Dr Ratnayaka brings together expertise in Retinal Cell Biology and Neurodegeneration. His group at Southampton studies the molecular mechanisms underlying degenerative processes in the senescent retina and brain.

Current studies exploit in-vitro cell models of the retina including donor iPSCs to understand the mechanisms of membrane trafficking, proteostasis and autophagy. High-resolution microscopy and 3D-imaging combined with novel molecular tools as well as AI/algorithms, seek to unravel details of dynamic and temporal events in these processes, and how they become impaired with age and disease.