Janaka de Silva
Vidya Jyothi Professor Janaka De Silva | |
|---|---|
| Born | |
| Nationality |  Sri Lankan |
| Education | University of Colombo Royal College Colombo Oxford University |
| Occupation | Professor of Medicine |
| Employer | University of Kelaniya |
Vidya Jyothi Professor Hithanadura Janaka De Silva is a Sri Lankan academic and physician. The Chair and Senior Professor of Medicine, he was the Dean of the Medical Faculty (1997 to 2006), University of Kelaniya[1][2] and a member of the University Grants Commission
Education
Educated at the prestigious Royal College Colombo, He subsequently entered the Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo where he obtained both an undergraduate Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery degree, captained the University Rugby team and was a team mate of Devaka Fernando and later a postgraduate Doctor of Medicine degree in 1986 (supervised by Professors K Dharmadasa and D Chanmugam) and had clinical training with U. S. Jayawickrama winning the Stokes award for the most outstanding candidate. He subsequently trained at Oxford University where he was a graduate student at Pembroke College winning the Wingate Scholarship,[3] a Wellcome Trust Fellowship and an Overseas Research Student award, he obtained a Doctorate in Philosophy supervised by Professor Derek Jewell, and also trained in Clinical Gastroenterology specialising in Inflammatory Bowel Disease. He was awarded a medal for his presentation on "pouchitis" at the University of Bologna 900th year anniversary celebrations[4]
Educational work
He was appointed Professor of Medicine in the University of Kelaniya at the age of 39 years and 6 months in 1996 and subsequently served as Dean. He and colleagues set up a training programme for gastroenterologists in Sri Lanka where he was the founder coordinator for the training programme at the Postgraduate Institute of Medicine at the University of Colombo. He also served on the Board of Study in Medicine and was its Chairman, in addition to being a member of the Board of Management of the Institute. He is the current Chairman of the Board of Management of the PGIM. [5]
He is a member of the National Research Council of Sri Lanka, and has served as a member of the Sri Lanka Medical Council, Board of Directors of the National Science Foundation, National Health Research Council
Professional activities
He has been president of the Gastroenterological and Digestive Endoscopy Society of Sri Lanka He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians London, Edinburgh and the Ceylon College of Physicians[7] where he also served as Secretary and President (2004). He is Joint Editor of the Ceylon Medical Journal with Colvin Goonaratna and subsequently Anuruddha Abeygunasekera
He has been a member of the Asia Pacific association for the Study of Liver working party on portal hypertension, a membr of the International Scientific advisory board , Wellcome Trust Mahidol University, Oxford Tropical Medicine research Programme and a member of the executive committee, Global Initiative on Snake Bite. He has been WHO temporary advisor and team leader of the Estimate of global burden of snake bite 2007-2008, President Gastroenterological and Digestive Society of Sri Lanka (1999-2003), a member of the Sri Lanka Medical Council 1999-2004, Chairman Advisory Board for the National Health research Council of Sri Lanka 2000-2001. [6] He is currently Chairman of the National Research Council of Sri Lanka (2013) [7]
Honours
In 1998 he received the The Ten Outstanding Young Persons award for Academic Leadership and Accomplishment. He was elected a Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences of Sri Lanka. He is an Honorary fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Thailand, The Royal Australasian College of Physicians and the College of General Practitioners of Sri Lanka. He has received the prestigious lifetime award The Vice Chancellors and Directors Excellence Award for the Most Outstanding Researcher in Medical and Allied Sciences. He has received the PB Fernando memorial Gold Medal in 1992, The Marcus Fernando Gold Medal in 1999, The Kandy Society Gold Medal in 2000, The Nihal Marcus Gold Medal in 1992, Kandy Society of Medicine Prize for Health research in 2007, Presidential Research awards 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2008, He was awarded the Prof K N Seneviratne Gold Medal Oration by the Physiological Society of Sri Lanka. The Titular honour Vidyajyothi was conferred upon him by the Government of Sri Lanka in recognition of his contribution to Science and Health care. [8]
Research
He has published extensively in peer reviewed journals, is the Joint Editor of the Ceylon Medical Journal [9] and is an Editor of the Online Appendix of Kumar and Clark's Clinical Medicine in addition to being a member of several editorial boards of medical journals. He is a Senior advisor to the South Asian Clinical Toxicology research Collaboration. [10]
References
- ^ Prof Hithanadura Janaka De Silva
- ^ Those deadly bites
- ^ [1], Previous awards to Wingate Scholars accessed 29th May 2011
- ^ [2]
- ^ [3], Staff news—New Board of Management of Postgraduate Institute of Medicine
- ^ [4]
- ^ l NRC Council:2013
- ^ [5]
- ^ [6] Sri Lanka Medical Association Council 2011 accessed 27th May 2011
- ^ l SACR Governance