Mohan J. Edirisinghe

Mohan Jayantha Edirisinghe is a Sri Lankan biomaterials engineer who is the Bonfield Chair of Biomaterials in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at University College London. Edirisinghe studies new materials forming methodologies, with a focus on the development of new biostructures. He was appointed an Order of the British Empire in the 2021 New Year Honours for his services to Biomedical Engineering. As of July 2026, Professor Edirisinghe has an h-index of 82 according to Google Scholar .

Early life and education Edirisinghe was born in Sri Lanka. He was educated at the St Thomas College, Mount Lavinia. He studied at the University of Moratuwa in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, in a joint course between the British Council and University of Leeds. He eventually moved to Leeds for his postgraduate studies, where he completed a doctorate on alloy additions and how they impact the properties of cast iron and then a Doctor of Science degree was awarded for his materials research in 2000 by the University of Leeds.

Research and career Edirisinghe works on materials forming and manufacturing for healthcare and drug delivery. He has developed complex nanofibres that can be used to generate antimicrobial filters, and nanobubbles that facilitate new modes of drug delivery. He developed electrohydrodyanmic printing methods (e.g. electro-spinning and electro-spraying) for biomedical applications. In 2010, Edirisinghe's inventions led to AtoCap, a spin-out company who focus on the encapsulation of generic drugs (e.g. antibiotics and chemotherapeutics) into a complex capsule. He has studied the protein composition of milk, and identified that casein, which contributes 80% of the protein in dairy milk, has anti-microbial and anti-inflammatory properties. Edirisinghe demonstrated that it could be incorporated into biodegradable plastic bandages to accelerate wound healing. His antiviral masks were developed and also worked on air filters that could be used in care homes, schools and on public transport.

Awards and honours

2005 Royal Society Brian Mercer (Innovation) Feasibility Award 2009 IOM3 Kroll Medal 2010 Materials Science Venture Prize 2012 UK Biomaterials Society Presidents Prize 2013 Royal Society Brian Mercer (Innovation) Feasibility Award 2015 Elected Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering 2017 Royal Academy of Engineering Armourers & Brasier's Prize 2023 Royal Academy of Engineering Colin Campbell Mitchell Award 2024 Royal Society Clifford Paterson Medal and Lecture 2026 UCLMechEng Citizen Award, recognising an individual whose exceptional contributions have had a transformative impact on the department

Selected publications

C J Luo; M Nangrejo, M Edirisinghe (2010). "A novel method of selecting solvents for polymer electrospinning". Polymer. 51 (7): 1654–1662. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polymer.2010.01.031 The full list of publications can be accessed here.