Harshica Fernando
Harshica Fernando, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Department -Chemistry, Prairie View A&M University, Prairie View TX 77446 USA
Office: O’Bannion RM 230H email: hufernando@pvamu.edu Tel.:936-261-3112

Education

  • PhD, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
  • BSc, University of Colombo, Colombo, Sri Lanka

Work History

  • Associate Professor, Assistant Professor, Adjunct assistant professor; Prairie View A&M University, Department of Chemistry: 2024 – present, 2018 – 2024, 2017 – 2018.
  • Research Scientist, Post-doctoral fellow; University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas: 2009 – 2017, 2003-2008.
  • Senior Lecturer, Lecturer; University of Colombo, Colombo, Sri Lanka: 1998 – 2003, 1991 – 1993.

Biography

Harshica Fernando received her PhD in chemistry from University of Illinois at Chicago in 1998. Her work was on “The mechanism, structure and energetics of DNA damage induced by alkylating agents and ionizing radiation” studied using experimental and computational methods. After her PhD, she served as a senior lecturer in the department of chemistry at University of Colombo before taking up a postdoctoral position at University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) in Galveston. She worked as a research scientist at UTMB from 2009-2017 before joining Prairie View A&M University as an adjunct assistant professor. She was appointed as a tenure track assistant professor in 2018, and presently is a tenured associate professor in the chemistry and the graduate coordinator in the chemistry department.

Awards and Honors

  • DHS summer team program for minority students, Summer 2023, Summer 2020.
  • The Robert L. Harrison Best Poster Award-21st Annual Research Day, Department of Pathology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston.
  • Best Poster Award: 16th annual research day Department of Pathology, University of Texas Medical Branch.
  • NIAAA (National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism) Travel Award for the 2010 ISBRA World Congress in Paris, France.
  • Dean’s Scholarship, Graduate Collage, University of Illinois at Chicago.
  • University Fellowship, Graduate Collage, University of Illinois at Chicago.
  • Searle Environmental Health and Safety Fellowship for the performance and proposal submitted in the 1st year of Graduate studies – awarded by Searle, Inc.
  • Bikaji Farmji Khan Gold Medal for the best chemistry major student, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka.
  • Dr. C. A. Silva Memorial Award in Chemistry, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka.
  • CIC Merit Award for obtaining the highest aggregate in chemistry awarded by Chemical Industries (Colombo) Ltd., Sri Lanka.

Memberships

  • 2005 – present American Chemical Society (ACS)
  • 2004 – present American Association of Advancement of Sciences (AAAS)
  • 2002 – present Sri Lanka Association of Advancement of Sciences (SLAAS)

TEACHING INTERESTS

Teaching Statement/Philosophy

My objective as a teacher is to help students become:

A. Critical thinkers and evaluators by mastering fundamental concepts, using their knowledge of the scientific method to evaluate new information, and by improving their communication skills, and be

B. Responsible and accountable individuals by gaining a sense of honesty and personal accountability, particular to course expectations, developing awareness to present-day technological advances, make connections to the world around them, and practicing time management and organization skills

Courses Taught

  • CHEM 1121-General Chemistry lab II Spring 2018, Spring 2019
  • CHEM 1303-General Inorganic Chemistry I: Spring 2018, Spring 2022
  • CHEM 1304-General Inorganic Chemistry II: Spring 2017, Summer 2018, Fall 2018
  • CHEM 1203-General Inorganic Chemistry Lab II Fall 2017
  • CHEM 1204-General Inorganic Chemistry II Lab Summer 2018
  • CHEM 2201-Quantitative Analysis Lecture: Fall (2017 – 2024), Summer 2019
  • CHEM 2211-Quantitative Analysis Lab: Fall (2017 – 2024) , Summer 2019,
  • CHEM 2303-Organic Chemistry 1: Fall 2024
  • CHEM 3341-Physical Chemistry I Lecture: Fall 2017, Fall (2019-2023)
  • CHEM 3242-Physical Chemistry Lab: Fall (2019- Fall 2021)
  • CHEM 3342-Physical Chemistry II Lecture : Spring 2018
  • CHEM 4100-Journal Reading and Chemical Literature: Fall 2023, Spring 2025
  • CHEM 4105- Research Spring 2021
  • CHEM 4305-Instrumental Analysis Lecture: Spring (2018-Spring 2025)
  • CHEM 4205-Instrumental Analysis Lab: Spring (2018- 2021), Spring (2024, 2025)
  • CHEM 5331-Advanced Analytical Chemistry : Spring (2020-2024)
  • CHEM 5332-Instrumental Analysis Lecture: Spring 2019
  • CHEM 5232-Instruemntal Analysis lab: Spring 2019
  • CHEM 5378-Advanced Physical Chemistry Summer 2021

RESEARCH

Current Graduate Students- Shamika Hewage and Viviana Salazar
Current Undergraduate Students- Debra Davis, Amina Rose, Collin Byas, Josiah Armstead and Sydney Dunham
Past Graduate Students- Briana Williams, Isha Gautam, Denzel Alexander, Tyesha Long, and Naiyah McDaniel
Mentored over 30 undergraduate students.

Research Projects

1. Green nanoparticle synthesis, applications and interactions. Our lab does research on synthesizing green nanoparticles suitable for environmental remediation, biological applications and that can be used as catalysts. Under the environmental remediation topic, the goal is to synthesize nanoparticles that are environmentally safe and, at the same time, purify many contaminants in water. All particles synthesized are characterized using different techniques. Research under this topic have already generated publications and we are moving forward in identifying better green starting sources as well as metals that can be used for the above purposes. We have extended the green nanoparticle synthesis to generate green catalysts for important reactions and that can be used in biomedical applications. In addition, we are studying the nanoparticle interactions with DNA.

2. Quantification/Identification and detection of contaminants in food to evaluate the safety of the food for human consumption. Under this project we carry out research in identifying many types of contaminants using advance instrumentation, and or using biological assays, develop new methods for identifications. The laboratory is well equipped to carry out the necessary studies. Previous work has led to lipid analysis of milk varieties using NMR, GC-MS, and LC-MS and current work focus on quantitation (GC-MS) and detection of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in shrimp. As an extension to this project we work with identifying important plant metabolites using advance instrumentation.

3. Computational studies: Studies under this topic involve (i) Ionization potential energy calculations of DNA bases and their effect on the presence of alkylating agents (ii) collaborative work with Dr. Ananda Amarasekara on (ii) Catalysts for Hydrolysis of Cellulosic Molecules and (iii) understanding metal-ligand interactions in collaboration with Dr. Gina Chiarella. These calculations theoretically explain the electronic properties associated with interactions of DNA bases and their effect on the presence of different alkylating agents, explain why some interactions of different catalysts with model compound cellulose are favorable over the others and describe metal-ligand binding properties and use the Gaussian program to perform the calculations.

Journal Articles

1. Reibenspies, J., Small, N., Bhuvanesh, N., Chiarella, G., Salazar, V., Pery, B., Smith, R., Toole, D., Hewage, S., Fernando, H. & Reinheimer, E. (2024). Crystal structure and Hirshfeld surface analysis of (nitrato)(1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane)nickel(II) nitrate. Acta Cryst. E80.

2. Gautam, I., and Fernando H. Removal of small ring polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons using cow and goat milk iron oxide nanoparticles. Green Chemistry Letters and Reviews. (Accepted March 2024 accepted).

3. Vu, B., Brosamer, K., McDaniel, N., Kourentzi, K., Willson, R., Fernando, H. Glow ELISA”: sensitive immunoassay with minimal equipment and stable reagents Analyst, 2023,148, 5582-5587.

4. Cash C., Herath, H. N. K., Fernando, H., Chiarella, G. M., Zhang, L., Yang, L., Fan, H. S. Microwave-assisted synthesis of Bis-histidinato nickel (II) complex and its luminescence properties. International Journal of Research in Engineering and Science 2023, 11, 3-60.

5. Amarasekara, A. S., Nwankwo, V. C., and Fernando, H. Hydroxy sulfonic acid catalyzed hydrolysis of cellulose. Biofuels 2023, 1-7.

6. Gautam, I., Grady, T., and Fernando H. Degradation of the dye methyl orange using cow and goat milk iron nanoparticles. Green Chemistry Letters and Reviews. 2023, 6, 2174818.

7. Williams, B., Gautam, I., Grady, T., and Fernando H. Redox Properties and Temperature Dependence of Silver Nanoparticles Synthesized using Pasteurized Cow and Goat Milk. Green Chemistry Letters and Reviews. 2022, 15, 69-80.

8. Fernando, H and Amarasekara, A. S. The effect of Dicarboxylic acid catalyst structure on hydrolysis of Cellulose Model compound D-Cellobiose in water. Current Organocatalysis: 2021, vol 8.

9. Fernando, H and Amarasekara, A. S. Interactions of Cellulose Model compound D-Cellobiose with selected metal chlorides in water: identification of Chelating oxygen atoms. Euro. Org. Chem. 2021, 4968-4973.

10. Rowe, G. R., Fernando, H., Elfrink, C., Ansari, S., Sullivan, J., Heathman, T., Quigg, A., Petronella, S., Wade, T., and Santsch, P.H. Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) cycling and fates in Galveston Bay, Texas, USA. PLoS One 15, e0243734, 2020.

11. Fernando, H., Ju, H., Kakumanu, R., Bhopale, K.K., Croisant, S., Elferink, C., Kaphalia, B.S., and Ansari, G.A.S. Distribution of petrogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in seafood following Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Mar. Pollut. Bull. 145, 200-207, 2019.

12. Amarasekara, A. S., Ali, S. R., Fernando, H., Sena, V., and Timofeeva, T. V. A comparison of homogenious and hetrogenious Bronsted acid catalysts in the reactions of meso-erythritol with aldehyde/ketones. SN Applied Sciences 1, 212, 2019.

13. (The first three authors contributed equally to this work) Fernando, H., Jackson, D., Huang, M., Ansari, S., Howarth, M., Mesaros, C., Penning, T., and Elferink, C. Using Precision Environmental Health Principles in Risk Evaluation and Communication of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. New Solutions 28, 599–616, 2019.

14. Sullivan, J., Croisant, S., Howarth, M., Rowe, G. T., Fernando, H., Phillips-Savoy, A., Jackson, D., Prochaska, J., Ansari, G. A. S., Penning, T. M., Elferink, C., and community partners. Building and Maintaining a Citizen Science Network with Fishermen and Fishing Communities Post Deepwater Horizon Oil Disaster Using a CBPR Approach. New Solutions. 28,416-417, 2018.

15. Fernando, H., Bhopale, K.K., Kondraganti, S., Kaphalia, B.S., and Ansari, G.A.S., Alcohol Induced Hepatic Steatosis: A Comparative Study to Identify Possible Indicators(s) of Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease. J of Drug and Alcohol Res. Vol 7, 2018.

Conference Proceedings

1. Hewage, S. P.R., Williams, B., and Fernando H. “ Lipid analysis of milk varieties using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry”

Southwest ACS Meeting Waco, TX (2024).

Viviana Salazar, Naiyah McDaniel, Harshica Fernando “Detection of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons via Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer” Southwest ACS Meeting Waco, TX (2024).

2. Hewage, S. P.R., Surujdeo-Maharaj, S., Weerasooriya, A., and Fernando, H. “ Identification of terpenes in Industrial Hemp (Cannabis sativa L.)” American Council for Medicinally Active Plants (ACMP), Prairie View, TX (2024).

3. Fernando, H., McDaniel, N., Davis, D., and Salazar, V. “Quantification, Detection and Removal of Small Ring Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons” ACS meeting Denver, Colorado, (Fall 2024).

4. Fernando, H., McDaniel, N., Gautam, I., and Davis D. “Efficient detection and removal of small ring polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from water” Southwest ACS Meeting Oklahoma City, OK (2023).

5. Williams, B., and Fernando, H. Metabolomics of animal and plant-based milks. NOBCChE 2020 virtual presentation.

6. Gautham, I., Williams, B., and Fernando, H. Cyclic Voltammetry studies of silver-milk nanoparticles. NOBCChE 2020 virtual presentation.

7. Williams, B., and Fernando, H. Lipidomic analysis of milk lipids using 1H-NMR and LC-MS. NOBCChE Nov. 2019, Oral presentation B Williams.

8. Fernando, H., Ju, H., Kakumanu, R., Kaphalia, B.S. and Ansari, G.A.S. Distribution of Petrogenic Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Shrimp after the deep-water horizon oil spill. Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill and Ecosystem Science Conference, February 2015, TX.

10. Fernando, H., Bhopale, K.K., Ansari, G. A. S. and Kaphalia, B.S. Lipidomic changes in

the pancreas and plasma of hepatic alcohol dehydrogenase deficient deer mice after long term ethanol feeding, Society of Toxicology, 53rd Annual Meeting, Phoenix, Az., March 2014, P384.