Arjuna Priyadarsin de Silva (born 13 June 1965) is a

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

Academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

and Consultant

Gastroenterologist Gastroenterology (from the Greek gastḗr- "belly", -énteron "intestine", and -logía "study of") is the branch of medicine focused on the digestive system and its disorders. The digestive system consists of the gastrointestinal tract, sometime ...

. He is the Head of the Department of Medicine,

Faculty of Medicine A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, professional school, or forms a part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, ...

University of Kelaniya The University of Kelaniya (UoK; , ) is a public university in Sri Lanka. Just outside the municipal limits of Colombo, in the city of Kelaniya, the university has two major institutions and seven faculties. History The University of Kelaniy ...

and

Chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

of the Sri Lanka Anti-Doping Agency (SLADA). De Silva practices as a Consultant

Physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

at Colombo North Teaching Hospital and is a Board Certified trainer in

Gastroenterology Gastroenterology (from the Greek gastḗr- "belly", -énteron "intestine", and -logía "study of") is the branch of medicine focused on the digestive system and its disorders. The digestive system consists of the gastrointestinal tract, sometime ...

in Sri Lanka. He is the Chairman of the Sri Lankan Board of Study in

, member of the Board of Study in

Medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

and is a Council Member of the National Institute of

Education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

, the governing body vested with the administration, management and control of the affairs of national education. De Silva is also a member of the Board of study in

Sports Medicine Sports medicine is a branch of medicine that deals with physical fitness and the treatment and prevention of injuries related to sports and exercise. Although most sports teams have employed team physicians for many years, it is only since the ...

and council member of Sri Lanka National Sports Council. He is an

associate editor An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The editor-in-chief heads all departments of the organization and is held accoun ...

of the

World Journal of Gastroenterology ''World Journal of Gastroenterology'' is a weekly peer-reviewed open access medical journal that covers research in gastroenterology. It was established in 1995 and is published by Baishideng Publishing Group. The editor-in-chief is Andrzej S. Tarn ...

Education

De Silva was educated at St Thomas College, Mount Lavinia, where he had won sports colours and was a senior prefect. He was the captain of the St. Thomas’ College rowing team and represented Sri Lanka in rowing 1983-1984. De Silva entered

North Colombo Medical College North Colombo Medical College (NCMC) was the first privately funded medical school in Sri Lanka. It started in 1980 with the admission of 100 local and 20 foreign students. The first batch of students began graduating in 1990. Founded by the Col ...

from where he graduated with

Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery A Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (; MBBS, also abbreviated as BM BS, MB ChB, MB BCh, or MB BChir) is a medical degree granted by medical schools or universities in countries that adhere to the United Kingdom's higher education tradi ...

degree. He subsequently obtained a postgraduate

Doctor of Medicine A Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated MD, from the Latin language, Latin ) is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the ''MD'' denotes a professional degree of ph ...

1st in Order of Merit from the Postgraduate Institute of Medicine,

University of Colombo The University of Colombo (informally Colombo University or UoC) is a Public University, public research university located primarily in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It is the oldest institution of modern higher education in Sri Lanka. Specialised in t ...

(1997-1999). In 2001, he obtained an MSc from the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

Professional career

De Silva was Board Certified in Sri Lanka as a Specialist in

General Medicine Internal medicine, also known as general medicine in Commonwealth nations, is a medical specialty for medical doctors focused on the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases in adults. Its namesake stems from "treatment of diseases of th ...

in 1999. He has practised as a Registrar in Gastroenterology and

Research Fellow A research fellow is an academic research position at a university or a similar research institution, usually for academic staff or faculty members. A research fellow may act either as an independent investigator or under the supervision of a p ...

Radcliffe Infirmary The Radcliffe Infirmary was a hospital in central north Oxford, England, located at the southern end of Woodstock Road on the western side, backing onto Walton Street. Closed in 2007, after refurbishment the building was re-opened in October ...

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

during his professional training. In 2001 he was awarded MRCP from the

Royal College of Physicians The Royal College of Physicians of London, commonly referred to simply as the Royal College of Physicians (RCP), is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of ph ...

London. De Silva was subsequently appointed Consultant

(Resident Physician) at the National Hospital of Sri Lanka. He has also worked at the Ampara Hospital as a Consultant Physician. In 2008, de Silva was appointed a Board Certified as a trainer in Gastroenterology. He was awarded FCCP 2009 and became a Fellow of the

( FRCP, London) in 2010. De Silva is a

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

at the Faculty of Medicine,

and has previously held the positions of Senior Lecturer in Medicine and Clinical Coordinator at the same university. He was appointed Head, Department of Medicine,

in 2013. De Silva currently holds several advisory positions for the

Government of Sri Lanka The Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) (; ) is a Semi-presidential republic determined by the Constitution of Sri Lanka, Sri Lankan Constitution. It administers the island from both its commercial capital of Colombo and the administrative capital o ...

and is the Chairman of the Sri Lanka Anti-Doping Agency (SLADA). He was formerly the Director General Institute of Sports Medicine Sri Lanka.

Sports medicine

De Silva has been at the forefront in the development of

in Sri Lanka. He was the

Director General A director general, general director or director-general (plural: ''directors general'', ''general directors'', ''directors-general'', ''director generals'' or ''director-generals'') is a senior executive officer, often the chief executive officer ...

of Institute of Sports Medicine from 2011-2013. He has played a leading role in establishing SLADA and introducing new legislation to criminalize trafficking in banned substances. Sri Lanka is among few countries in Asia to have legislation to this effect. De Silva was the medical provider for the 20/20 Cricket World Cup hosted by Sri Lanka in 2012 and is currently an advisor to the

Sri Lanka Cricket Board Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) is the governing body for cricket in Sri Lanka. It was first registered with the Sri Lankan Ministry of Sports as the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka on 30 June 1975 as a national sports body. The board was renam ...

. He was also the official physician to the Sri Lankan Olympic team at the 2012 London Olympics.

Research

De Silva has won Presidential Research Awards in 2006, 2008, 2010 and 2012. He has delivered numerous orations and

lectures A lecture (from ) is an speech, oral presentation intended to present information or teach people about a particular subject, for example by a university or college teacher. Lectures are used to convey critical information, history, backgroun ...

at national and international scientific meetings. He has authored one book, ''The Role of TNF polymorphisms in IBD'' and two book chapters in the field of gastroenterology, by international publishers. His publications also include 38 scientific papers and over 100 published abstracts in international

scientific journals Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...

Honours and awards

* Vice Chancellors Award for the most outstanding researcher in Medicine 2014 * Presidential Research Award 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012 * National Research council, Colombo 2001, 2010 * Vice Chancellors Award for the most outstanding researcher in Medicine 2010 * Wijerama Award for best research paper 2010, Sri Lanka Medical Association Annual Sessions, Colombo 2010 * Sir Markus Fernando Oration Medal, Sri Lanka Medical Association 2008 * Sir Markus Fernando Oration Medal, Sri Lanka Medical Association 2003 * National Science Foundation Research Grant (2004) *

Vidya Jyothi The Vidya Jyothi (; ) is a Sri Lankan Sri Lankan honours system, national honour awarded "''for outstanding scientific and technological achievements''". It is the highest national honour for science in Sri Lanka for outstanding contribution to the ...

- 2018 Sri Lankan national honour awarded "for outstanding scientific and technological achievements"

References

External links

Postgraduate Institute of Medicine, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka Google Scholar
{{DEFAULTSORT:de Silva, Arjuna Living people Sri Lankan Buddhists Alumni of S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia Alumni of the University of Colombo Alumni of the University of Oxford Sinhalese people Sri Lankan academics 1965 births