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Jonathan S. Weerakkody
POSTDOC AT YALE + SCIENTIST, ENGINEER, DESIGNER, and FOUNDER
I work on extracellular vesicle signatures and interpretable AI for neurodegeneration, with a focus on clinically deployable tools for progression risk and treatment guidance.
The 3M Framework
I frame neurodegeneration as a systems-level signal decoherence problem where critical CNS instruction packets lose coordination in blood.
My Measure-Map-Manipulate pipeline executes from atlas building to mechanism testing to intervention design, translating EV biology into deployable precision neurology tools.
Patented EV Platforms
My program is built on two protected EV technologies: a photocleavable lipid nanoprobe platform for rapid, size-selective EV isolation (U.S. Provisional 63/556,168; PCT/US2025/16830), and a patent-pending GLAST+ EV RNA signature for predicting multiple sclerosis progression through Yale Ventures.
These platforms anchor East Rock Diagnostics and support clinically deployable blood-based assays for neurodegeneration.
EVd3x: Decode EV Programs
EVd3x is a web platform for hypothesis-driven extracellular vesicle discovery. It integrates miRNA, mRNA, protein, tissue context, cell-type specificity, pathway networks, and disease associations so users can evaluate multi-omic programs in a single workflow.
Peer-Reviewed Research and Translational Outputs
My publication record spans biomarker discovery, vesicle engineering, and biosensing, including first-author and co-author work in ACS Nano, Advanced Functional Materials, Small, Biosensors and Bioelectronics, and related venues.
About Me
My trajectory combines nanotechnology, machine learning, and extracellular vesicle biology to build clinically deployable biomarkers for neurodegeneration. I focus on rigorous EV enrichment, orthogonal quality control, and interpretable modeling that links molecular programs to patient outcomes.
I am a postdoctoral associate in Neurology at Yale, principal investigator on the Robert E. Leet and Clara Guthrie Patterson Mentored Research Award, co-PI on the Colton Center for Autoimmunity Award, and co-founder of East Rock Diagnostics. My long-term goal is to lead an independent Measure-Map-Manipulate lab uniting mechanistic discovery with clinical translation.
Sri LankaOrigin and community outreach
I was born in Sri Lanka, where community-centered work shaped my scientific direction. I supported outreach programs in preschool rebuilding, child nutrition, and STEM education.
Arbeiter Samariter Bund - post-tsunami preschool rebuilding and child-safe spaces in coastal Sri Lanka.
World Vision - Positive Deviance / Hearth nutrition programs for under-five children.
Boost Foundation - science and mathematics education for rural Sri Lankan schools.
USA - Louisiana Tech engineering launchpad
B.S. in Nanosystems Engineering (Top 5%) at Louisiana Tech University, with a biomedical concentration and minor in Mathematics.
Louisiana Tech - Nanosystems Engineering, biomedical track.
France - Biophysics and digital olfaction
Ph.D. in Biophysics at Universite Grenoble Alpes, with thesis work at CEA contributing to the biomimetic opto-electronic nose platform behind Aryballe's odor technology.
Universite Grenoble Alpes - Ph.D. in Biophysics.
CEA - nano-biosensors and opto-electronic nose platform.
Aryballe - startup built from the opto-electronic nose technology.
Europe - Nanofabrication and cleanrooms
Erasmus+ M.Sc. in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology at KU Leuven, cleanroom training at IMEC, and advanced nanofabrication at Chalmers University of Technology.
KU Leuven - Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (bio-nanotechnology).
IMEC - advanced nanoelectronics and cleanroom training.
Chalmers University - nanofabrication and device work.Yale - EVs, vesicles, brain and biomarkers
Now a Postdoctoral Associate in Neurology at Yale School of Medicine, building extracellular vesicle-based diagnostics for neurodegeneration.
Yale School of Medicine - Neurology and Pathology.