Sachithrani is interested in RNA technologies and therapeutics.
Dr Madugalle is an experienced researcher with a background in RNA biology and neuroscience. Having completed her Bachelor of Science (majoring in Biomedical Sciences) at the University of Queensland, she completed her Honours research at the University of Oxford under the mentorship of Professor Russell Foster and Associate Professor Aarti Jagannath, at the Sleep and Circadian Neuroscience Institute. Upon her return to Australia, Sachithrani joined Professor Timothy Bredy’s laboratory at the Queensland Brain Institute (QBI) to embark a PhD focusing on epitranscriptomics in the brain. Her PhD was supported by the Westpac Future Leaders Scholarship (2019), focusing on the role of RNA modifications in fear-learning and memory in mice. Having finished her time at QBI as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Sachithrani wanted to continue to her research on RNA biology, but in a more translational context and joined the laboratory of Associate Professor Seth Cheetham, in 2024. Through her research career so far, Sachithrani has gained extensive experience in a variety of molecular biology techniques and animal models. In 2025, Sachithrani completed her higher education teaching accreditation and received her Associate Fellowship from the Advance Higher Education (HE), to pursue her passion in teaching and mentorship.
Key Publications
Madugalle SU, Liau WS, Zhao Q, Li X, Gong H, Marshall PR, Periyakaruppiah A, Zajaczkowski EL, Leighton LJ, Ren H, Musgrove M, Davies JWA, Kim G, Rauch S, He C, Dickinson BC, Fulopova B, Fletcher L, Williams SR, Spitale RC & Bredy TW (2023). Synapse-enriched m6A-modified Malat1 interacts with the novel m6A reader, DPYSL2, and is required for fear-extinction memory. Journal of Neuroscience, 43 (43).
Madugalle SU, Meyer K, Wang DO, Bredy TW. RNA N6-Methyladenosine and the Regulation of RNA Localization and Function in the Brain (2020). Trends in Neurosciences 43(12): 1011-1023. Note: This publication received the cover of the December 2020 Issue
Marshall PR, Zhao Q, Li X, Periyakaruppiah A, Zajaczkowski EL, Leighton LJ, Madugalle SU, Basic D, Wang Z, Yin J, Liau WS, Gupte A, Walkley CR & Bredy TW (2020). Dynamic regulation of Z-DNA in the mouse prefrontal cortex by the RNA-editing enzyme Adar1 is required for fear extinction, Nature Neuroscience.
Li X, Zhao Q, Wei W, Lin Q, Magnan C, Emami MR, Wearick da Silva LE, Viola TW, Marshall PR, Yin J, Madugalle SU, Nainar S, Vagbo CB, Leighton LJ, Zajaczkowski EL, Ke K, Grassi-Oliveira R, Bjora M, Baldi PF, Spitale RC & Bredy TW (2019). The Accumulation of N6-methyl-2’deoxyadenosine in DNA drives activity-induced gene expression and is required for the extinction of conditioned fear. Nature Neuroscience.
Gleeson J, Madugalle SU, McLean C, Bredy TW, De Paoli-Iseppi R & Clark MB (2025). Isoform-level profiling of m6A epitranscriptomic signatures in human brain. Sciences Advances, 11(32).