Featured
PSSL Orations

 

Carlo Fonseka Oration

Prof Carlo FonsekaIn memory of the late Prof. Carlo Fonseka, Professor of Physiology of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo, the Physiological Society of Sri Lanka organises the Annual Carlo Fonseka memorial oration to be delivered by a distinguished physiologist, scientist or clinician..

 

 

 

 

Biography of of Professor Carlo Fonseka

Prof. Carlo Fonseka is a legend in Physiology in Sri Lanka. From the time of obtaining a PhD in Physiology from the University of Edinburgh in UK in 1966,

His contribution to the field of Physiology has been colossal. He is considered as one of the best lecturers in Physiology because of his innate ability to articulate the most difficult physiological concepts in a manner any layman could understand taking examples mostly from his own experiences and also from everyday observations. He was the Professor of Physiology of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo since 1982. He then became the Founder Dean of the newly established Faculty of Medicine of the University of Kelaniya at Ragama.

He fervently assisted Professor Valentine Basnayake to inaugurate the Physiological Society of Sri Lanka (PSSL) on the 29th of May 1987 at the New Building Lecture Theatre of the Faculty of Medicine in Colombo. He immensely contributed to uplift the scientific principles at PSSL meetings as well as among a large number of undergraduate and postgraduate students, and followers of him. In his charismatic way, he was extremely successful in popularizing science and in particular, physiological principles among the general public. He was one of the most sought after speakers in any meeting on any topic ranging from science, physiology, medicine, music, songs, drama, philosophy, politics etc. He was a prolific writer too.
 

Past Orations:

Year Orator Title
2022 Prof Panduka Karunanayake Rediscovering Physiology in Contemporary Medicine: The Foundational Insights of Claude Bernard
2021 Dr Asoka Dissanayake A nomadic physiologist and his experiences and views on online teaching at the Wayamba Faculty of Medicine

 

 

PSSL Orations
Year Conducted By
1987 Prof. D. Whitteridge
1988 Prof. V. Basnayake
1989 Prof. Nimal Senanayake
1990 Prof. A.S. Paintal
1991 Prof. C.T. Kappagoda
1992 Prof. Ranjit Roy Chaudhury
1993 Prof. M. Mya-Tu
1994 Prof. Kamini N. Mendis
1995 Prof. S.N. Arseculeratne
1997 Prof. Usha Nayer
1998 Dr. D.S. Kumararatne
1999 Dr. P. Abeykoon
2000 Prof. Nimal Senanayake
2001 Prof. Carlo Fonseka
2002 Dr. T. Varagunum
2003 Dr. J. T. La Brooy
2004 Ashima Anand
2006 Prof. Diyanath Samarasinghe
2007 Dr. Visvan Navaratnam
2008 Prof. Kamani Tennekoon
2009 Prof. Susirith Mendis
2010 Prof. H.R. Seneviratne
2011 Prof. Vajira Weerasinghe
2012 Prof. Janaka H De Silva
Featured
PSSL Orations

 

K N Seneviratne Oration

prof k n seneviratne

In memory of late Prof. Keerthi Nissanka Seneviratne, the second Ceylonese Professor of Physiology, the Physiological Society of Sri Lanka organises the Annual KN Seneviratne memorial oration to be delivered by a distinguished physiologist, scientist or clinician. Keerthi Nissanka Seneviratne, was born in Southern Sri Lanka in 1929. He had his school education at the Royal College

 

 

Biography of Professor K N Seneviratne 

Keerthi Nissanka Seneviratne, was born in Southern Sri Lanka in 1929. He had his school education at the Royal College, Colombo and university education in the Colombo Medical School. He graduated MBBS with honours in 1954, gaining a distinction in Medicine and Gold Medal in Operative Surgery. Unsurprisingly in the second MB he had been awarded a distinction in Physiology. He joined the Department of Physiology as a lecturer in 1958. He acquired a PhD in Neurophysiology as well as his life partner, Alison, from Edinburgh. He was appointed to the Chair of Physiology in the Faculty of Medicine, Colombo at the age of 39 years and held this post for 13 years.

In 1981 he left Sri Lanka to take up an appointment with the World Health Organization, as Regional Advisor in Health Manpower Development. His untimely death in 1986, at the age of 56, left a void in the field of physiology which to date has not been filled.

Prof. Seneviratne's work was on the study of the functions of nervous system, the field of neurophysiology. His PhD was on how neurophysiology of vision happens. His later research work carried out in Sri Lanka was on diabetic neuropathy. During his 30 year long career, he published about 40 papers including several in prestigious international journals such as JNNP (Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry). He became something of a world authority on diabetic neuropathy at that time.

 

Past Orations

Year Orator Title
2022 Prof. Deepthi de Silva Insights into physiology through the study of rare genetic diseases
2021 Vidya Nidhi Prof. Mangala Gunatilake Rabies Revisited: Past, Present and the Way Forward
2019 Prof. Sudharshani Wasalathanthri "Lifestyle modifications: a physiological approach to combat metabolic  syndrome”
2018 Prof. Yoshihiro Ishikawa Development and Failure of Human
2017 Prof. Sampath Gunawardena One Animal Model-Many Experiments: Use of Animal Models in Physiology Experiments
2016 Dr Rohan Gunawardena When the heart and brain disagrees
2015 Prof. Michael Sedgwick Physiology in transition – challenges for the future
2014 Prof. Kemal Deen Gracilis muscle as a neosphincter; exploiting physiology
2013 Prof. Naima Moustaid-Moussa Novel functions of the Adipocyte Renin Angiotensin system in obesity associated inflammation and insulin resistance
2012 Professor Janaka de Silva Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: The challenge before us
2011 Professor Vajira Weerasinghe Magnetic stimulation of the brain : A new era in human brain studies
2010 Professor Harshalal R Seneviratne Physiological challenges of polycystic ovarian disease
2009 Professor Susirith Mendis Conflict of interest: The relationship between industry and science
2008 Professor Kamani Tennekoon Physiology in the postgenomic era
2007 Professor Visvan Navaratnam Early problems for the myocardium
2006 Professor Diyanth Samarasinghe Alcohol and pleasure
2005 Professor Ananda Weerasuriya Neurobiology of consciousness
2004 Ashima Anand Presence of Lobeline-like sensations in exercising patients with left ventricular disease
2003 Professor M P J Senaratne Cardiovascular deaths: Can we identify risk and prevent them?
2002 Professor T Varugunam Enhancing clinical competence
2001 Professor Carlo Fonseka K N Senaviratne: The man and his work
2000 Professor Nimal Senanayake Postischaemic paraesthesiae and the diabetic nerve revisited
1999 Dr Palitha Abeykoon A task with a vision: Two decades of reorientation of medical education
1998 Dr D S Kumararatne Mechanisms of human immunity to mycobacteria: tales that patients tell
1997 Professor Usha Nayar Modulation of endogenous pain control mechanisms by the hypothalamolimbic system
1996 Not held  
1995 Professor S N Arseculeratne Professor K N Seneviratne and the concept of a University
1994 Professor Kamini N Mendis Research on malaria and the health system in Sri Lanka
1993 Professor M Mya-Tu Two physiologists journey into primary health care
1992 Dr Ranjit Roy Chaudhury Quest for a herbal contraceptive
1991 Professor CT Kappagoda Cardiac Asthma : a journey from the laboratory to the bedside
1990 Dr AS Paintal A new view of the origin of cardiac pain
1989 Professor Nimal Senanayake Toxic polyneuropathies
1988 Professor V Basnayake "And The Twain Shall Meet": tropical and temperate man
1987 Professor D Whitteridge Nissanka Seneviratne
PSSL Orations

K N Seneviratne Memorial Research Award

The Physiological Society of Sri Lanka makes an annual award for original investigational work done in physiology by undergraduates or postgraduates.

The award arises from an endowment made by Mrs. Alison Seneviratne in memory of her husband Dr. K. N. Seneviratne a former Professor in Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo.

The award will consist of a certificate and a cash prize.

Conditions to be fulfilled by applicants for the Award

  1. The work for which the Award is made must be of the nature of an original investigation done by the applicant. The work (thesis/ dissertation sumitted) should have been done within a period of five years or less preceding the closing date of application for the Award. At the time of study the applicant/s should be student/s at a university or other higher educational institutions at undergraduate level or postgraduate level.
  2. The work should have been supervised by an experienced scientist (applicable to undergraduates)
  3. The work must be in any one or more of the various fields of physiology, including animal, human, microbial and plant physiology.
  4. The applicant must submit his work in the form of a scientific paper. Original and two copies should be submitted. The copies should not have the names of authors. Typical sections in such a paper would be title, author’s name and address, abstract, introduction, methods and results, discussion, acknowledgment and references. The length of the paper should be 10 pages or less of double spaced typewritten material on A4-size paper. Longer papers may exceptionally be accepted. A paper that has already been published by a scientific journal may be submitted for the Award. The style in presenting the references should confirm to that required when preparing papers and abstract of presentation at the Physiological Society of Sri Lanka.
  5. Priority would be for applicants less than 40 years of age at the time of closing applications and for work conducted in Sri Lanka but the award would be open for all ages and would include research work conducted outside Sri Lanka.
  6. This award would be open to all citizens of Sri Lanka.
  7. The award is a lifetime award.

 

Past K N Seneviratne Memorial Research Award holders

Year

Awardee

Title of research paper

2017

Dr Tania Warnakulasuriya

Frequency of micronuclei among persons resident in the vicinity of a mineral sand processing factory in Pulmoddai, Sri Lanka

2016

Dr Nalinda Silva

Metalloestrogen cadmium stimulates proliferation of stromal cells derived from the eutopic endometrium of women with endometriosis
2015 Dr Padmini Dahanayake Assessment of hearing using brain stem auditory evoked potentials in at-risk infants and a follow-up study in Sri Lanka
2014 Dr Tharaka Dasanayake Where does cognition meet vision? Neurophysiological evidence for attentional enhancement of visual processing in the primary visual cortex
2013 Dr. Sudheera Kalupahana Overproduction of angiotensinogen from adipose tissue induces adipose inflammation, glucose intolerance and insulin resistance
2012 Dr Lakmali Amarasiri Relationship between gastro-oesophageal reflux disease and asthma in a population of adults in Sri Lanka.
2011 Dr Dilshani Dissanayake Sensory gating, cannabis and research rewards
Unpublished
PSSL Orations

Prof. A.C.E. Koch Oration

Prof. A.C.E. Koch OrationProf. Arthur Cecil Elsley Koch was the first Ceylonese Professor of Physiology. In memory of late Prof. A.C.E. Koch, the Physiological Society of Sri Lanka organises the Annual ACE Koch memorial oration to be delivered by a distinguished physiologist, scientist or clinician.

Prof. Koch was born on 20 Nov 1903. Having received his primary and secondary education at Royal College, he entered the Ceylon Medical College in 1922. His academic record in the Colombo Medical School was brilliant. He passed all his professional examinations in the first class, gaining a grand total of six distinctions and five medals. He joined the Department of Physiology as a demonstrator in 1935. In 1948 he proceeded to Oxford, UK for his postgraduate studies to work with Prof. C.G. Douglas FRS, the great respiratory physiologist who invented the famous "Douglas bag".

Koch did some pioneering research work at Oxford. His findings were published in 1951 jointly with Douglas in a paper on "Carbohydrate metabolism and muscular exercise" in the prestigious Journal of Physiology. On his return he was appointed to the Chair in Physiology in 1952 to be the first native citizen of Ceylon to hold this post until his retirement in 1968. From 1952 to 1957 he was the General Editor of the Ceylon Journal of Science. From 1953 to 1959 he was Co-Editor of the Ceylon Medical Journal. In 1966 he elected a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England without examination.

Undoubtedly the greatest impact of Prof. Koch was as a teacher in Physiology. He taught Physiology for one-third of a century with an amazing enthusiasm. Above all, Professor Koch’s immense popularity as a teacher derived from the fact that he tried to take a personal interest in his students. He was hearty in his encouragement of students and lavish in his praise of them.

In 1968 Professor Koch retired in the fullness of years and honours. He was elected an Emeritus Professor and kept in touch with the Physiology Department which was then staffed entirely by his pupils. In retirement he tried to find fulfillment in his life-long avocations – photography, literature, music and the repairing of watches and clocks. Within an year of retirement he passed away.

On his return he was appointed to the Chair in Physiology in 1952 to be the first native citizen of Sri Lanka to hold this post until his retirement in 1968.

Contact Us

The Physiological Society of Sri Lanka
Dept. of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine
University of Colombo
Colombo 08, Sri Lanka
+94 112 695300
+94 715 353235
physiologicalsocietyofsl@gmail.com

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