Prof. Samidi Navaratna, MBBS, DCH, MSc, MD, is the Head and Professor in Community Medicine at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka. She is a Consultant Community Physician with extensive experience in teaching, research, and public health practice, with a strong focus on epidemiology, preventive medicine, and health promotion. She obtained post-MD research experience as a Visiting Research Fellow at the Allergy and Lung Health Unit, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Melbourne, Australia.
Prof. Navaratna has an extensive publication record. Her research interests include communicable disease prevention; STI and HIV/AIDS prevention; non-communicable disease prevention; community nutrition and healthy lifestyles; community paediatrics; and burden of disease estimation. She is committed to advancing evidence-based public health and mentoring future healthcare leaders, contributing to improvements in population health at national and global levels.

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Prof. Samath D. Dharmaratne, MBBS, MSc, MD, is the Chair Professor of Community Medicine of the Department of Community Medicine at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, and a Consultant Community Physician. He has extensive experience in public health, epidemiology, injury prevention, health economics, and disease burden research. Prof. Dharmaratne has authored numerous impactful publications and received multiple President’s Awards for Scientific Publications and an NRC Merit Award. He also holds international research fellowships and contributes to global health and injury prevention initiatives.

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Prof. Sampath U. B. Tennakoon, is an academic and a researcher at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Peradeniya, with an interest in Epidemiology, and Public Health. He holds a PhD in epidemiology from the University of Oslo and master’s in public health from the University of Maastricht, the Netherlands. His expertise includes non-communicable diseases, especially cardiovascular epidemiology, migration and health, and health disaster management. He currently serves as a professor in the Department of Community Medicine.
Prof. Tennakoon has held leadership roles such as Director of the Health Emergency Disaster Management Training Center of the faculty of Medicine, Peradeniya, chairperson and the secretary of the Ethics Review Committee, and the head of the department of community medicine and has worked in collaboration with the WHO and the UNFPA in improving health disaster management manpower in Sri Lanka.
His broad experience includes teaching, training, and conducting research in public health and chronic diseases. He has supervised many post graduate degrees, including MDs in community medicine, PhDs and MPhils.

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Damitha Asanga Gunawardane MD, is a professor and board-certified Specialist in Community Medicine at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Peradeniya. He obtained his Master’s and Doctor of Medicine degrees in Community Medicine from the University of Colombo (2016) and trained at the Health Economics and Policy Unit of the School of Public Health, University of Adelaide, as a postdoctoral research fellow. He has served in several districts in Sri Lanka as a consultant community physician. His primary research interests include health economics, disease burden assessment, health policy, and maternal and child health. He was recognized among the world’s 20 outstanding young physician leaders by the Interacademic Partnership and the UK Academy of Medical Sciences for the year 2018. He has also undertaken several national-level consultancies, including revising the supervision framework for the Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Adolescent, and Child Health program and conducting cost analyses for the Every Newborn Action Plan of Sri Lanka.

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S.M.J.Padmini Suraweera MBBS, MPhil, is a Senior Lecturer in Community Medicine at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Peradeniya. Her research interests include Environmental Health, Adolescent Health, Disability, Elderly Health, Health Promotion, and Public Health.

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Dr. Kalyani Pethiyagoda, MBBS, MSc (Community Medicine), PhD (Occupational Health), is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Community Medicine at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Peradeniya. With advanced training in community and occupational health, she contributes to teaching, research, and public health practice in epidemiology, preventive medicine, and population health. Dr. Pethiyagoda supervises undergraduate and postgraduate research, participates in community outreach, and supports the Faculty’s engagement with national health initiatives.

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Dr. Inosha Alwis (MBBS, MSc), is a lecturer (probationary) at the Department of Community Medicine. He completed his MSc in Community Medicine at the Post Graduate Institute of Medicine, University of Colombo, securing the C.H. Piyaratne Memorial Gold Medal for best performance. He was also awarded the Geetha De Silva Memorial Prize in community medicine during his undergraduate years at the University of Peradeniya. He is currently reading for his PhD at the Australian Centre for Health Services Innovation (AusHSI) of Queensland University of Technology (QUT), specialising in health economics and epidemiology. Dr. Alwis conducts undergraduate and postgraduate teaching in biostatistics, research methods and public health. His research interests include chronic disease epidemiology, health systems, health promotion and community mental health. Dr. Alwis's research has received multiple awards, including the Peter and Mable Cooray Gold Medal in psychiatry, and has been published in leading international journals. His findings on the mental health burden in Sri Lanka made national level impact.

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Dr. Gayathri Aruppola, is attached to the Department of Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Peradeniya. She obtained her MBBS degree from the Faculty of Medicine, University of Peradeniya.
After completing her internship training in Paediatrics and Obstetrics & gynaecology fields, she further gained clinical experience within the Sri Lankan public health system. Dr. Aruppola is currently pursuing postgraduate education in two parallel streams: the Master in Public Health (part time) at the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Peradeniya, and the Master of Science in Community Medicine at the Postgraduate Institute of Medicine, University of Colombo.
Her research interests span Epidemiology, Applied Epidemiology, Health Promotion, and Statistics, with a focus on integrating evidence-based approaches into community and population health practice.