Staff
Dhanushka Hettiarachichi
Research Scientist
Dhanushka (Danny) has been with Wescorp since March 2007 and is predominantly responsible for maintaining and developing the Wescorp Laboratory. As Research Scientist, Danny involved in the research projects conducted within the Wescorp Group and in collaboration with other organisations. He’s also responsible for the quality assurance on sandalwood and sandalwood oil samples.
Major research projects Danny has undertaken for Wescorp include fixed oil extraction from Sandalwood seeds, developing a universally acceptable method to assess the quality of sandalwood timber and studying the different causes which alter the quality of sandalwood essential oil. He is a member of a research team with Curtin University and Sri Jayewardenepura University to conduct research on Sandalwood in Sri Lanka, which was recently awarded a National Research Council (Sri Lanka) Grant. Agarwood has brought new challenges to the Wescorp laboratory, which would be the next major research project in years to come.
Danny obtained a Master of Pharmacy degree from Curtin University and Bachelor of Pharmacy from Sri Ramachandra University, India. He is a Member and Chartered Chemist of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute. He is currently enrolled at Curtin University as a doctoral research candidate.
Danny has a research experience in chemistry and formulation aspects of natural products since 2003. He has contributed to international and national peer reviewed journals and conference proceedings. His research interests are focused mainly on extraction method development, quality assurance and oxidation of essential oils and plant lipids. In his spare time, Danny enjoys photography and playing Tabla.
Recent publications
Research Scientist
Dhanushka (Danny) has been with Wescorp since March 2007 and is predominantly responsible for maintaining and developing the Wescorp Laboratory. As Research Scientist, Danny involved in the research projects conducted within the Wescorp Group and in collaboration with other organisations. He’s also responsible for the quality assurance on sandalwood and sandalwood oil samples.
Major research projects Danny has undertaken for Wescorp include fixed oil extraction from Sandalwood seeds, developing a universally acceptable method to assess the quality of sandalwood timber and studying the different causes which alter the quality of sandalwood essential oil. He is a member of a research team with Curtin University and Sri Jayewardenepura University to conduct research on Sandalwood in Sri Lanka, which was recently awarded a National Research Council (Sri Lanka) Grant. Agarwood has brought new challenges to the Wescorp laboratory, which would be the next major research project in years to come.
Danny obtained a Master of Pharmacy degree from Curtin University and Bachelor of Pharmacy from Sri Ramachandra University, India. He is a Member and Chartered Chemist of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute. He is currently enrolled at Curtin University as a doctoral research candidate.
Danny has a research experience in chemistry and formulation aspects of natural products since 2003. He has contributed to international and national peer reviewed journals and conference proceedings. His research interests are focused mainly on extraction method development, quality assurance and oxidation of essential oils and plant lipids. In his spare time, Danny enjoys photography and playing Tabla.
Recent publications
- Antibacterial Compounds of Conkerberry: A study on Root of Indigenous Australian Medicinal Plant Carissa lanceolata R.Br., 2010. Lambert Academic Publishing. ISBN-10: 3838380797, Germany.
- Dhanushka S. Hettiarachchi, Manuri Gamage and Upul Subasinghe 2010. Oil Content Analysis of Sandalwood: A Novel Approach for Core Sample Analysis. Sandalwood Research Newsletter, (25) 1-4.
- Dhanushka Hettiarachchi, Yandi Liu, John Fox and Bruce Sunderland, 2010. Western Australian Sandalwood Seed Oil: New Opportunities Lipid Technology 22 (2).
- Tim Coakley and Dhanushka S. Hettiarachchi 2010. Quality Analysis of Cultivated Sandalwood Trees from the Wheat Belt Region of Western Australia. The Australian Sandalwooder, (10) 8.
- Hettiarachchi, D.S., Gamage, Y.M.M., Subasinghe, S.M.C.U.P. and Pronk, G. 2010. Quality and Sustainability of Western Australian Sandalwood Industry: Progress in Analytical Methods, Proceedings to the 15th International Forestry and Enviromental Symposium (Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka, 26th November)
- Hettiarachchi, Dhanushka S., Locher Cornelia and Longmore Robert B., 2009. Antibacterial compounds from the root of the indigenous Australian medicinal plant Carissa lanceolata R.Br. Natural Product Research 23 (12).
- Dhanushka S. Hettiarachchi 2008. Volatile oil content determination in the Australian sandalwood industry: Towards a standardised method. Sandalwood Research Newsletter, (23) 1-4.
- Hettiarachchi, D.S., 2008. Comparison of Western Australian Sandalwood Seed oil Extraction Methods, Proceedings to the 4th World congress on Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (Cape Town, South Africa, 12th November)
