Profile

Papers

• Mapping out the Relative Influence of Hydrogen and Halogen and Bonds in Crystal Structures of a Family of Amide-Substituted Pyridines by Amila M. Abeysekera, Victor W. Day, Abhijeet S. Sinha, and Christer B.Aakeröy.; Crystal Growth & Design 2020, 20, 7399-7410. http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.cgd.0c01086
• The Impact of Halogen Substituents on the Synthesis and Structure of Co-Crystals of Pyridine Amides by Amila M. Abeysekera, Abhijeet S. Sinha and Christer B. Aakeröy; Molecules, 2021, 26(4), 1147. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26041147
• Establishing halogen-bond preferences in molecules with multiple acceptor sites by Amila M. Abeysekera, Boris B. Averkiev, Abhijeet S. Sinha, Pierre Le Magueres and Christer B. Aakeröy; ChemPlusChem, https://doi.org/10.1002/cplu.202100102
• Intermolecular binding preferences of haloethynyl halogen-bond donors as a function of molecular electrostatic potentials in a family of N-(pyridin-2-yl)amides by Amila M. Abeysekera, Boris B. Averkiev, Pierre Le Magueresb and Christer B. Aakeröy; Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry, (10.1039/D1OB01133B)

Presentations

• “A new heterocyclic compound from the reaction of 9-methyl-4,7-dioxodecanoic acid with hydrazine” by Chayanika Padumadasa, G. M. Kamal B. Gunaherath, Ranga S. Jayakody and Amila M. Abeysekera; presented at the International Research Sessions of University of Peradeniya, 2015.
• “Validating and rationalizing predicted behavior of a series of structurally related compounds towards co-crystal formation” by Amila M. Abeysekera, Christer B. Aakeröy, Victor Day and Abhijeet Sinha; presented at the 2018 Midwest ACS Regional Meeting (MWRM), Iowa, October2018.
• “Iodine, the outlier: A study demonstrating the significance of the halogen bond in chemistry of the organic solid state” by Amila M. Abeysekera, Victor Day, Abhijeet Sinha Christer. B. Aakeröy; presented at the 2019 Midwest ACS Regional Meeting (MWRM), Wichita, October 2019.
• “Bend or break, that is the question: Structure-property relationships in mechanically flexible co-crystals of N-(5-halopyridin-2-yl)alkylamides with aromatic carboxylic acids co-formers” by Amila M. Abeysekera, Christer. B. Aakeröy, Abhijeet Sinha, Boris Averkiev; to be presented at ACS National Meeting (virtual), April 2021

Posters

• “Assessing the influence of electronic and steric effects on co-crystallization” by Amila M. Abeysekera, Abhijeet Sinha and Christer B. Aakeröy; presented at the 2017 Midwest ACS Regional Meeting (MWRM), Lawrence, KS, October 2017
• “Application of in-silico methods to co-crystal design” by Amila M. Abeysekera, Christer B. Aakeröy, Victor Day and Abhijeet Sinha; presented at the 24th International Conference on the Chemistry of the Organic Solid State, New York, June 2019.
• “Will similar σ-hole values lead to synthon mimicry?” by Amila M. Abeysekera, Victor W. Day, Abhijeet S. Sinha, Pierre Le Magueres and Christer B. Aakeröy; presented at the 4th International Symposium on Halogen Bonding (ISXB-4 Virtual), November 2020

Awards/Scholarship

• Professor L. M. V. Tillekeratne Gold Medal for the best performance in Master of Science in Applied Organic Chemistry, University of Colombo, 2015
• Graduate Classroom Award, Phi Lambda Upsilon, Kansas State University, 2018
• Johnson Cancer Research Centre Summer Stipend, Kansas State University, 2019
• John Berschied and Donna Derstadt Fellowship in Chemistry for Summer, Kansas State University, 2020
• NOTICXE Graduate Student Fellowship in Chemistry for the Spring 2021, Kansas State University
• Graduate Research Award, Department of Chemistry, Kansas State University 2020-2021
• Graduate School Council, College of Arts and Sciences recognition, Kansas State University, 2021

• Temporary Demonstrator, B.Pharm Program, University of Sri Jayewardenepura  ( Feb 2011 - Aug 2012)
• Summer Intern, Boehringer Ingelheim (2018 May- 2018 August)