CURRICULUM VITAE

Personal and contact information

Name : Nadisha Hermali Silva Date of Birth : 23rd May 1981 Nationality : Sri Lankan Personal address (for correspondence) : No 180, Janatha Mawatha, Maharagama, Sri Lanka. Official address: Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, University of , P.O. Box 271, Kynsey Road, Colombo 8, Sri Lanka. Phone :00-94-772621361 E-mail :[email protected], [email protected]

Qualifications

Doctor of Medicine (MD) - Honours, (Kursk State Medical University, Russia, 2008)

Certificate for Teaching in Higher Education, ,

Accredited Teacher in Higher Education - Staff and Educational Development Association (SEDA), UK (June 2016)

Brief description of current research/ research interests

Currently I’m reading for my MPhil/PhD registered with the Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka on “Parasite determinants that influence the treatment outcome in cutaneous leishmaniasis in Sri Lanka”. I have a special interest in emerging poor response to standard drugs used for treatment of leishmaniasis and possible new alternative methods of treatment.

I’m also conducting a clinical trial on safety and efficacy of thermotherapy as a treatment for cutaneous leishmaniasis which had poorly responded to standard treatment.

I’m a Clinical Coordinator of the research project titled “Epidemiology and transmission of Leishmania donovani infections in Sri Lanka and Bhutan” funded by the TMRC, NIH grant (Grant ref: 1U01Al136033).

Furthermore I conduct research in to women in science, technology and research in Sri Lanka. I’m involved in projects targeted at empowering women scientists and career development of women scientists in Sri Lanka.

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Present appointment Lecturer (Probationary) - Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka (Feb 2014 to date)

Previous appointments 1. Medical Officer (Laboratory, Infectious Control Unit, and the Wound Clinic) -National Institute of Mental Health, Angoda, Sri Lanka ( Feb 2012 to Feb 2014) 2. Senior House Officer - Surgery (Surgery Unit and Emergency Treatment Unit) - District General Hospital, Kilinochchi, Sri Lanka ( Oct 2010 to Feb 2012) 3. Relief House Officer (Laboratory, Dermatology Clinic and Premature Baby Care Unit) - District General Hospital, Trincomalee, Sri Lanka (July 2010 to Oct 2010) 4. Intern House Officer (Medicine and Obstetrics & Gynaecology) District General Hospital, Trincomalee, Sri Lanka (July 2009 to July 2010) 5. Voluntary service - Surgery Unit - Sri Lanka Army Hospital, Colombo (2009)

Other appointments and memberships: 1. Convenor, Colombo Medical Faculty Publishers - The publishing house of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo (July 2015 to date) 2. Convenor, Nephro-urology module (April 2015 to July 2017) 3. Life member, Sri Lanka Medical Association

Literary contributions

1. Book : Leishmaniasis- A glimpse at the silent invader. Published by the Colombo Medical Faculty Publishers, Sri Lanka (2017). ISBN 978-955-3981-10-3

2. Book chapter: Women in Education and Employment in Sri Lanka in Women in Science and Technology in Asia. Published by Panmun Education Co., Ltd (2015). ISBN No 979-11- 86795-00-2.

Communications at scientific meetings published as abstracts 1. ‘Potential of thermotherapy as an alternative treatment for cutaneous leishmaniasis with poor response to intra-lesional sodium stibogluconate: a preliminary case study from southern province, Sri Lanka’. Annual Research Symposium, University of Colombo- 2017. N.H.Silva, S.Weerasinghe, P.L.A.N. Liyanage, R.Fernandopulle, N.D. Karunaweera

2. ‘The need for continued awareness raising on cutaneous leishmaniasis in Sri Lanka: A case series’. Annual Research Symposium, University of Colombo-2017. M.A.B. Deepachandi, S.Weerasinghe, N.H.Silva, S.Senanayake, T.N. Samaranayake, S.S.S.B.D.P.Soysa, N.D.Karunaweera, H.V.Y.D. Siriwardana

3. ‘Women Leadership in National Development through Higher Education and Research in Sri Lanka’. 16th Conference of the Science Council of Asia. Colombo, Sri Lanka. 2016. (Oral presentation) Page 2 of 6

4. ‘Cutaneous leishmaniasis in Sri Lanka with poor response to sodium stibogluconate: Case report’. International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology workshop on “Molecular Biology of Leishmania”. Trieste, Italy. 2016. (Poster presentation)

5. ‘Socio-economic and cultural factors associated with career advancement of women scientists in Sri Lanka’. The Annual Research Symposium of the University of Colombo. Colombo, Sri Lanka. 2016. (Poster presentation).

6. ‘Women in Research and Development in Sri Lanka’ – 2015, Oral presentation at the 11th AASSA Regional Workshop on 'Gender Issues in Science Research and Education', in conjunction with the Gender Summit 6 - Asia Pacific 2015, Seoul, Korea. (Silva NH, Karunaweera ND. 2015. Women in Research and Development in Sri Lanka’. Proceedings of the 11th AASSA Regional Workshop on Gender Issues in Science Research and Education. Abstract P65.)

7. Review: Thermotherapy for treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Sri Lanka. Molecular Biology Techniques Related to Infectious/Genetic Diseases and Human Identification, by International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Ragama, Sri Lanka, July 2015

8. ‘Women’s education and employment in Sri Lanka’- 2014. (Silva NH, Karunaweera ND). Proceedings of Annual Research Symposium, University of Colombo. ISSN 2386- 1916. Abstract Pp 162-163.

9. ‘Gender Influences in Education and Education-Related Employment in Sri Lanka’– 2014, Oral presentation at the Workshop on Women in Science and Technology, Izmir. Turkey. (Silva NH, Karunaweera ND. 2014. Gender Influences in Education and Education-Related Employment in Sri Lanka. Proceedings of the Workshop on Women in Science and Technology, Izmir. Turkey. Abstract Pp19-20.)

10. ‘Measurement and Study of Dissolved Oxygen (DO), Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD), pH, Temperature and Total Dissolved Solids in selected water bodies, at different times, over a period of time in Sri Lanka’ - Won the “School Science Award 1999 – Western Province”, Sri Lanka. Oral presentation at the School Science (Projects Forum conducted by the Sri Lanka Association for the Advancement of Science (SLAAS), 2000.

Research grants

Principal investigator of the following grants:

1. University Research Grants University of Colombo, Sri Lanka (2016) – AP/3/2/2016/SG/13 - for the Clinical Trial titled “Study of efficacy and safety of thermotherapy by Hand-held Exothermic Crystallization Thermotherapy device Page 3 of 6

versus ThermoMed device, for treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis showing poor response to intralesional sodium stibogluconate in Sri Lanka.-Pilot study”.

2. University Research Grants– ‘Postgraduate Scholarship Grant’, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka (2017) - AP/3/2/2017/PG/31 - for the project titled “Parasite determinants that influence the treatment outcome in cutaneous leishmaniasis in Sri Lanka”.

Professional / extended training

Research and laboratory skills 1. Workshop on Basics in Mammalian Cell Culture, cytogenetics and Molecular Biology Techniques, by Faculty of Medicine, , Sri Lanka, August 2017 2. Next Generation Sequencing: RNA Sequencing Library Preparation, by the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Heidelberg-Germany, November 2016 3. Good Clinical Practices, by Forum for Ethics Review Committees in Sri Lanka (FERCSL), November 2016 4. Molecular Biology of Leishmania, by International Centre for Genetic Engineering and /biotechnology (ICGEB), Trieste-Italy, October 2016 5. Sample Size Calculation and Tool Validation for Research, by Higher Education for the Twenty-first Century (HETC) Project, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka, October 2015 6. Effective Research Communication, by Higher Education for the Twenty-first Century (HETC) Project, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka, October 2015 7. Fundamentals of International Clinical Research Training, by NIH/NIAID/DMID and ICSSC at FHI 360, Bangkok, Thailand, September 2015 8. Molecular Biology Techniques Related to Infectious/Genetic Diseases and Human Identification, by International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Ragama, Sri Lanka, July 2015 9. Training Course in Cell Culture Techniques , by Institute of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, University of Colombo, May 2015 10. Is there a leader in you? Essential Leadership Skills for Tomorrow’s Professionals, by Faculty of Medicine, Colombo, Sri Lanka, May 2017 11. Advance Research Methodology and Data Analysis: Quantitative Vs Qualitative Methods, University Of Colombo, Sri Lanka, February 2015 12. Laboratory Quality Improvement and Safety Training , by NIAID, NIH, ICSSC & FHI 360, Colombo, Sri Lanka, December 2014 13. Basic Statistics for Researchers, by Department of Statistics, University of Colombo, December 2014 14. High Quality PhDs and Presenting Data, by The Research Promotion and Facilitation Centre, Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo, November 2014 15. Laboratory Animal Management for Research Purpose, by Sri Lanka Veterinary Association, Medical Research Institute and Sri Lanka Association for Laboratory Animal Science, October 2014

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16. Compact Course on Stochastic Modeling at the International Forum for Mathematical Modeling on “Mathematical Modeling for the Advancement of Interdisciplinary Sciences” by CM, DAAD, HETC, March 2014. 17. Compact Course on Numerical Methods for Elliptic and Parabolic Equations at the International Forum for Mathematical Modeling on “Mathematical Modeling for the Advancement of Interdisciplinary Sciences” by CM,DAAD, HETC, March 2014 18. Applying for Competitive Grants – Writing Grant Proposals , by Higher Education for the Twenty-first Century (HETC) Project, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka, February 2014 19. Entrepreneurship , by Higher Education for the Twenty-first Century (HETC) Project, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka, February 2014 20. Sample Size Computation of a Statistical Study, by the Institute of Applied Statistics, Sri Lanka, February 2014 21. Certificate Course in Infection Prevention and Control by the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka, February 2014. – Awarded the ‘3M IPC Scholarship’ for Excellence in Performance. 22. Course in Research Methodology in Health and Social Sciences, by General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University, Sri Lanka, November 2013 23. Development and Validation of Data Collection Tools, by Sri Lanka Medical Association, September 2013 24. Certificate Course in Molecular Biological Techniques, by Institute of Biochemistry, molecular Biology and Biotechnology, University of Colombo, August 2013

Computer literacy 1. Hands-on Workshop on R for Researchers, Faculty of Science, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka (May 2017) 2. Training programme on Basic SPSS, by the Institute of Applied Statistics, Sri Lanka (March 2014) 3. Training programme on Introduction to R Programming, by University of Colombo, Sri Lanka (October 2015) 4. Certificate of Sun Educational Services Course in Java Programming Language for Non-programmers (2001) 5. Certificate in Web Designing by NIIT, Sri Lanka (2002)

Extracurricular activities and achievements – School level

1. Head Prefect, 1998/1999 – Devi Balika Vidyalaya Colombo 8, Sri Lanka

2. Australian National Chemistry Quiz 1999 – Distinction, conducted by Royal Australian Chemical Institute

3. Certificate for Active Participation in Extra Curricular Activities – 2008 , Kursk State Medical University, Russia

4. Best All Rounder 1994, 1997, 1999 – Devi Balika Vidyalaya, Colombo 8, Sri Lanka. Page 5 of 6

5. Sports: a. Member of the School Athletics team and won awards in Hurdles, Long Jump, Relay and High Jump b. Best All Rounder (Senior) in the Annual Inter House Sports Meet – 2000, Devi Balika Vidyalaya, Colombo 8, Sri Lanka. c. Member of the school net ball team and the table tennis team and won awards

6. Speech Practical, Spoken English, Written English & Speech & Acting - London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) – Gold Medal Level Examination -2001

7. Several Awards won at the Competitive festival of music, speech, drama & speech, conducted by the British Federation of Festivals for Music Dance and Speech, London, including the title All Island Winner – Improvisation Solo – 1999

8. Trinity College London examination in Spoken English – Grade 1 to 9 - passed with Distinction

9. Art, Literature & Speech - Has won many awards in the fields of sculpture, art, short story writing, script writing, poetry, essay writing & oratory.

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