Department of Parasitology
Department of Parasitology

The Department of Parasitology brings together a variety of staff and resources that create an environment conductive for the teaching and learning of Medical Parasitology. The teaching is focused on the biological, immunological, epidemiological, and ecological aspects of protozoan and Helminth diseases of humans, including the vectors that transmit parasitic infections. Additionally, the department also functions as a diagnostic centre for parasitological infections and is considered a reference laboratory for the diagnosis of parasitic infections, particularly for malaria and leishmaniasis.

The Department of Parasitology is recognized globally for the research carried out with regard to various aspects of medical parasitology, with emphases on malaria, filariasis, soil transmitted helminthiasis, leishmaniasis and zoonoses. The department (including the Malaria Research Unit which was recently renamed as the Parasitic Diseases Research Unit) continues to be a strong research and teaching resource for students having trained more than 34 PhD / M. Phil graduates. The members of the academic staff maintain ties with international institutions such as the Harvard School of Public Health, Harvard University, USA; Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics, UK; Department of Public Health, University of Oxford, UK; University of Nagasaki, Japan; the National Institute of Health, USA and The Centers for Disease Control, USA to name a few.

The Field Research Station (Malaria Research Unit) was established way back in 1984 in Kataragama (Monaragala district, Uva province) by the Department of Parasitology to support malaria field research, and is now utilized for epidemiological research in many parasitic infections.

Announcements

Vice Chancellor’s award for research excellence 2020 – Prof. Deepika Fernando, Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo

Professor Sumadhya Deepika Fernando MBBS, MD, PhD is a Senior Professor and a Board Certified Specialist in Parasitology. She joined the Department of Parasitology as a Lecturer in 1995 and rose up in rank to be appointed as Professor on merit in 2008. In addition to that she has held many posts in the Faculty…

Five Professors from Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo, among the World’s Top 2% of scientists

  Five researchers from the Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo,  Prof. Senaka Rajapakse, Prof. Saroj Jayasinghe, Prof. Nadira Karunaweera, Prof. Ranil Jayawardena and Prof. Priyanga Ranasinghe, (from left to right) are ranked among World’s Top 2% Scientists in the updated Science-wide author databases of standardized citation indicators published in October 2021. The analysis is…

PROF N.D. KARUNAWEERA WINS CVCD AWARD 2020 FOR THE MOST OUTSTANDING SENIOR RESEARCHER IN HEALTH SCIENCES

WINNER CVCD AWARD 2020 FOR THE MOST OUTSTANDING SENIOR RESEARCHER IN HEALTH SCIENCES INCLUDING MEDICINE, DENTAL SCIENCE, VETERINARY SCIENCE AND OTHER ALLIED SCIENCES   Nadira Dharshani Karunaweera is the Chair and Senior Professor of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo and an honorary Visiting Fellow, School of Public Health, Harvard University, USA. Trained as…
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