Prof. Renuka Ratnayake,Research Professor at NIFS, obtained her B.Sc. (Sp) Botany (1992), M.Phil. (by research) (1997) and Ph.D.(2006) from the University of Peradeniya and joined the  NIFS in 2009. She was a Postdoctoral researcher at the World Forestry Center, USA and Murdoch University, Australia. Renuka is a recipient of Endeavour Research Fellowship, Presidential Research Awards and SUSRED award for post graduate supervision.  She has worked as a lecturer in the Faculty of Applied Sciences at the Rajarata University of Sri Lanka before joining the NIFS.