Associate Prof Udantha Abeyratne is a Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, USA, and a Member of the Australasian Sleep Disorders Association. His research expertise is in medical instrumentation and signal processing. He leads several research projects in developing algorithms and electronic implementations for diagnosing and treating sleep apnea and respiratory diseases such as pneumonia. Among the notable recent success in this area is a pioneering and fully automated technology to diagnose sleep apnea by the analysis of snoring (and breathing) sounds, wearable technology for the quantitative, real-time estimation of daytime sleepiness in work environments, and a unique automated technology for the diagnosis of childhood pneumonia in resource-poor regions of the world.
Associate Prof Abeyratne received the Bachelor’s degree from the University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, the Master’s degree from the University of Tokushima, Tokushima, Japan, both in electrical and electronic engineering, and a Ph.D. degree in biomedical engineering from Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, USA, in 1996. He is currently an Associate Professor at the University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Qld, Australia.
A Brisbane-based company that invented a smartphone app it says can diagnose COVID-19 and other respiratory illnesses by listening to someone cough has been purchased by Pfizer for nearly $180 million.ResApp Health Limited uses diagnostic technology developed by Associate Professor Udantha Abeyratne and his research team at the University of Queensland (UQ) to record and analyze a patient’s coughs on a smartphone.
The app also considers the self-reporting of simple symptoms like a runny nose or fever to diagnose and measure the severity of a range of pulmonary diseases, including asthma and pneumonia. Pfizer, one of the world’s largest bio-pharmaceutical companies, offered to buy ResApp earlier this year when it announced positive results for its COVID-19 screening test.
Recent studies have shown that the app had a 92 percent success rate in diagnosing the virus among symptomatic patients, but more clinical trials were needed to gain regulatory approval. However, a Pfizer spokesperson said they were encouraged by the data they had seen so far, and the $179 million acquisition, finalized, was another move toward enhancing the company’s expertise in digital health.
His research interests include medical instrumentation and signal processing. Last two decades, he has been leading research programs developing unorthodox new technologies for diagnosing sleep apnea and respiratory diseases, such as childhood pneumonia. He is particularly interested in portable technologies that have applications worldwide, including in remote resource-poor regions. A/Prof. Abeyratne is a Member of the American Association of Sleep Medicine.
A/Prof Abeyratne’s work has attracted funding from prestigious agencies such as the Australian Research Council (ARC) and The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, USA. Research outcomes are currently being implemented on portable electronic devices and smart mobile phones. A/Prof Abeyratne is also active in new treatment devices for ultrasound imaging (medical and agricultural use), biomimetic technology for condition monitoring of transformers, and electrophysiological signal processing.
A/Prof Abeyratne confirmed that the smartphone technology, which was developed in consultation with medical practitioners, operates similarly to a doctor using a stethoscope to listen for sounds produced by a patient’s body.
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SLF Int, USA Outstanding Community Service Award SLF Int, USA Prof. Deepthi Jayasekera For his Excellence as an Infectious Disease Specialist in Covid Guidelines, Vaccines, Therapeutics and Community Service
Born in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Dr Deepthi Jayasekara attended Ananda College, Colombo from 1970-1982. He was a College Prefect, a member of Ananda orchestra (Ananda Udawa) in vocals and violin, a Boy Scout and a member of English/Sinhalese debating teams. Having graduated in 1982 with highest Advanced level results 4 A’s, he received the prestigious Thomas Amarasuriya academic award and a Mahapola academic scholarship for medical school.
Dr Jayasekara graduated from the prestigious Colombo Medical Faculty, University of Colombo with honors in Human Physiology and pharmacology. He played music for the medical students’ band called “Medix” which topped Sri Lankan music charts many times. He subsequently completed his internship at National Hospital of Colombo in General Medicine and Surgery. Dr Jayasekara migrated to USA in 1995 to pursue a post-doc research fellowship in HIV and clinical pharmacology at UCSF (University of California, San Francisco). While conducting research and juggling a young family, he applied and got into an Internal Medicine residency at USC-Los Angeles County hospital in 1997. He pursued a fellowship in Infectious Diseases 2000-2002;, published and conducted research in HIV, Tuberculosis and CMV retinitis at USC.
Presently Dr Jayasekara works as a consultant physician and Infectious Disease specialist at Emanate Health hospitals (Queen of the Valley and Inter-community), Arcadia Methodist, San Dimas and Kindred hospitals. Additionally, he is in a partnership of multiple Infectious Disease doctors called Foothill Infectious Diseases Group and Infusion Center in Claremont, California. He also serves as a regular member of leadership committees and has been championing hospital protocols such as sepsis, pneumonia, Covid-19 vaccines and treatment protocols over 20 years. Dr Jayasekara and Foothill ID specialists have been involved in the care of over 25000 patients with Covid-19 per hospital statistics during the 6 waves of the current Covid pandemic. He was chosen to deliver the first ever educational webinar to the hospital staff on Covid-19 vaccines in Nov 2020 before the MRNA vaccines were rolled out. He’s currently the chair of Internal Medicine at Emanate hospitals and the chair of Infectious Diseases at Emanate and San Dimas Hospitals.
The Emanate health organization honored him with a prestigious award for the work he has done with the pandemic in June 2022. Dr Jayasekara has thus far authored 10 newspaper articles on Covid-19 in Los Angeles, providing much-needed insight of the ongoing Covid policy changes and new therapeutics and vaccines. A regular CME speaker for the doctors and hospital staff on various subjects related to ID, Dr Jayasekara has delivered over 100 Continuing Medical Education (CME)lectures on subjects like Sepsis, Covid-19, New antibiotics in the pipeline, HIV, Diabetic infections, Transplant-related infections, hospital-acquired infections and more recently Monkeypox 2022 epidemic. He is also on speaker panels of few pharmaceutical companies like Allergan, Melinta, AbbVie, Tetraphase pharmaceuticals on various new antibiotics and on advisory board of probiotic company, Ferring. Dr Jayasekara is quite passionate about teaching his medical students from Western and Touro medical schools in California while serving as a clinical professor. He has published many scientific papers with those universities and Emanate hospitals especially during Covid period. Furthermore, he has delivered many academic lectures at various Sri Lankan organizations in Colombo such as Sri Lanka Medical Associatiom (SLMA), College of Physicians, College of Surgeons, College of Microbiologists, Faculty of Kotalawala Medical faculty, Nawaloka hospital critical care etc.
Dr Jayasekara is an active member of professional Sri Lankan organizations like SLMANA West, Ananda OBA West (ACOBA) and Sri Lanka Foundation and is currently serving on the boards (BOD)of those organizations. He served as the President of Ananda College Old Boys Association (ACOBA) West and Vice President of Sri Lanka Medical Association North America (SLMANA) West a few years ago. He is currently the Medical Director of Sri Lanka Foundation International, USA and has conducted many educational webinars on Evolution of Covid-19 pandemic, Covid vaccines, new Covid-treatments, CDC protocols etc. Spearheaded many charity projects related to Covid-19 pandemic including projects related to Colombo National hospital, IDH, and many outstation hospitals in Sri Lanka helping them in purchasing many equipment including much-needed ICU beds, ventilators, BIPAP and High Flow respiratory machines, surgical consumables etc. He also collaborated a landmark scientific paper with the National Science Foundation of Sri Lanka which helped Sri Lankan Covid task force during many waves of Covid pandemic that devastated the country.
Dr Jayasekara is quite passionate about travel, Cricket and Basketball and is also known in our comminity as a vocalist and a multi-instrumentalist (violin, Piano, Keyboards, and drums) playing for few bands like Medix, Heartbeat, Emanate Hospital band etc. He lives in Glendora, California with his wife Roshani and their 2 children Arindra and Avishka. Arindra is a second-year neurology resident and Avishka, a recent graduate from USC Neuroscience and health policy.
Dr Jayasekara graduated from the prestigious Colombo Medical Faculty, University of Colombo with honors in Human Physiology and pharmacology. He played music for the medical students’ band called “Medix” which topped Sri Lankan music charts many times. He subsequently completed his internship at National Hospital of Colombo in General Medicine and Surgery. Dr Jayasekara migrated to USA in 1995 to pursue a post-doc research fellowship in HIV and clinical pharmacology at UCSF (University of California, San Francisco). While conducting research and juggling a young family, he applied and got into an Internal Medicine residency at USC-Los Angeles County hospital in 1997. He pursued a fellowship in Infectious Diseases 2000-2002;, published and conducted research in HIV, Tuberculosis and CMV retinitis at USC.
Presently Dr Jayasekara works as a consultant physician and Infectious Disease specialist at Emanate Health hospitals (Queen of the Valley and Inter-community), Arcadia Methodist, San Dimas and Kindred hospitals. Additionally, he is in a partnership of multiple Infectious Disease doctors called Foothill Infectious Diseases Group and Infusion Center in Claremont, California. He also serves as a regular member of leadership committees and has been championing hospital protocols such as sepsis, pneumonia, Covid-19 vaccines and treatment protocols over 20 years. Dr Jayasekara and Foothill ID specialists have been involved in the care of over 25000 patients with Covid-19 per hospital statistics during the 6 waves of the current Covid pandemic. He was chosen to deliver the first ever educational webinar to the hospital staff on Covid-19 vaccines in Nov 2020 before the MRNA vaccines were rolled out. He’s currently the chair of Internal Medicine at Emanate hospitals and the chair of Infectious Diseases at Emanate and San Dimas Hospitals.
The Emanate health organization honored him with a prestigious award for the work he has done with the pandemic in June 2022. Dr Jayasekara has thus far authored 10 newspaper articles on Covid-19 in Los Angeles, providing much-needed insight of the ongoing Covid policy changes and new therapeutics and vaccines. A regular CME speaker for the doctors and hospital staff on various subjects related to ID, Dr Jayasekara has delivered over 100 Continuing Medical Education (CME)lectures on subjects like Sepsis, Covid-19, New antibiotics in the pipeline, HIV, Diabetic infections, Transplant-related infections, hospital-acquired infections and more recently Monkeypox 2022 epidemic. He is also on speaker panels of few pharmaceutical companies like Allergan, Melinta, AbbVie, Tetraphase pharmaceuticals on various new antibiotics and on advisory board of probiotic company, Ferring. Dr Jayasekara is quite passionate about teaching his medical students from Western and Touro medical schools in California while serving as a clinical professor. He has published many scientific papers with those universities and Emanate hospitals especially during Covid period. Furthermore, he has delivered many academic lectures at various Sri Lankan organizations in Colombo such as Sri Lanka Medical Associatiom (SLMA), College of Physicians, College of Surgeons, College of Microbiologists, Faculty of Kotalawala Medical faculty, Nawaloka hospital critical care etc.
Dr Jayasekara is an active member of professional Sri Lankan organizations like SLMANA West, Ananda OBA West (ACOBA) and Sri Lanka Foundation and is currently serving on the boards (BOD)of those organizations. He served as the President of Ananda College Old Boys Association (ACOBA) West and Vice President of Sri Lanka Medical Association North America (SLMANA) West a few years ago. He is currently the Medical Director of Sri Lanka Foundation International, USA and has conducted many educational webinars on Evolution of Covid-19 pandemic, Covid vaccines, new Covid-treatments, CDC protocols etc. Spearheaded many charity projects related to Covid-19 pandemic including projects related to Colombo National hospital, IDH, and many outstation hospitals in Sri Lanka helping them in purchasing many equipment including much-needed ICU beds, ventilators, BIPAP and High Flow respiratory machines, surgical consumables etc. He also collaborated a landmark scientific paper with the National Science Foundation of Sri Lanka which helped Sri Lankan Covid task force during many waves of Covid pandemic that devastated the country.
Dr Jayasekara is quite passionate about travel, Cricket and Basketball and is also known in our comminity as a vocalist and a multi-instrumentalist (violin, Piano, Keyboards, and drums) playing for few bands like Medix, Heartbeat, Emanate Hospital band etc. He lives in Glendora, California with his wife Roshani and their 2 children Arindra and Avishka. Arindra is a second-year neurology resident and Avishka, a recent graduate from USC Neuroscience and health policy.
SLF Int, USA 2022 Outstanding Community Service Award Prof. Dushyantha Jayaweera For his Excellence in Research and Clinical Work in HIV/HCV & Covid-19 Disaster Relief and Humanitarian Work
Dr. Jayaweera received his M.D. degree from Sri Lanka and trained in medicine in Sri Lanka, Great Britain, and Loyola University of Chicago. In 1992, he came to the University of Miami after serving as senior registrar at Birmingham University in the United Kingdom.
He began his work in Miami on HIV and infectious diseases and worked with the inner-city minority population infected with HIV while there and helping others. He believes that “we must place others’ interests above our own,” which makes a better place to live and benefits all. His focus has been on research that is centered on understanding the factors that impact communities of color and minorities, which have been long ignored, and finding solutions to improve their health outcomes. Even his research has pivoted depending upon the needs of the community. He was frequently teaching and speaking about HIV prevention and education in inner-city black churches.
His passion has been working in disaster relief. His first international mission was to Honduras when hurricane Mitch devastated the country in October 1998. The University of Miami sent a team with Dr. Jayaweera, and they provided medical care and delivered essential items such as medications donated by the University of Miami to the people in Tegucigalpa and La Lima. They spent a week helping the population affected by banana plantations in La Lima and saw hundreds of patients each day.
In 2010, Haiti was affected by an unprecedented earthquake with More than 50,000 homes were destroyed, another 77,000 damaged, and 220,000 people died. The University of Miami sprang into action and led the medical mission called “Project Medishare,” supported by some of the health systems in the US and donors. Dr. Jayaweera was there on the second week of the medical mission, setting up the field hospital and sleeping in makeshift tents. He was the chief medical officer, managing a large operation of 200 healthcare workers where thousands of patients were treated daily for trauma and other medical conditions. They set up two operating rooms and an ICU in a field hospital. As the International Director of the Rotary Club of Dade Land and Pinecrest Rotary (from 2002-2014), He was responsible, with other members, for providing community service in many countries. He raised funds for Nepal after the earthquake in April 2015. They raised close to $ 20,000.
As a member of the Rotary club his main contribution was to disaster relief in Sri Lanka after the Tsunami in December 2004. After the tsunami, it was found that the OBGYN unit at Galle hospital was completely destroyed. Dr. Jayaweera and the Rotary Club of Pinecrest and Dade Land collected money from all the Florida clubs and, with matching grants from Rotary International, donated close to $200,000.00 to the hospital to buy all the equipment for the clinic. He visited Sri Lanka and made sure that all the activities planned were executed as designed. Furthermore, with the help of Palmer Trinity School in Miami, he helped to repair a school in Galle, Sri Lanka. Even this year When COVID pandemic affected Sri Lanka, he started working with the Colombo Medical School and other leaders in Colombo to come up with plans to obtain essential items for patient care in Sri Lanka. He worked with SLF very closely in fund raising and education. He managed to work with the Sri Lanka diaspora in FL to raise funds for COVID relief efforts and these were transferred via Rotary club.
In 2012, he was appointed Associate Vice Provost for Human Subject Research, overseeing the activities of the ethics committees and serving as a liaison between these committees and senior institutional leadership. He spearheaded the accreditation of the university’s human research protection program by the Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs in the US. He was also instrumental in the creation or revision of a variety of policies and practices to increase compliance while partnering with investigators to address their concerns.
Dr. Jayaweera was appointed as the Executive Dean for Research and Research Education for the Miller School of Medicine in September 2015. He was the Associate Vice Provost for Human Subject Protection prior to this appointment. Dr. Jayaweera has over 20 years of experience with HIV and serves as the Director of the HIV/HCV co-infection clinic. He has received grant support from the National Institutes of Drug Abuse, the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, and the National Science Foundation. Dr. Jayaweera has led and continues to lead numerous industry-funded trials on HIV and HIV/HCV confections and has published more than 100 peer-reviewed research articles and 120 conference abstracts while maintaining a clinical practice and serving the UM research community. Additionally, he serves the larger South Florida community as an AIDS educator and is a senior faculty member of the AIDS Education and Training Center. Dr. Jayaweera has been involved in emerging infections. He started working on HIV at the beginning of the pandemic and hepatitis C in 2000, Zika in 2018 and COVID 19 in 2020. Over the last 20 years, he has received research funding for all these diseases. He was the principal investigator for the University of Miami funded by the NIH on the Janssen vaccine, convalescent plasma for inpatients and ACTOV-6 platform studies.
He began his work in Miami on HIV and infectious diseases and worked with the inner-city minority population infected with HIV while there and helping others. He believes that “we must place others’ interests above our own,” which makes a better place to live and benefits all. His focus has been on research that is centered on understanding the factors that impact communities of color and minorities, which have been long ignored, and finding solutions to improve their health outcomes. Even his research has pivoted depending upon the needs of the community. He was frequently teaching and speaking about HIV prevention and education in inner-city black churches.
His passion has been working in disaster relief. His first international mission was to Honduras when hurricane Mitch devastated the country in October 1998. The University of Miami sent a team with Dr. Jayaweera, and they provided medical care and delivered essential items such as medications donated by the University of Miami to the people in Tegucigalpa and La Lima. They spent a week helping the population affected by banana plantations in La Lima and saw hundreds of patients each day.
In 2010, Haiti was affected by an unprecedented earthquake with More than 50,000 homes were destroyed, another 77,000 damaged, and 220,000 people died. The University of Miami sprang into action and led the medical mission called “Project Medishare,” supported by some of the health systems in the US and donors. Dr. Jayaweera was there on the second week of the medical mission, setting up the field hospital and sleeping in makeshift tents. He was the chief medical officer, managing a large operation of 200 healthcare workers where thousands of patients were treated daily for trauma and other medical conditions. They set up two operating rooms and an ICU in a field hospital. As the International Director of the Rotary Club of Dade Land and Pinecrest Rotary (from 2002-2014), He was responsible, with other members, for providing community service in many countries. He raised funds for Nepal after the earthquake in April 2015. They raised close to $ 20,000.
As a member of the Rotary club his main contribution was to disaster relief in Sri Lanka after the Tsunami in December 2004. After the tsunami, it was found that the OBGYN unit at Galle hospital was completely destroyed. Dr. Jayaweera and the Rotary Club of Pinecrest and Dade Land collected money from all the Florida clubs and, with matching grants from Rotary International, donated close to $200,000.00 to the hospital to buy all the equipment for the clinic. He visited Sri Lanka and made sure that all the activities planned were executed as designed. Furthermore, with the help of Palmer Trinity School in Miami, he helped to repair a school in Galle, Sri Lanka. Even this year When COVID pandemic affected Sri Lanka, he started working with the Colombo Medical School and other leaders in Colombo to come up with plans to obtain essential items for patient care in Sri Lanka. He worked with SLF very closely in fund raising and education. He managed to work with the Sri Lanka diaspora in FL to raise funds for COVID relief efforts and these were transferred via Rotary club.
In 2012, he was appointed Associate Vice Provost for Human Subject Research, overseeing the activities of the ethics committees and serving as a liaison between these committees and senior institutional leadership. He spearheaded the accreditation of the university’s human research protection program by the Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs in the US. He was also instrumental in the creation or revision of a variety of policies and practices to increase compliance while partnering with investigators to address their concerns.
Dr. Jayaweera was appointed as the Executive Dean for Research and Research Education for the Miller School of Medicine in September 2015. He was the Associate Vice Provost for Human Subject Protection prior to this appointment. Dr. Jayaweera has over 20 years of experience with HIV and serves as the Director of the HIV/HCV co-infection clinic. He has received grant support from the National Institutes of Drug Abuse, the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, and the National Science Foundation. Dr. Jayaweera has led and continues to lead numerous industry-funded trials on HIV and HIV/HCV confections and has published more than 100 peer-reviewed research articles and 120 conference abstracts while maintaining a clinical practice and serving the UM research community. Additionally, he serves the larger South Florida community as an AIDS educator and is a senior faculty member of the AIDS Education and Training Center. Dr. Jayaweera has been involved in emerging infections. He started working on HIV at the beginning of the pandemic and hepatitis C in 2000, Zika in 2018 and COVID 19 in 2020. Over the last 20 years, he has received research funding for all these diseases. He was the principal investigator for the University of Miami funded by the NIH on the Janssen vaccine, convalescent plasma for inpatients and ACTOV-6 platform studies.
SLF Int, USA 2022 Rising Star Award Winner Sumudu Herath Mudiyanselage For his Excellence in Civil Engineering, Machine Learning in Homogenization and Design of Technical Textiles for Space Structure
Sumudu Herath Mudiyansalage is a student of Royal College, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Soon before his school graduation in 2010, he was ranked second in the country for GCE AL examination in physical science stream. After he completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Moratuwa in Sri Lanka, he was awarded a prestigious Cambridge Trust Scholarship to pursue his doctoral studies at the University of Cambridge. Further, he bypassed the Master’s degree requirement due to his exceptional performance in Bachelor’s degree.
He received the Gold Medal for the Most outstanding graduand in both academic and extra-curricular activities of the Faculty of Engineering, University of Moratuwa. In addition, he was awarded the Gold Medal for the first rank in Civil Engineering where he achieved a record-breaking GPA of 4.12(/4.20) which remains the highest in department history. At the same convocation, he received 11 more awards for all-round excellence. Some of his awards during his life at University of Moratuwa include: Dean’s List for obtaining Grade Point Average (GPA) above 3.8 in all academic semesters; National Prize for Enterprise Strategy (E3) in May 2012 CIMA exams (World rank 95); National Prize for Corporate Reporting (P2) in June 2013 in the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) exams (World rank 7), Poh Scholarship recipient (out of 40,000 students).
Sumudu’s doctoral thesis contains his original research works of machine learning in homogenization and design of technical textiles for space structures at the University of Cambridge. His collaborations with NUS, Singapore and Cambridge, UK has led him to publish his works in high impact internationally peer-reviewed journals and conferences. To date, Sumudu is a co-author of more than twenty such scientific publications. Sumudu currently is a visiting professor at the TU Darmstadt where he looks at novel ways of simulating material systems using various statistical techniques.
He is very involved with the Sri Lankan community by: volunteering as a mentor for undergraduate students on their research and career prospects, advisor on foreign higher study opportunities for budding engineers from Sri Lankan Universities, mentor of the Sustainable Education Foundation (SEF), a non-profit organization to improve the quality of education in Sri Lanka.
He received the Gold Medal for the Most outstanding graduand in both academic and extra-curricular activities of the Faculty of Engineering, University of Moratuwa. In addition, he was awarded the Gold Medal for the first rank in Civil Engineering where he achieved a record-breaking GPA of 4.12(/4.20) which remains the highest in department history. At the same convocation, he received 11 more awards for all-round excellence. Some of his awards during his life at University of Moratuwa include: Dean’s List for obtaining Grade Point Average (GPA) above 3.8 in all academic semesters; National Prize for Enterprise Strategy (E3) in May 2012 CIMA exams (World rank 95); National Prize for Corporate Reporting (P2) in June 2013 in the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) exams (World rank 7), Poh Scholarship recipient (out of 40,000 students).
Sumudu’s doctoral thesis contains his original research works of machine learning in homogenization and design of technical textiles for space structures at the University of Cambridge. His collaborations with NUS, Singapore and Cambridge, UK has led him to publish his works in high impact internationally peer-reviewed journals and conferences. To date, Sumudu is a co-author of more than twenty such scientific publications. Sumudu currently is a visiting professor at the TU Darmstadt where he looks at novel ways of simulating material systems using various statistical techniques.
He is very involved with the Sri Lankan community by: volunteering as a mentor for undergraduate students on their research and career prospects, advisor on foreign higher study opportunities for budding engineers from Sri Lankan Universities, mentor of the Sustainable Education Foundation (SEF), a non-profit organization to improve the quality of education in Sri Lanka.
SLF Int, USA Exceptional Achievement Award Winner Dr Hasini Jayatilaka For her Excellence in Cancer Research Discovered a novel mechanism that causes cancer cells to break away from tumours and metastasise.
Dr Hasini Jayatilaka was born in Australia, and raised in Colombo, attended St Bridget’s Convent in Sri Lanka. Her lawyer mother and engineer father emphasized the importance of education and a well-balanced life to her and her older brother. She came to the United States in 2009 to pursue a bachelor’s degree and eventually a PhD at Johns Hopkins University in chemical and bimolecular engineering.
During her sophomore year of college, she found herself performing the early stages of her famed work at the Institute for NanoBio Technology under the mentorship of Denis Wirtz, co-founder and core faculty member of the Institute for NanoBio Technology, Johns Hopkins University Vice Provost for Research, and Theophilus Halley Smoot professor of Engineering Science at Johns Hopkins University.
Dr Hasini Jayatilaka is postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University focused on elucidating mechanisms that govern relapse in childhood cancers, particularly B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (BCP-ALL) and neuroblastoma.
BCP-ALL is a common childhood malignancy that has seen dramatic improvements in survival using current treatment regimens. However, relapse is the most frequent cause of cancer-related death among children with BCP-ALL. Jayatilaka is studying the activation of pro-survival and drug resistance mechanisms in a subset of the BCP-ALL population that allow tumour cells to persist following treatment and cause relapse.
She is currently conducting research on understanding the complex pathways that govern metastasis, the spread of cancer, which is responsible for 90% of cancer related deaths. She recently discovered a new signaling pathway that controls metastasis and showed that by blocking the pathway, the spread of cancer can be slowed down. For a young scientist who just finished her PhD in May 2017, Dr Hasini Jayatilaka has achieved goals that takes many researchers an entire career to acquire.
During her research, she discovered the mechanisms that causes cancer cells to break away from tumors and spread to other parts of the body, also known as metastasis. She also created a cocktail of drugs that slows and, in some cases, stops cancer from spreading. These discoveries have received international recognition and attracted the attention of many media outlets, organizations, professionals, and audiences.
Click on the link below to learn more about Dr Hasini Jayatilaka’s research:
https://youtu.be/1fZ915L1w7I
During her sophomore year of college, she found herself performing the early stages of her famed work at the Institute for NanoBio Technology under the mentorship of Denis Wirtz, co-founder and core faculty member of the Institute for NanoBio Technology, Johns Hopkins University Vice Provost for Research, and Theophilus Halley Smoot professor of Engineering Science at Johns Hopkins University.
Dr Hasini Jayatilaka is postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University focused on elucidating mechanisms that govern relapse in childhood cancers, particularly B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (BCP-ALL) and neuroblastoma.
BCP-ALL is a common childhood malignancy that has seen dramatic improvements in survival using current treatment regimens. However, relapse is the most frequent cause of cancer-related death among children with BCP-ALL. Jayatilaka is studying the activation of pro-survival and drug resistance mechanisms in a subset of the BCP-ALL population that allow tumour cells to persist following treatment and cause relapse.
She is currently conducting research on understanding the complex pathways that govern metastasis, the spread of cancer, which is responsible for 90% of cancer related deaths. She recently discovered a new signaling pathway that controls metastasis and showed that by blocking the pathway, the spread of cancer can be slowed down. For a young scientist who just finished her PhD in May 2017, Dr Hasini Jayatilaka has achieved goals that takes many researchers an entire career to acquire.
During her research, she discovered the mechanisms that causes cancer cells to break away from tumors and spread to other parts of the body, also known as metastasis. She also created a cocktail of drugs that slows and, in some cases, stops cancer from spreading. These discoveries have received international recognition and attracted the attention of many media outlets, organizations, professionals, and audiences.
Click on the link below to learn more about Dr Hasini Jayatilaka’s research:
https://youtu.be/1fZ915L1w7I
SLF Int USA, Lifetime Achievement Award Winner Dr Yasantha Rajakarunanayaka For his Excellence as a Technologist, Scientist and Innovator
Dr. Yasantha Rajakarunanayake grew up in Ratmalana, Sri Lanka. He attended Royal College and received the highest marks in the Advance Level Exam with 4A’S in the mathematics stream. After studying at the University of Moratuwa in Electronics Engineering for a few months, he received a Scholarship to attend his dream university, Princeton. This is where he met Jeffrey Bezos, the former President, and CEO of Amazon.
Growing up, he had terrible Asthma, and his father had advised him to find a career in an air-conditioned office, so he doesn’t have to breathe dusty air while working. Back in the day, computers (mainframes) were the only things in air-conditioned rooms, and he quite accidentally chose the IT industry for this reason. At that time, we could not have predicted that computers would one day change the world. It was a very fortunate choice.
Dr. Yasanth Rajakarunanayake is a senior technologist and scientist with 30 years of experience in the Bay Area, a proven track record of innovation and R&D contributions, and expertise in building and leading world-class teams to create innovative products and software solutions for the high-tech industry, recently in leveraging Artificial Intelligence. As of August 2019, he had 94 total US patent applications (granted and pending) with himself as an inventor.
He is an expert mathematician with crucial knowledge, skills, and insights for high tech, with solid software and algorithm delivery background. Dr. Rajakarunanayake created innovative applications and AI algorithm designs for human presence and gesture detection with mmWave radar systems @ MediaTek (2019) and has developed Human Speech Recognition (wav2vec) type solutions integration (2019). He also recently developed and designed strategies and algorithms that leverage Artificial Intelligence in novel MedTech and medical imaging applications. He successfully implemented and improved techniques and methodologies that enhance medical diagnosis (speed and accuracy of Pathology and CT scans with algorithmic AI innovations) (2017).
He is an expert in many key technical areas (e.g., WIFI, Digital Satellite Comm, Video, DSL, Etc.) and has meaningfully contributed to the fundamental technology as well as basic product design and software through Si-valley companies, mainly during my tenures at MediaTek and Broadcom. He has experience in all parts of the Internet, mobility, connectivity, and cloud ecosystems, from designing low-level hardware functional blocks to streamlining software driver architectures, server systems, and adaptive inferential systems for cloud and high-tech edge devices.
Dr. Rajakarunanayake was Broadcom’s lead scientist/technical director for the wireless BU and Broadband BU. He has a proven track record of innovation and R&D contributions in several fields. He has experience in starting, building, managing, and leading world-class teams to create novel products, software solutions, and product lines that have, in many cases, reached over $200 million in revenue for these companies. In 2015 he served as the key technical director for novel product innovation for Broadcom Wireless BU, with revenue of around $3 Billion. Since 2015, he has recently acquired key expertise in Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithms, software, and applications, and a keen interest in applying this systemwide.
Click on the link below to watch when Dr. Yasantha Rajakarunanayaka resolved a math problem for Jeffrey Bezos, Former President & CEO of Amazon.
https://youtu.be/eFnV6EM-wzY
Growing up, he had terrible Asthma, and his father had advised him to find a career in an air-conditioned office, so he doesn’t have to breathe dusty air while working. Back in the day, computers (mainframes) were the only things in air-conditioned rooms, and he quite accidentally chose the IT industry for this reason. At that time, we could not have predicted that computers would one day change the world. It was a very fortunate choice.
Dr. Yasanth Rajakarunanayake is a senior technologist and scientist with 30 years of experience in the Bay Area, a proven track record of innovation and R&D contributions, and expertise in building and leading world-class teams to create innovative products and software solutions for the high-tech industry, recently in leveraging Artificial Intelligence. As of August 2019, he had 94 total US patent applications (granted and pending) with himself as an inventor.
He is an expert mathematician with crucial knowledge, skills, and insights for high tech, with solid software and algorithm delivery background. Dr. Rajakarunanayake created innovative applications and AI algorithm designs for human presence and gesture detection with mmWave radar systems @ MediaTek (2019) and has developed Human Speech Recognition (wav2vec) type solutions integration (2019). He also recently developed and designed strategies and algorithms that leverage Artificial Intelligence in novel MedTech and medical imaging applications. He successfully implemented and improved techniques and methodologies that enhance medical diagnosis (speed and accuracy of Pathology and CT scans with algorithmic AI innovations) (2017).
He is an expert in many key technical areas (e.g., WIFI, Digital Satellite Comm, Video, DSL, Etc.) and has meaningfully contributed to the fundamental technology as well as basic product design and software through Si-valley companies, mainly during my tenures at MediaTek and Broadcom. He has experience in all parts of the Internet, mobility, connectivity, and cloud ecosystems, from designing low-level hardware functional blocks to streamlining software driver architectures, server systems, and adaptive inferential systems for cloud and high-tech edge devices.
Dr. Rajakarunanayake was Broadcom’s lead scientist/technical director for the wireless BU and Broadband BU. He has a proven track record of innovation and R&D contributions in several fields. He has experience in starting, building, managing, and leading world-class teams to create novel products, software solutions, and product lines that have, in many cases, reached over $200 million in revenue for these companies. In 2015 he served as the key technical director for novel product innovation for Broadcom Wireless BU, with revenue of around $3 Billion. Since 2015, he has recently acquired key expertise in Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithms, software, and applications, and a keen interest in applying this systemwide.
Click on the link below to watch when Dr. Yasantha Rajakarunanayaka resolved a math problem for Jeffrey Bezos, Former President & CEO of Amazon.
https://youtu.be/eFnV6EM-wzY
DON’T MISS OUT!!Sri Lanka Day Expo & Parade Worldwide Virtual Event Begins in a few more days
FREE EVENT OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Spectacular Cultural Program
Virtual Expo will be open to the public from August 10th – August 20th
Amazing Virtual Parade
Resourceful Presentations
Get ready to “Dance Baila” with the Band, “HEAT”
Live MC’S from US, Australia and Sri Lanka
There are many new features added this time for our worldwide audience. Including new online games to win prizes worth $5000!!
REGISTER NOW DON’T MISS OUT!!!!
https://www.slfplatform.org/
Sri Lanka-themed virtual Global Celebration will be launched in the United States on the Sri Lanka Foundation International platform introducing to a worldwide audience Sri Lanka’s historical heritage and culture, music, dance forms, and local food and products. All that and more, while being entertained by breath-taking cultural performances, you can enjoy lounging in the comfort of your living room!
If that were not enough, a dazzling parade would pass by you, and a glittering fashion show will be brought to your living room, bringing post covid fashions never before seen. The show will originate from Australia and Sri Lanka. You will not only be entertained with a variety of such attractive offerings; you will also be invited to Special Presentations in the Networking Lounge relating to Education, Medical, Culture, and Cooking.
This unique virtual event takes place on Saturday 13th and Sunday 14th August 2022, when traders, manufacturers, and service providers, will meet virtually all under one roof to market their products, network, and do business. It will also serve as a business platform for Sri Lankan traders to make inroads into the global market and develop strategic partnership programs with Australian, British, Canadian, and U.S. firms while virtually meeting and networking with them. Added highlights for the vendors and sponsors will include audio and Video features in the booths to directly speak with the customers. The auditorium will be available to present promotional videos of their businesses during the Cultural Performances. The platform will open a few days early and will remain open a few days later for people who missed the event on the weekend.
When the annual Sri Lanka Day was last celebrated in the historic city of Pasadena in 2019, the thousands of visitors who filed along the historic route of the New Year’s Day Rose Parade gasped in amazement as they watched the ‘Pageant of Lanka,’ a miniature Kandy Perahera with decorated elephants on rollers and traditional Sri Lankan dancers, parading on the streets of Los Angeles. That day, Sri Lanka took its rightful place among the ethnic festivals held in America.
This year, Sri Lanka Foundation International is organizing the event on a virtual platform for the second successive year making the pre covid era annual Sri Lanka Day celebrations in Los Angeles a worldwide event. Although virtual events are not quite like seeing an event in person, these “quarantine events” play a fascinating role in keeping the public arts alive while public life is in lockdown
Throughout the two-day festivities, it will feature events staged from around the world when the sights and sounds and the unique taste of Sri Lanka will virtually come alive. Mesmerizing dance and music performances will be staged throughout the two days. It will feature Sri Lankan traditional music, dances, art, and theatre staged from Sri Lanka, Australia, Canada, Chile, France, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, The U.K., and India.
The performances are to be interspersed with a cultural fashion show with Sri Lankan models showcasing Sri Lankan costumes on the catwalk. The audience will also be treated to a tour de force of Sri Lankan art, artifacts, fashionable clothing, jewellery, sweets, spices, and food to promote indigenous products and entrepreneurs.
Sri Lanka Day celebrations are sponsored and organized by the Sri Lanka Foundation, based in Los Angeles, California, a brainchild of Dr. Walter Jayasinghe, a leading expatriate physician who came to the U.S. in the early 1960s. In 2003, he established the Foundation to promote Sri Lankan cultural activities in the U.S.
The mega event is cosponsored by a leading group of Sri Lankans and Sri Lankan companies, including Bold Gems, HSBC, Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, Hatch’ Delmege Forsyth & Co Ltd, Ceilan Coir Products Export, Salota International, Mireka Homes Havelock City, Jmed, Uniformity, Raju Rasiah Jewelers, Rupavahini (Ethera Methara), Derana TV, and ITN.
By. Nandasiri (Nandi) Jasentuliyana
Former Deputy Director-General, United Nations, Director, United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs and President Emeritus, International Institute of Space Law & Policy For more information contact:
Shirani Stanislaus-213-304-7500 or shirani@srilankafoundation.og
Keshini Wijegoonaratna-213-400-7705 or Keshini@srilankafoundation.org
Achala Weerasinghe-213-400-1662 or achala@srilankafoundation.org
Meet our AccelerateHer Founders Curated By Hatch, Sri Lanka
The AccelerateHer program provides a platform for women to access the skills needed to sustain a business, such as legal, operational, and financial assistance. This program is devised to enable women entrepreneurs to scale their businesses and become investor-ready. In addition, we will also tackle gender-specific nuances that prevent women from succeeding in business.
A selected number of female entrepreneurs and their startups will be placed at Hatch for 3 months throughout this program opening opportunities to collaborate and co-create together with the larger entrepreneurial ecosystem while also skilling up their knowledge.
Our target audience includes women, ideally from under-represented groups, with a validated tech or tech-enabled product and operational income (with at least 1 paying customer) and those who are focused on scaling up their startups globally.
SHENUKA UMAGILIYA
FOUNDER – BALAMU GUIDES
Founded by Shenuka Umagiliya ,BALAMU is your essential travel Guide in Sri Lanka! Bringing together three essential travel tools to create one versatile mobile application. First: An Audio Guide that provides entertaining and informative descriptions, of the places and things you see. Secondly: A digital map, with a carefully curated route and geo fenced locations. And Lastly: A collection of images, giving visitors, not just a view of what they should be looking at, but also providing an enlightening glimpse into the past with historic photos, of places and events. BALAMU allows the independent traveler to explore freely around our beautiful country with no set schedules or agendas, well equipped with a comprehensive guide available at their fingertips.
Investment ask: LKR 5 Million for 10%
SDG 20,000
LASNI SILVA
FOUNDER – LACTOBOOST
Founded by Lasni Silva, Spice Carriage (Pvt) Ltd initiated operations in lactation cookie manufacturing in August 2020. As a micro-scale, home-based business, Spice Carriage produces lactation cookies under the brand Lactoboost which is the first lactation cookie manufactured in Sri Lanka. These cookies are used to increase breastmilk supply in breastfeeding mothers and are an enjoyable and healthy snack.
Investment ask : LKR 4.5 million for 10%
SDG 10,000
BHAGYA SANDAKALUM
FOUNDER – BLUE FISH
Founded by Bhagya, Bluefish provides exceptional quality homemade canned fish products made with individually handpicked export quality fish, free from any added preservatives or flavors and made using only healthy ingredients with an authentic signature taste. Bluefish believes in delivering healthy Blue Fish products to the nation by giving the best value for money
Investment ask: LKR 5 Million for 10%
SDG 20,000
SASHINI JINASENA
FOUNDER – LEO THE LABEL
Leo The Label began as a 100% female-run operation in 2021, founded by Sashini Jinasena in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It was born out of the intention to develop a label that utilizes the skills of local artisans in a non-exploitative manner, moving away from the traditional mass production structure that dominates Sri Lankan factories today, and instead, steer towards a more conscious system of production. Each piece is ethically handcrafted in limited batches by their local artisans, using locally-sourced, biodegradable linen fabric. An amalgamation of styles of the past and present, their clothes are designed to be versatile enough to be dressed up or down, and the beauty of this is – each piece is open to interpretation and will be given a personality by its owner, you.
Investment ask: LKR 4.5 Million for 10%
SDG 10,000
TINA LOBO
FOUNDER – TRUE BY TINA
True is a family run business founded by Tina Lobo in 2020, in Sri Lanka. Becoming a new mum to her now 3 year old daughter was a life-changing experience. True is proudly a pioneer in its field, being the first silicone tableware and teether brand in Sri Lanka. It is a purpose led brand with impact that strongly believes in building & giving back to the community, with a strong focus on fair trade and profit distributions to underprivileged children in Sri Lanka. True also aims to inspire, educate and motivate parents & caregivers not only via our product offering but through easy access to information and an engaging platform with a human & relatable fee.
Investment ask: LKR 7.2 Million for 10%
SDG 29,000
SHIVANI TYRONNE
FOUNDER – MIRIS BY ISLANDMOM
Miris by Islandmom is a proprietorship that was launched in June 2020, soon after the pandemic restrictions were lifted. The brand manufactures and supplies chili based condiments (especially naimiris which is known as Scotch Bonnet pepper) to retail and bulk customers.
Miris birthed with a mission of producing preservative free all-natural naimiris condiments for like-minded naimiris addicts, food explorers, adventurous eaters, and spicy food connoisseur around the globe. Naimiris connects all Sri Lankans around the world for its unique taste and pungency hence, their taste and preferences bring Lankans (around the globe) under one roof to celebrate this beautiful spice as “Certified NaiMiris Addict”
Investment ask: LKR 6.7 Million for 10%
SDG 27,000
A selected number of female entrepreneurs and their startups will be placed at Hatch for 3 months throughout this program opening opportunities to collaborate and co-create together with the larger entrepreneurial ecosystem while also skilling up their knowledge.
Our target audience includes women, ideally from under-represented groups, with a validated tech or tech-enabled product and operational income (with at least 1 paying customer) and those who are focused on scaling up their startups globally.
SHENUKA UMAGILIYA
FOUNDER – BALAMU GUIDES
Founded by Shenuka Umagiliya ,BALAMU is your essential travel Guide in Sri Lanka! Bringing together three essential travel tools to create one versatile mobile application. First: An Audio Guide that provides entertaining and informative descriptions, of the places and things you see. Secondly: A digital map, with a carefully curated route and geo fenced locations. And Lastly: A collection of images, giving visitors, not just a view of what they should be looking at, but also providing an enlightening glimpse into the past with historic photos, of places and events. BALAMU allows the independent traveler to explore freely around our beautiful country with no set schedules or agendas, well equipped with a comprehensive guide available at their fingertips.
Investment ask: LKR 5 Million for 10%
SDG 20,000
LASNI SILVA
FOUNDER – LACTOBOOST
Founded by Lasni Silva, Spice Carriage (Pvt) Ltd initiated operations in lactation cookie manufacturing in August 2020. As a micro-scale, home-based business, Spice Carriage produces lactation cookies under the brand Lactoboost which is the first lactation cookie manufactured in Sri Lanka. These cookies are used to increase breastmilk supply in breastfeeding mothers and are an enjoyable and healthy snack.
Investment ask : LKR 4.5 million for 10%
SDG 10,000
BHAGYA SANDAKALUM
FOUNDER – BLUE FISH
Founded by Bhagya, Bluefish provides exceptional quality homemade canned fish products made with individually handpicked export quality fish, free from any added preservatives or flavors and made using only healthy ingredients with an authentic signature taste. Bluefish believes in delivering healthy Blue Fish products to the nation by giving the best value for money
Investment ask: LKR 5 Million for 10%
SDG 20,000
SASHINI JINASENA
FOUNDER – LEO THE LABEL
Leo The Label began as a 100% female-run operation in 2021, founded by Sashini Jinasena in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It was born out of the intention to develop a label that utilizes the skills of local artisans in a non-exploitative manner, moving away from the traditional mass production structure that dominates Sri Lankan factories today, and instead, steer towards a more conscious system of production. Each piece is ethically handcrafted in limited batches by their local artisans, using locally-sourced, biodegradable linen fabric. An amalgamation of styles of the past and present, their clothes are designed to be versatile enough to be dressed up or down, and the beauty of this is – each piece is open to interpretation and will be given a personality by its owner, you.
Investment ask: LKR 4.5 Million for 10%
SDG 10,000
TINA LOBO
FOUNDER – TRUE BY TINA
True is a family run business founded by Tina Lobo in 2020, in Sri Lanka. Becoming a new mum to her now 3 year old daughter was a life-changing experience. True is proudly a pioneer in its field, being the first silicone tableware and teether brand in Sri Lanka. It is a purpose led brand with impact that strongly believes in building & giving back to the community, with a strong focus on fair trade and profit distributions to underprivileged children in Sri Lanka. True also aims to inspire, educate and motivate parents & caregivers not only via our product offering but through easy access to information and an engaging platform with a human & relatable fee.
Investment ask: LKR 7.2 Million for 10%
SDG 29,000
SHIVANI TYRONNE
FOUNDER – MIRIS BY ISLANDMOM
Miris by Islandmom is a proprietorship that was launched in June 2020, soon after the pandemic restrictions were lifted. The brand manufactures and supplies chili based condiments (especially naimiris which is known as Scotch Bonnet pepper) to retail and bulk customers.
Miris birthed with a mission of producing preservative free all-natural naimiris condiments for like-minded naimiris addicts, food explorers, adventurous eaters, and spicy food connoisseur around the globe. Naimiris connects all Sri Lankans around the world for its unique taste and pungency hence, their taste and preferences bring Lankans (around the globe) under one roof to celebrate this beautiful spice as “Certified NaiMiris Addict”
Investment ask: LKR 6.7 Million for 10%
SDG 27,000
Roshan Seresinhe, Top 10 Admired Leaders of 2022 By Industry Era!
“Easy company norms make business easy”
Younger Optics preserves its image as a quality lens innovator and that the company is committed to anticipating and addressing the needs of its customers. As Roshan Seresinhe, CFO & COO of Younger Optics says, we work hard to ensure that our products and services are the best in the business and, as determined by our internal and external customers, we are “The Easiest Company to Do Business With.”
Along with his formal education in electrical engineering and computer science, Roshan is also well-versed in the field of manufacturing technologies, accounting, financial management, supply chain as well as logistics. Roshan’s skills are considered top-notch; he spends a lot of time learning every industrial function so he can relate to employees on their level.
As a better leader, Roshan is shaped by his personal and professional experiences and is known for maintaining a laser-like focus on operational efficiency and process consistency. Roshan is in charge of a large number of employees, and to maintain a personal touch he does his best to remember as many names as possible. To ensure that everyone in the company feels valued and appreciated, he puts in great effort to cultivate positive working connections at all levels. Years ago, Roshan learned a key lesson: anything may happen to anyone, and no one is invincible. Laws are universal and leaders must lead by example.
Roshan opines that no human is the same, and hence the struggle will persist forever. Citing an example, he found, initially, criticism difficult to accept, but he quickly understood that it was an opportunity to learn and grow beyond his degrees.
Once he realized this, he viewed criticism favorably and developed commercial and technical expertise. He uses this method to help other people, but he knows that not everyone can take criticism well, so he works on his communication skills.
Constantly working with the mentality of Today Not Tomorrow is one more important notion Roshan believes in and explains that tomorrow will bring new obstacles. This culture helps the organization solve obstacles quickly by operating on this assumption. In fact, the operational budgets are also checked daily, so challenges can be handled swiftly instead of waiting for the monthly financials. Emergencies creates stress and dysfunction, and we must do our best to avoid them.
Roshan describes consistency in all areas, not just quality and output. His early work was in implantable device production at Johnson & Johnson, Pharmacia Inc. He is an ardent believer in GMP and feels consistency is the foundation for a manufacturing organization’s success. The consistency culture is extended to all areas of the company such as Leadership, Human Resources, Manufacturing, Logistics, Housekeeping to name a few. An everyday examination and correction of GMP conformance helps organizational cohesion.
Younger Optics is a 67-year-old company that was founded as a result of entrepreneurship; hence, we strive to provide entrepreneurs and startups with opportunities to fulfill their supply requirements, says Roshan. Many small businesses have benefited from supplying Younger Optics with goods and services. Roshan is also working with the people in his hometown of Santa Clarita, California, to come up with a plan in which the area’s successful residents sponsor local businesses and he is in the process of planning this.
Prescription lens manufacturer Younger Optics is known for its cutting-edge technology. Roshan states that his company has created ground-breaking innovations that have transformed the optical business and catapulted it to new heights. If we continue to innovate, our future will be bright, says Roshan. The simple fact is that the company is the “Easiest Company to Do Business With” and that is the reason prescription polarized lenses were less than 1% of all prescriptions dispensed twenty years ago, the market share of polarized lenses has grown to over 10% now. Our customers, employees, and vendors are all part of this, in our opinion. Workers enjoy their work and suppliers who supply the resources as requested will produce a high-quality product that customers will be happy with; this is our belief. A discussion of the future and communal growth will be easier if we can avoid discussing difficulties.
Our customers greatly enjoy their relationship with Younger Optics, and able to reach us in all departments, not simply sales. We attempt to help our consumers no matter what their needs are, resulting in a highly personalized relationship that goes beyond sales. We are resilient and committed to continually strengthening our employee and customer relationships.
We must be the “Easiest Company to Do Business With.” This is what got us here, and it will keep us there. We are a company with humble origins that will never forget its past. We respect, value and appreciate our founders, our customers, our suppliers and our employees. We firmly believe in humanity and is the background of Younger Optics, says Roshan.
For more information go to:
http://www.industry-era.com
Younger Optics preserves its image as a quality lens innovator and that the company is committed to anticipating and addressing the needs of its customers. As Roshan Seresinhe, CFO & COO of Younger Optics says, we work hard to ensure that our products and services are the best in the business and, as determined by our internal and external customers, we are “The Easiest Company to Do Business With.”
Along with his formal education in electrical engineering and computer science, Roshan is also well-versed in the field of manufacturing technologies, accounting, financial management, supply chain as well as logistics. Roshan’s skills are considered top-notch; he spends a lot of time learning every industrial function so he can relate to employees on their level.
As a better leader, Roshan is shaped by his personal and professional experiences and is known for maintaining a laser-like focus on operational efficiency and process consistency. Roshan is in charge of a large number of employees, and to maintain a personal touch he does his best to remember as many names as possible. To ensure that everyone in the company feels valued and appreciated, he puts in great effort to cultivate positive working connections at all levels. Years ago, Roshan learned a key lesson: anything may happen to anyone, and no one is invincible. Laws are universal and leaders must lead by example.
Roshan opines that no human is the same, and hence the struggle will persist forever. Citing an example, he found, initially, criticism difficult to accept, but he quickly understood that it was an opportunity to learn and grow beyond his degrees.
Once he realized this, he viewed criticism favorably and developed commercial and technical expertise. He uses this method to help other people, but he knows that not everyone can take criticism well, so he works on his communication skills.
Constantly working with the mentality of Today Not Tomorrow is one more important notion Roshan believes in and explains that tomorrow will bring new obstacles. This culture helps the organization solve obstacles quickly by operating on this assumption. In fact, the operational budgets are also checked daily, so challenges can be handled swiftly instead of waiting for the monthly financials. Emergencies creates stress and dysfunction, and we must do our best to avoid them.
Roshan describes consistency in all areas, not just quality and output. His early work was in implantable device production at Johnson & Johnson, Pharmacia Inc. He is an ardent believer in GMP and feels consistency is the foundation for a manufacturing organization’s success. The consistency culture is extended to all areas of the company such as Leadership, Human Resources, Manufacturing, Logistics, Housekeeping to name a few. An everyday examination and correction of GMP conformance helps organizational cohesion.
Younger Optics is a 67-year-old company that was founded as a result of entrepreneurship; hence, we strive to provide entrepreneurs and startups with opportunities to fulfill their supply requirements, says Roshan. Many small businesses have benefited from supplying Younger Optics with goods and services. Roshan is also working with the people in his hometown of Santa Clarita, California, to come up with a plan in which the area’s successful residents sponsor local businesses and he is in the process of planning this.
Prescription lens manufacturer Younger Optics is known for its cutting-edge technology. Roshan states that his company has created ground-breaking innovations that have transformed the optical business and catapulted it to new heights. If we continue to innovate, our future will be bright, says Roshan. The simple fact is that the company is the “Easiest Company to Do Business With” and that is the reason prescription polarized lenses were less than 1% of all prescriptions dispensed twenty years ago, the market share of polarized lenses has grown to over 10% now. Our customers, employees, and vendors are all part of this, in our opinion. Workers enjoy their work and suppliers who supply the resources as requested will produce a high-quality product that customers will be happy with; this is our belief. A discussion of the future and communal growth will be easier if we can avoid discussing difficulties.
Our customers greatly enjoy their relationship with Younger Optics, and able to reach us in all departments, not simply sales. We attempt to help our consumers no matter what their needs are, resulting in a highly personalized relationship that goes beyond sales. We are resilient and committed to continually strengthening our employee and customer relationships.
We must be the “Easiest Company to Do Business With.” This is what got us here, and it will keep us there. We are a company with humble origins that will never forget its past. We respect, value and appreciate our founders, our customers, our suppliers and our employees. We firmly believe in humanity and is the background of Younger Optics, says Roshan.
For more information go to:
http://www.industry-era.com
SLF Int, USA Lifetime Achievement Award Winner, Professor Ajit Yoganathan for his excellence in his contributions to Cardiac Surgery and Bio Medical Engineering
Professor Ajit Prithiviraj Yoganathan was born on December 6, 1951, in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Son of Dr. Ponniah and Dr. Mangay (Navaratnam) Yoganathan, he received a Bachelor of Science (First Class) in Chemical Engineering in 1973 from University College, University of London. In 1974 as a graduate student, he became interested in the functioning of natural and replacements of heart valves, and then went on to receive a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Chemical Engineering in 1978 from the California Institute of Technology. He then joined the engineering faculty at the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1979.
Over the subsequent 40+ years, “Dr Y” as he is called by his colleagues, students, staff and friends, has pioneered the field of translational cardiovascular engineering. Through his collaborations with clinicians and basic scientists, he has demonstrated the value of applying basic engineering science to develop and evaluate novel cardiac technologies and devices that have benefited millions of patients world-wide.
His work has used experimental and computational biomechanics methods to study native and artificial heart valves, and the structure and function of the heart. He has applied these techniques to not only help us understand the hemodynamics of complex congenital heart diseases/defects, but also to develop new surgical procedures to optimize the cardiovascular fluid dynamics of these children’s hearts. The mission of his laboratory is “to provide answers to life-saving clinical questions using engineering approaches.”
Prof Yoganathan has been involved in the evaluation of every prosthetic heart valve design used in the U.S market, since 1975. His Cardiovascular Fluid Mechanics Laboratory (CFM Lab) has served as a valve approval site for regulatory agencies worldwide for over four decades. Prof Yoganathan “invented” the science of prosthetic heart valve engineering in that lab at the Georgia Institute of Technology. It is his signature achievement and the primary reason for his 2015 induction into the National Academy of Engineering. He and his fellow lab members have had a profound influence on valve design, including the advanced transcatheter aortic valve model implanted in the famous rock & roll icon Mick Jagger’s heart, which he received in the spring of 2019 (in a New York City hospital).
As a teacher and mentor, Dr Y has mentored more than 50 doctoral students, 35 masters’ students, 40 postdoctoral trainees, and 500 undergraduate students, many of whom have now gone on to become important leaders in their own right. He played a pivotal leadership role in the creation of Georgia Tech’s master’s and PhD degree programs in Bioengineering as well as the joint PhD in Biomedical Engineering with the Emory University School of Medicine. He currently has 19 issued US patents, with another 7 patent applications under review, and to date has published more than 450 peer-reviewed journal articles and 40 book chapters. He has also been an invited speaker to over 300 conferences/lectures around the world.
Dr. Yoganathan’s career has been distinguished by a number of high honors. In 1985, Dr. Yoganathan was awarded an Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship from West Germany to spend 9 months at the Helmholtz Institute for Biomedical Engineering, Technical University of Aachen. He received the Edwin Walker Prize from the Institute of Mechanical Engineers, UK in 1988. In 1992, he was elected a founding fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering. The same year, he also spent six months at the University of Aarhus, Denmark as a Visiting Professor of the Danish Research Academy. He received the H.R. Lissner Award, for his contributions to the field of bioengineering in 1997 from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. In 2005, he was awarded the Theo Pilkington Award, for his contributions to Biomedical Engineering education by the American Society of Engineering Education. That same year he was also appointed Chair of the Cardiovascular Sub-Committee (SC2), International Standards Organization Technical Committee (TC 150) on Implants for Surgery.
In 2010 he was appointed the Founding Editor in Chief of Cardiovascular Engineering and Technology – the newest journal of the Biomedical Engineering Society. (CVET was accepted to PubMed in 2015). In 2012, the Biomedical Engineering Society bestowed Dr. Yoganathan the Pritzker Lecturer Award, one of the highest honors given to a BMES Member. In 2012, the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) conferred him the Ann Newman Lecturer Award, the only engineer to have been awarded this honor. In 2015, in recognition of his significant contributions to the field of engineering, he was elected to the prestigious National Academy of Engineering in Washington, D.C. For his leadership and work on International and U.S. standards on cardiovascular medical devices, he was presented with the 2015 Standards Developer Award from the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation. In February of 2017, Tamils’ Information awarded him their Lifetime Achievement Award, presented to him by the mayor of Toronto at City Hall in Toronto, Canada. In 2020, he was inducted as the Inaugural Honorary Fellow of the American Association of Thoracic Surgery (AATS), the leading Cardiac Surgery Society in the world. In 2022 he received the Heart Valve Society’s Inaugural HVS Lifetime Achievement Award.
Over the subsequent 40+ years, “Dr Y” as he is called by his colleagues, students, staff and friends, has pioneered the field of translational cardiovascular engineering. Through his collaborations with clinicians and basic scientists, he has demonstrated the value of applying basic engineering science to develop and evaluate novel cardiac technologies and devices that have benefited millions of patients world-wide.
His work has used experimental and computational biomechanics methods to study native and artificial heart valves, and the structure and function of the heart. He has applied these techniques to not only help us understand the hemodynamics of complex congenital heart diseases/defects, but also to develop new surgical procedures to optimize the cardiovascular fluid dynamics of these children’s hearts. The mission of his laboratory is “to provide answers to life-saving clinical questions using engineering approaches.”
Prof Yoganathan has been involved in the evaluation of every prosthetic heart valve design used in the U.S market, since 1975. His Cardiovascular Fluid Mechanics Laboratory (CFM Lab) has served as a valve approval site for regulatory agencies worldwide for over four decades. Prof Yoganathan “invented” the science of prosthetic heart valve engineering in that lab at the Georgia Institute of Technology. It is his signature achievement and the primary reason for his 2015 induction into the National Academy of Engineering. He and his fellow lab members have had a profound influence on valve design, including the advanced transcatheter aortic valve model implanted in the famous rock & roll icon Mick Jagger’s heart, which he received in the spring of 2019 (in a New York City hospital).
As a teacher and mentor, Dr Y has mentored more than 50 doctoral students, 35 masters’ students, 40 postdoctoral trainees, and 500 undergraduate students, many of whom have now gone on to become important leaders in their own right. He played a pivotal leadership role in the creation of Georgia Tech’s master’s and PhD degree programs in Bioengineering as well as the joint PhD in Biomedical Engineering with the Emory University School of Medicine. He currently has 19 issued US patents, with another 7 patent applications under review, and to date has published more than 450 peer-reviewed journal articles and 40 book chapters. He has also been an invited speaker to over 300 conferences/lectures around the world.
Dr. Yoganathan’s career has been distinguished by a number of high honors. In 1985, Dr. Yoganathan was awarded an Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship from West Germany to spend 9 months at the Helmholtz Institute for Biomedical Engineering, Technical University of Aachen. He received the Edwin Walker Prize from the Institute of Mechanical Engineers, UK in 1988. In 1992, he was elected a founding fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering. The same year, he also spent six months at the University of Aarhus, Denmark as a Visiting Professor of the Danish Research Academy. He received the H.R. Lissner Award, for his contributions to the field of bioengineering in 1997 from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. In 2005, he was awarded the Theo Pilkington Award, for his contributions to Biomedical Engineering education by the American Society of Engineering Education. That same year he was also appointed Chair of the Cardiovascular Sub-Committee (SC2), International Standards Organization Technical Committee (TC 150) on Implants for Surgery.
In 2010 he was appointed the Founding Editor in Chief of Cardiovascular Engineering and Technology – the newest journal of the Biomedical Engineering Society. (CVET was accepted to PubMed in 2015). In 2012, the Biomedical Engineering Society bestowed Dr. Yoganathan the Pritzker Lecturer Award, one of the highest honors given to a BMES Member. In 2012, the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) conferred him the Ann Newman Lecturer Award, the only engineer to have been awarded this honor. In 2015, in recognition of his significant contributions to the field of engineering, he was elected to the prestigious National Academy of Engineering in Washington, D.C. For his leadership and work on International and U.S. standards on cardiovascular medical devices, he was presented with the 2015 Standards Developer Award from the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation. In February of 2017, Tamils’ Information awarded him their Lifetime Achievement Award, presented to him by the mayor of Toronto at City Hall in Toronto, Canada. In 2020, he was inducted as the Inaugural Honorary Fellow of the American Association of Thoracic Surgery (AATS), the leading Cardiac Surgery Society in the world. In 2022 he received the Heart Valve Society’s Inaugural HVS Lifetime Achievement Award.
