Details

Methsara Dissanayaka is a Data Scientist with a strong foundation in Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Statistical Modeling, Big Data Analytics etc. He is passionate about applied data science and advancing the field of AI. He has experience applying his skills and knowledge across diverse data domains including climate, environmental, motion, financial etc. Methsara earned his Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Data Science from the University of Plymouth with first-class honors. He is currently continuing his development as a Data Scientist and a Researcher at KAUST as a Visiting Student, where he contributes to harnessing data-science to enhance sustainability in a marine science context. 

Methsara’s research interests center on Applied Data Science, with an emphasis on meaningful, high-impact research that promotes sustainability through data-driven methods. He is particularly interested in advancing the field of Artificial Intelligence in high-stakes domains such as environmental, socio- ecological, legal etc., as well as exploring the use of AI in underexplored areas. Furthermore, He is also interested in advancing research in Natural Language Processing (NLP), particularly in long-context reasoning and hybrid neuro-symbolic pipelines.

Methsara will be directly working with Dr. Jessica Zamborain Mason and her lab on the project “Harnessing Data-Science to enhance the sustainability of Red Sea Fisheries and Aquatic Food Systems”. He will contribute to the compilation and harmonization of environmental, ecological, production, nutritional, and socio-economic datasets relevant to reef fisheries and aquatic food systems in the Red Sea and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. His work will focus on integrating remotely sensed products, national and regional statistics, and species-level data at the lowest feasible spatial and temporal resolutions, enabling combined analyses across data domains. This effort will support downscaling global models to regional contexts, assessing national aquatic food system sustainability and nutritional contributions, and identifying data gaps and drivers relevant to coral reef and aquatic ecosystem monitoring. He will also collaborate closely with the research team to conduct statistical and geospatial analyses, develop data visualizations, and contribute to analytical tools and publications that communicate findings effectively, supporting the lab’s broader efforts in food systems and sustainability research.