Upeksha Dissanayake joined the Center for Drug Design at the University of Minnesota in September 2026, where she currently works under the supervision of Dr. Zhengqiang (ZQ) Wang.

She earned her Ph.D. in Computational Chemistry from the University of Texas at Dallas in May 2026 under the supervision of Dr. Andrés Cisneros. Her doctoral research focused on applying computational chemistry, molecular modeling, bioinformatics, and molecular dynamics simulations to investigate biomolecular structure and function, as well as the effects of disease-associated mutations. Her expertise includes classical and polarizable molecular dynamics simulations, quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical (QM/MM) calculations, protein–ligand interactions, enzyme mechanisms, and computational drug discovery.

Her current research focuses on the discovery and development of novel antiviral therapeutics using computational approaches, including drug design and AI-driven drug discovery methods.