DrRuwini Cooray

Dr. Ruwini Cooray’s research interests lie at the interface of neuroscience, genetics, and neurotechnology, with a focus on understanding neuronal plasticity, degeneration, and repair. Her doctoral work at Deakin University advanced the study of the endocannabinoid system in neurodegeneration, introducing seven novel pathways with therapeutic potential and identifying, for the first time, the role of the neuroinflammation in cannabinoid-mediated neuroprotection. This work, supported by transcriptomic and functional analyses in human neuronal models, provides new directions for therapeutic development in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. Continuing this work through her postdoctoral research, she has published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at international conferences, contributing to the growing body of literature on cannabinoid therapeutics and neuronal repair.

Her ongoing research expands into stem cell–derived microtissue implants, brain organoid modeling, and cortical repair mechanisms, integrating molecular biology with systems neuroscience approaches. In parallel, she has founded Nova Intelligence, a research initiative exploring the neuroscience of intelligence, genetics of cognition, and quantum-inspired neural modeling. This platform examines the convergence of biological and artificial intelligence, focusing on cortical microcircuitry, synaptic plasticity, and computational frameworks for human-machine augmentation. Through these activities, Dr. Cooray is building a distinctive translational research portfolio that bridges fundamental neuroscience with innovation in neurotechnology.