Shirangi Fernando

Instructor

Degrees:
PhD. in chemistry, University of Texas at Dallas, USA.
MS. in chemistry, Sam Houston State university in Texas, USA.
BSc. The Open University of Sri Lanka.
Graduate Chemist. College of Chemical Sciences Sri, Lanka.

Office: T174

Email: sfernando1@mtroyal.ca

Dr. Shirangi Fernando has been teaching at Mount Royal University since 2016 in the Department of General Education and began teaching in the Department of Chemistry and Physics in 2018.  Dr. Fernando’s PhD research was focused on developing potential MRI contrast agents (Lanthanide metal complexes) for early diagnosis of cancer and other diseases. Her work yielded new insights to understanding water exchanging characteristics of ParaCEST (Paramagnetic chemical exchange saturation transfer) agents and to develop new type of agents that have much slower water exchange properties as potential candidates for CEST imaging. Her MS research was focused on evaluating potential inhibitor probes for specific group of P450 enzymes. This research has led to the discovery of new probes to understand the structure and function of these enzymes and to investigate their enzyme activity.

Dr. Fernando enjoys teaching first year introductory chemistry courses and second year courses related to industrial organic chemistry and biochemistry and GNED cluster 1 courses. Dr. Fernando's teaching strategy has a student-centered approach, guiding students to discover information on their own through learning activities, worksheets, discussions, case studies etc. She believes this approach helps students to develop their critical thinking skills which are vital to achieve a successful professional career.