In 2007, the Centre began utilizing laboratory space in the Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine (FOM), University of Ruhuna. In 2015, a basic molecular laboratory was established through equipment donations from DGHI and HYC (arranged by Prof. Christopher Woods and Prof. Gayani Tillekerathne). Planning and implementation were led by the Duke–Ruhuna Collaborative Research Centre (Prof. Ajith De Silva Nagahawatte and Dr. Ruvini Kurukulasooriya), under the expert guidance of Prof. Dr. Dharshan de Silva and Dr. Bradly Nicholson. Training and laboratory protocols were provided by Duke University and Duke–National University of Singapore (Prof. Duane Gubler).

The laboratory played a key role during a 2018 respiratory outbreak in the Southern Province due to influenza, RSV, and adenovirus, and contributed to national COVID-19 surveillance in 2020. It has since evolved into a fully equipped advanced molecular laboratory supporting a wide range of infectious disease research and surveillance activities. At present, experts from RDCID (Dr. Bradly Nicolson, Mr. Jack Anderson, Dr. Subodha Wickramasighe, and Dr. Ruvini Kurukulasoooriya) provide necessary guidance and required training for the current research staff (Mr. UHBY Dilshan, Ms. Jayani Gamage, Ms. Anuththara Kariyawasam, and Ms. Senali Weerasinghe) who conduct routine laboratory management, sample processing, and testing.