D.R. Gimhani was graduated in 2006 obtaining a B.Sc. Agriculture (Specialized in Biotechnology) degree with Second Class Upper Division (Honours) from Wayamba University of Sri Lanka. Just after graduation she worked as a Graduate Research Assistant at the Plant Genetic Resources Centre, Gannoruwa, Peradeniya, gathering research experience for  a about 1 year and 10 months. She was able to obtain her M.Sc. in Experimental Biotechnology in 2010 from Postgraduate Institute of Science (PGIS), University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka. Her M.Sc. thesis was on “Identification of a microsatellite marker linked to thrips (Stenchaetothrip biformis) resistance in rice using bulked segregant analysis”. In 2009, she was able to join to the Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Agriculture and Plantation Management, Wayamba University of Sri Lanka as a Lecturer. She was awarded the Global Rice Science Scholarship, in 2011 by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Philippines to pursue her PhD Sandwich degree programme at the International Rice Research Institute and Wayamba University of Sri Lanka. Accordingly, in 2015, she obtained her PhD inBiotechnology and her thesis was focused on “Identification of salinity tolerant QTLs in elite rice background”. Apart from the academic work, she is involving with the research projects focused on molecular plant breeding/ QTL mapping as a co-investigator and collaborator. 

Molecular Plant Breeding, Marker Assisted Selection, Gene Mapping