Professor Piyusha M. Atapattu

Prof. Piyusha Milani Atapattu obtained her MBBS degree with second class (upper division) from the Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo in 1995.  She had first classes at the 2nd MBBS and 3rd MBBS examinations with distinctions in anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, microbiology, pathology and parasitology, and was awarded 6 gold medals and prizes including Dr. Vaithialingam Gold Medal for Physiology and Loos Gold Medal for Pathology.

She joined the department of Physiology in 1998 as lecturer. She was board certified as a specialist in general internal medicine and promoted to senior lecturer after she obtained the MD (Medicine) and the MRCP (UK) and completed her overseas postgraduate training in the UK. She has also specialized in medical education and has obtained MSc in Medical Education (Cardiff, UK) and SEDA (UK) accreditation as a teacher in Higher Education. She is a Fellow of the Ceylon College of Physicians, the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, and the Higher Education Academy, UK.

She actively contributes to activities of the University of Colombo as the current Head of the Department of Physiology. She is dedicated to academic activities and has been the chairperson and convenor of several modules in the Applied Sciences Stream and the secretary of the Academic Standards Committeeas well as the Head of the Audiovisual Unit and the chairperson of the Admissions committee. She also contributes to student and staff welfare activities and has been the treasurer of the Faculty of Medicine Teacher Association and former chairperson of the Medical Students’ Financial Assistance Scheme.  She takes an active interest in the development of postgraduate medical education and is a member of Boards of studies and Specialty Boards in Basic and Medical sciences, Sports Medicine and Geriatrics and an examiner in over 8 specialties at the Postgraduate Institute of Medicine. She has also contributed substantially to the University of Colombo in many other ways, such as strategic planning, quality assurance, enhancing academic standards and promoting extracurricular activities.

Prof. Atapattu has diverse research interests, especially respiratory physiology, menopause, general medicine and medical education. She has over 80 publications in refereed local and international journals and conference presentations. She has received several awards for teaching and research including the SLMA Ramachandran Award for Nephrology and an Asia Pacific Medical Education Conference E-Poster Presentation award. She is the co-editor of two books on elderly medicine and menopause and has authoured several book chapters and multimedia publications.  She is a reviewer of local and international journals including Medical Education.

Her contribution to medical education and healthcare is not limited to the university. She participates in activities of medical professional organizations and is a council member of the South Asian Federation of Menopause Societies and the president elect of the Menopause Society of Sri Lanka and the Physiological Society of Sri Lanka. As a member of the, Ceylon Medical College Council Committee, Management Committee of SLMA Library, Sri Lanka Clinical Trials Registry, Ethics review committee of Sri Lanka College of Paediatricians and Ceylon College of Physicians she has contributed to promoting research and dissemination of local and international new knowledge in diverse capacities.

Prof. Atapattu is a dedicated academic and a clinician aiming to enhance the quality of medical education and healthcare in Sri Lanka.