Profile

Education

PhD in Medical Informatics
Thesis: “Spatiotemporal Methods and Applications in Neglected Tropical Diseases”
University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka & Lancaster University, United Kingdom

MSc in Biomedical Informatics
University of Colombo, Sri Lanka

MSc in Biostatistics
University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka

Diploma in Computer System Design
National Institute of Business Management, Sri Lanka

Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS)
University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka

Memberships in Professional Bodies

  • Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA), United Kingdom
  • Fellow, Royal Statistical Society, United Kingdom
  • Member, Sri Lanka Medical Council
  • Member, Sri Lanka Medical Association
  • Member, Sri Lanka College of Health Informatics
  • Member, Institute of Applied Statistics, Sri Lanka
  • Member, Health Informatics Society of Sri Lanka
  • Executive Committee Member, Old Mazenodian Doctors’ Association
  • Assistance Secretory, Old Mazenodian Doctors’ Association

Memberships in Editorial Boards

  • Section Editor, PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases
  • Assistant Editor, Sri Lanka College of Health Informatics
  • Co-chair of the Editorial Board of the Students Affairs Division, Faculty of Medicine
  • Member, Editorial board, Sri Lankan Journal of Surgery
  • Member, Editorial board, Journal of Ceylon College of Physicians
  • Editor, Health Magazine of the Old Mazenodian Doctors’ Association
  • Editorial board, Health Magazine of the Old Mazenodian Doctors’ Association

Memberships in Ethical Review Commitees

  • Member, Ethical Review Committee, Health Informatics Society of Sri Lanka
  • Member, Ethical Review Committee, Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka

Honors & Academic Awards

  • The President’s Award for Scientific Publication: Conferred Sri Lanka's highest national accolade for scientific research across multiple years (2018, 2019, 2019, 2021, 2022) in recognition of landmark, top-tier peer-reviewed research papers.
  • National Research Council (NRC) Merit Award: Conferred the second-highest national research honour in Sri Lanka (2019, 2019, 2026, 2026, 2026) for executing high-impact, peer-reviewed research papers.
  • Winner, Best Publication Award by a Physician: Awarded by the Sri Lanka College of Internal Medicine Annual Sessions for national vaccine effectiveness evaluation analytics (2025).
  • Winner, E M Wijerama Prize: Received at the 136th Sri Lanka Medical Association Anniversary International Medical Congress (2023).
  • Highly Commended Finalist: Taylor & Francis Commonwealth Scholar Best Journal Article Prize for soil-transmitted helminth national school survey spatial modelling published in The Lancet Global Health (2020).
  • Wilson Peiris Prize: Awarded for the development of a snakebite risk map for Sri Lanka at the Annual Academic Sessions of the Sri Lanka Medical Association, Colombo (2016).
  • First Place Oral Presentation Prize: Recognized for “Epidemiology of stroke in the Ragama MOH area: Preliminary data from a community survey” at the Association of Sri Lankan Neurologists Annual Congress, Colombo, Sri Lanka (2026).
  • Best Publication Award by a Physician: Awarded for “Evaluation of BBIBP-CorV Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness in Sri Lanka: a test-negative case control study” at the Sri Lanka College of Internal Medicine Annual Academic Session, Colombo, Sri Lanka (2025).

Contributions

  • Pandemic Response & Decision Support
    • Presidential Advisory Modelling: Generated district-level epidemiological trends and calculated the time-varying reproduction number, \(R(t)\), for the National COVID-19 Daily Situation Report to guide state mitigation policies.
    • Vaccine Effectiveness Evaluation: Conducted an island-wide study to assess the real-world effectiveness of the Sinopharm vaccine to inform national immunisation strategies.
    • Mortality Data Analysis: Conducted a comprehensive analysis of deaths related to COVID-19 and identified demographic and clinical patterns of the deceased.
    • Predictive Health Informatics: Developed and deployed a web application to project nationwide critical care and ICU bed requirements during pandemic surges.
    • National Impact Evaluation: Co-designed a nationwide survey tracking the impacts of COVID-19 on higher education students to shape institutional student-welfare policies.
  • Epidemiological Surveillance & Resource Optimisation
    • Deworming Policy Optimisation (Sri Lanka): Translated national spatial prevalence modelling of soil-transmitted helminths into updated ministry guidelines, safely de-escalating the national deworming program and optimising public expenditure.
    • Lymphatic Filariasis Elimination (Timor-Leste): Co-designed sampling methodology with WHO and Hanyang University validating Timor-Leste’s official elimination of LF as a public health problem.
    • Sentinel Surveillance Design: Developed the statistical sampling methodology for the National Sentinel Surveillance of STH among school children to optimise data collection in high-risk areas.
  • Digital Health Infrastructure & Systems Engineering
    • District-Wide ICT Transformation: Directed the architecture and deployment of the IT infrastructure across health offices, base hospitals, and Medical Officer of Health (MOH) zones in the Gampaha District.
    • Digital Health Integration: Digitised regional healthcare workflows by introducing the electronic Indoor Morbidity and Mortality Register (eIMMR), deploying the secure government email ecosystem, and coordinating the paperless eDompe Hospital project.
    • Geospatial Health Mapping: Engineered GIS boundary maps for frontline sectors (MOH, PHI, and Public Health Midwives) and constructed national incidence maps for leprosy and tuberculosis to target field interventions.