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Intranet
Office E39
School of Medical Sciences,
University Walk,
Bristol
BS8 1TD
(See a map)
Tel. +44 (0) 117 331 2262
k.w.ranatunga@
bristol.ac.uk
Our research is aimed at understanding the molecular mechanisms of muscle contraction through experimental work and modelling. Muscle contraction results from cyclical interaction of myosin motors in thick filaments with actin filaments within sarcomeres. When operating as a motor, muscles convert chemical energy of ATP hydrolysis into mechanical work, thus generating the power required for our day-to-day activities; when cold, muscles also act as heat-generators ("shivering") in order to raise body temperature – indeed our work has shown that the power output in muscle is drastically reduced in cooling. Another basic function of muscle is to operate as a “brake” and ...
I first came to Bristol University in 1966, as a Sri Lankan Government scholar, for my postgraduate studies. Subsequently, I was in Universities of Sri Lanka and Malaysia for brief periods but, because of my interest in doing muscle research, I returned to Bristol as a post doc and was appointed a Lecturer (in Physiology) in the University of Bristol, in 1976. I received promotion to Senior Lecturer in 1994, to Reader in 2000 and to Professor in 2006. Despite undertaking significant teaching and administrative loads as a typical academic, I maintained a consistent level of research activity during all ...
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