma. Annual Cancer Biology Retreat, Department of Oncological Sciences at ISMMS, New York Academy of Sciences, 2012

Selected presentations (10/19)

• Serasinghe M.N…et al., Cold Spring Harbor Cell Death Conference, 2017
• Rangel C…Serasinghe M.N et al., Medical Student Research Day, ISMMS, NY, 2016
• Li K…Serasinghe M.N. et al., Medical Student Training in Aging Research (MSTAR), Mount Sinai, 2015
• Amin S., Serasinghe M.N. et al., Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP), Mount Sinai, 2014
• Sung J…Serasinghe M.N. et al., Medical Student Training in Aging Research (MSTAR), Mount Sinai, 2014
• Weider S., Serasinghe M.N., et al., Annual meeting of the Society of Investigative Dermatology, NM, 2014
• Serasinghe M.N. et al., Cold Spring Harbor Cell Death Conference, NY, 2013
• Serasinghe M.N. et al., New York Cell Death Conference, Rockefeller University, NY, 2013
• Serasinghe M.N., et al., American Society for Cell Biology, SF, 2008
• Serasinghe M.N., et al., American Society for Cell Biology, DC, 2007
  

Peer reviewed original contributions

• Wickremasinghe N.M., Turnbull I., Sachs D., Dhanan P., Torre, D. aimo S., Serasinghe M.N., Mayourian J., French D., Hansen A., Eschenhagen T., Chipuk J.E., Sobie E., Jacobs A., Ischiropoulos H., Ma’ayan A., Houten S., Costa K., and Dubois N.C. PPARdelta signaling induces metabolic maturation in human pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes. Cell Stem Cell, 2022, Apr. PMID 35325615
• Bayne M.A., Alvarsson A., Devarakonda K., Li R., Jimenez-Gonzales M., Garibay D., Connor K.K., Verghese M., Serasinghe M.N., Chipuk J.E., Hof H.R., Stanley S.A. Repeated hypoglycemeia remodels neural inputs and disrupts mitochondrial function to blunt glucose-inhibited GHRH neuron responsiveness. JCI Insight 2020, Nov. PMID: 33148883
• Elkholi R, Abraham-Enachescu I, Trotta AP, Rubio-Patiño C, Mohammed JN, Luna-Vargas MPA, Gelles JD, Kaminetsky JR, Serasinghe MN, Zou C, Ali S, McStay GP, Pfleger CM, Chipuk JE. MDM2 Integrates Cellular Respiration and Apoptotic Signaling through NDUFS1 and the Mitochondrial Network. Mol Cell. 2019 May. PMID: 30879903
• Joseph GA, Hung M, Goel AJ, Hong M, Rieder MK, Beckmann N, Serasinghe MN, Chipuk JE, Devarakonda PM, Goldhamer DJ, Aldana-Hernandez P, Curtis J, Jacobs R, Krauss RS. Late-onset megaconial myopathy in mice lacking group I Paks. Skelet Muscle. 2019 Feb PMID: 30791960
• Abbate F, Badal B, Mendelson K, Aydin IT, Serasinghe MN, Iqbal R, Mohammed JN, Solovyov A, Greenbaum BD, Chipuk JE, Celebi JT. FBXW7 regulates a mitochondrial transcription program by modulating MITF. Pigment Cell Melanoma Res. 2018 Apr. PMID:29665239
• Serasinghe MN, Gelles JD, Li K, Zhao L, Abbate F, Syku M, Mohammed JN, Badal B, Rangel CA, Hoehn KL, Celebi JT, Chipuk JE. Dual suppression of inner and outer mitochondrial membrane functions augments apoptotic responses to oncogenic MAPK inhibition. Cell Death and Disease. 2018 Jan. PMID:29348439
• Hogstad B, Berres ML, Chakraborty R, Tang J, Bigenwald C, Serasinghe M, Lim KPH, Lin H, Man TK, Remark R, Baxter S, Kana V, Jordan S, Karoulia Z, Kwan WH, Leboeuf M, Brandt E, Salmon H, McClain K, Poulikakos P, Chipuk J, Mulder WJM, Allen CE, Merad M. RAF/MEK/extracellular signal-related kinase pathway suppresses dendritic cell migration and traps dendritic cells in Langerhans cell histiocytosis lesions. Journal of Experimental Medicine. 2018. PMID:29263218
• Trotta AP, Gelles JD, Serasinghe MN, Loi P, Arbiser JL, Chipuk JE. Disruption of mitochondrial electron transport chain function potentiates the pro-apoptotic effects of MAPK inhibition. Journal of Biol. Chem. 2017 Jul PMID:28546431
• Kenny T, Hart P, Ragazzi M, Foschini MP, Sersinghe MN, Chipuk JE, Sagar AK, Eliceiri K, LaFramboise T, Grandh S, Santos J, Riar AK, D’Aurello M, Manfredi G, Bonini M and Germain D. Selected mitochondrial DNA landscapes activate SOD2 and the UPRmt to promote metastasis. Oncogene, 2017
• Mendoza A., Chen C., Fang V., Serasinghe M.N., Chipuk J.E., Schwab S., Lymphatic endothelial S1P promotes naïve T-Cell mitochondrial function and survival, Nature, 2017. PMID: 28538737
• Rimmelé P., Liang R., Bigarella C.L, Fatih K., Xie J., Serasinghe M.N., Chipuk J.E, Sadek H., Zhang C., and Ghaffari S., Mitochondrial Metabolism in Hematopoietic Stem Cells Requires Functional FOXO3. EMBO Reports, 2015. PMID: 26209246
• Renault T.T., Floros K.V., Corrigan K.A., Kushnareva Y., Wieder S.Y., Lindtner C., Serasinghe M.N., Asciolla J.J., Buettner C., Newmeyer D.D., Chipuk J.E., Outer mitochondrial membrane shape engages BAX a9 to initiate mitochondrial outer membrane permeabilization and apoptosis. Molecular Cell, 2015. PMID: 25482509
• Serasinghe M.N*., Missert D.J*., Asciolla J.A*., Belbin G., Chipuk J.E., Anti-apoptotic BCL-2 proteins govern the cellular outcome following BRAFV600E inhibition and can be targeted to reduce resistance. Oncogene, 2015. PMID: 24608435 *Equal contribution
• Weider S.W*., Serasinghe M.N*., Sung J*., Yao J., Bernstein E., Celebi J., Chipuk J.E., Activation of the mitochondrial fission protein DRP1 correlates with BRAFV600E nevi progression to melanoma. Journal of Investigative Dermatology 2015. PMID: 26032958 *Equal contribution
• Serasinghe M.N., Weider S.W., Renault T.T., Elkholi R., Asciolla J.J., Yao J.L., Jabado O., Hoehn K., Kagayama Y., Sesaki H., Chipuk J.E., Mitochondrial division is requisite to RAS-induced transformation and targeted by oncogenic MAPK pathway inhibitors. Molecular Cell, 2015, PMID: 25658204 (Highlighted in Cancer Discovery, 2015).
• Liang L., Sebag J.A., Eagelston L., Serasinghe M.N., Veo K., Reinick C., Angleson J., Hinkle P.M., Dores R.M., Functional expression of frog and rainbow trout melanocortin 2 receptors using heterologous MRAP1s. General and Comparative Endocrinology, 2011. PMID: 21846469
• Hinkle, P.M., Serasinghe M.N., Jakabowsky A., Sebag J. A., Wilson K.R., Haskell-Luevano C.., Use of chimeric melanocortin-2 and -4 receptors to identify regions responsible for ligand specificity and dependence on melanocortin 2 receptor accessory protein. European Journal of Pharmacology, 2011. PMID: 21211532
• Serasinghe, M.N., Seneviratne, A.M.P.B., Smrcka, A.V., Yoon.Y., Identification and characterization of unique proline-rich peptides binding to the mitochondrial fission protein hFis1. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 2010. PMID: 19864424
• Serasinghe, M.N., and Yoon Y., The mitochondrial outer membrane protein hFis1 regulates mitochondrial morphology and fission through self-interaction. Experimental Cell Research, 2008. PMID: 18845145

Other Peer Reviewed Publications

• Elkholi R*., Renault T.T*., Serasinghe M.N*., Chipuk J.E., Putting the pieces together; How is the mitochondrial pathway of apoptosis regulated in cancer and chemotherapy? Cancer and Metabolism, 2014. PMID: 25621172 *Equal contribution

Books and Book Chapters

• Serasinghe M.N. and Chipuk J.E, Mitochondrial Fission in human diseases, 2017. Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology-Pharmacology of Mitochondria (Springer publishing). PMID: 28040850

Non-Peer Reviewed Publications

• Cell death through the ages: The ICDS 25th Anniversary Meeting. Mohammed JN, Gelles JD, Rubio-Patiño C, Serasinghe MN, Trotta AP, Lockshin RA, Zakeri Z, Chipuk JE. FEBS J. 2020 Jun. PMID: 32147971
• Meeting report: Gelles J.D, Elkholi R, Serasinghe M.N., Luna-Vagas M. Chipuk J.E., From zero to sixty: Cell death signaling in a city that never sleeps, Oncogene, 2015. PMID: 26148239
  

Creative writing (short stories, novels, fantasy and surrealism, literary fiction)

Art (abstract, acrylic, mixed media, water color)

Photography (nature)