Monica Christova obtained her PhD in 2004 and her Venia Docendi in 2016 in Human Physiology. She is currently appointed as an Associate Professor and senior lecturer at the University of Applied Sciences, FH-Joanneum, and at the Medical University of Graz, Austria. Her research interests lie in the field of neuroscience, including brain assessment techniques, noninvasive brain stimulation, sensorimotor integration, motor control, and neurorehabilitation. Her publication record includes more than 45 papers in international journals in the field of neuroscience. In 2022, she received the Ars Docendi national prize for excellent teaching. Christova has led two international EU Erasmus projects: “Health Literacy in Physiotherapy Education” and “Promoting Academic and Professional Excellence in Health Care to Meet the Challenges of Aging in Sri Lanka.”
Profile link: https://orcid.org/my-orcid?orcid=0000-0002-4853-7603
Anne Tiedemann, PhD, is Professor of Physical Activity and Health in the Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney. Over the past 15 years Professor Tiedemann has led research exploring the design and evaluation of low cost, sustainable strategies for preventing falls and increasing physical activity for people aged 50 years and over. Professor Tiedemann has authored over 180 research publications that are cited over 26,000 times, and Sedentary Behaviour Guidelines. She is committed to conducting impactful research that improves the lives of older people across the world.
Claudia Bodner has been working as a lecturer at the Institute for Biomedical Analytics, FH Joanneum, University of Applied Science Biomedical Science, since 2014. She teaches in the fields of Hematology, Hemostaseolgy, Immunohematology and Cytology, Cell Culture Techniques, Molecular Biology, Flow Cytometry. She also serves as the International Coordinator at the Institute for Biomedical Analysis.
Professor at the Department of Biomedical Sciences, Medicine and Physiotherapy, University of A Coruña, where collaborates in the Physiotherapy and Speech Therapy bachelor’s degrees and the master’s program in Disability and Dependency. She is an active member of the research group in Psychological Intervention and Physical Rehabilitation in this University, where she contributes to the development of epidemiological research in respiratory area. Her areas of interest are related to respiratory physiotherapy, swallowing disorders and professional development and higher education, in which she has contributed to numerous national and international conferences. She is associate editor of the Spanish Journal Fisioterapia since 2010. She has experience in international networking, being vice president of the European Region of the World Confederation of Physiotherapy (2010-2016), and actually being part of the ERASMUS + Capacity Building project Capacity for Healthy Aging in Sri Lanka. She currently is the head of her university department and is leading the Spanish Association of Physiotherapists in Higher Education.
Profile Link: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Sonia-Souto/3
Nirmala Rathnayake completed her basic degree in Bachelor of Science Hon in Nursing from University of Sri Jayewardenepura Sri Lanka with a 2nd class upper division in year 2010. She joined as a probationary lecturer in nursing at University of Ruhuna on 2013 after having her clinical experience as a nurse at Sri Jayewardenepura General Hospital. She completed her PhD in Nursing in year 2019 and currently she is a Professor in Nursing at the Department of Nursing, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, University of Ruhuna and the current Head of the Department. Her primary research interest are Menopause, Menstrual hygiene, Sarcopenia, Frailty, Caregiver burden, Health promotion and Nursing education. She has published more than 25 journal articles in peer reviewed indexed journals while presenting more than 80 abstracts in local and international fora, one blog and two book chapters. She has been able to acquire several awards for her contribution and has made two orations in the research areas she did on Menopause and Sarcopenia
Profile link: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Nirmala-Rathnayake-2
Christoph Palli has been working at FH Joanneum, University of Applied Science Biomedical Science, Austria since 2018. Before that, he trained as a qualified health and nursing assistant at the Stolzalpe School of General Health and Nursing and completed part-time bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nursing science (with a focus on pedagogy and management) in Tyrol and Vienna. As part of his work as an APN (Advanced Practice Nurse) at the LKH Univ. Klinikum Graz, Christoph Palli dealt with the topic of “Care for stroke and dysphagia” from a nursing science perspective. Since his employment, Christoph Palli has worked as a university lecturer at the Institute for Health and Nursing and has been studying for a doctorate in nursing science at UMIT Tirol since 10/2021, with a focus on dementia and dysphagia.
Profile link: https://www.fh-joanneum.at/hochschule/person/christoph-palli/
Damayanthi Dassanayake received the BSc degree in Nursing from the Open University of Sri Lanka. She earned her Master’s degrees from University of Peradeniya and Chiang Mai University of Thailand and PhD degree in Nursing from the University of Malaya, Malaysia. Currently, she is a Professor in Nursing and the Head of the Department of Nursing, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences of the University of Peradeniya. Her main research interests include Geriatric Nursing, Nursing Administration and Global Health Nursing. In addition to her academic responsibilities, she actively involves in various foreign projects such as nEUROcare and CAPAGE under the ERASMUS+ Capacity Building in Higher Education (CBHE) scheme.
Profile link: https://ahs.pdn.ac.lk/dept_and_unit/Nur/acd_staff/Mrs_HDWT_Dasanayake
I am a Physiotherapist, member of the department of Physiotherapy, Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University of A Coruña, Spain. I achieved a master’s degree and a PhD in Rehabilitation Sciences. I have clinical and teaching experience (national and international) in addressing adult population with neurological disabilities, in which coexist concomitant pathologies inherent to the aging process. My main lines of research are related to pelvic floor rehabilitation and women´s health.
Profile link: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Zeltia-Naia-Entonado
Professor Lorenzo-López, obtained her bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Santiago de Compostela (USC) in 1999, followed by the successful defense of a PhD in 2007 with a Cum Laude distinction and the Best Doctoral Dissertation Award. Her primary research focus has centered on investigating the causes of cognitive decline associated with aging and examining the specific neurofunctional characteristics related to this process. This research is critical for informing future cognitive and physical intervention programs designed to mitigate age-related decline. Her scientific output includes 69 articles published in international refereed journals, with 65 indexed in the Journal Citation Reports (JCR). Her scholarly impact is reflected in an h-index of 22 according to the Web of Science (WOS). Furthermore, she contributes actively to the academic community, serving as a member of scientific editorial and advisory boards and participating as an invited reviewer for international journals. Additionally, she serves as an external referee for national and international evaluation and funding agencies, contributing to the advancement and assessment of research in the field of Gerontology.
Profile link: https://www.webofscience.com/wos/author/record/G-3817-2011
Dr. Chamila Dalpatadu is a distinguished medical professional with a wealth of expertise in geriatric medicine and physiology. She holds an MBBS, MD in Medicine, and a Postgraduate Diploma in Gastroenterology from Queen Mary University of London, along with a Certificate in Teaching in Higher Education accredited by SEDA. A board-certified Consultant Physician and Senior Lecturer in Physiology at the University of Colombo’s Faculty of Medicine, Dr. Dalpatadu’s research interests include geriatric medicine, autonomic function testing, and the effects of mindfulness meditation.
She plays a pivotal role in postgraduate education, serving as a board member in the specialty board of geriatric medicine at the Postgraduate Institute of Medicine (PGIM) and coordinating the postgraduate diploma in geriatric medicine. Currently, she is the Director of the Ambulatory Care and Ageing Research Center and the Coordinator of the clinical module in geriatric medicine at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo. Dr. Dalpatadu also serves on the council of the Sri Lankan Association of Geriatric Medicine, demonstrating her leadership in the field.
Profile Link: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Chamila-Dalpatadu
Prof.Dilshani Dissanayake is a professor in the Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine University of Colombo. She is the founder director of the Centre for Research Development and Innovation (CRDI) and the Neuroscience Research Centre of the Faculty of Medicine, Colombo. She is also the founder director of the Centre for Meditation Research (CMR), University of Colombo. Prof.Dilshani Dissanayake contributes to promote a positive research culture in the faculty and spearheaded the establishment of a research writing support programme and a formalized research training course through the CRDI. She was instrumental in initiating a certificate course on the ‘Science of Happiness and Meditation’ through CMR collaborating with Rekhi Foundation, USA. Prof.Dissanayake is a recipient of grants and awards including a grant to establish the neuroscience research centre, a co-recipient of a grant to establish a physiotherapy research laboratory, the principal investigator of research grants from the National Science Foundation and the University of Colombo, Commonwealth fellowship at the clinical neurophysiology unit, Kings College London, UK and presidential awards for research publications. Prof.Dissanayake, with the staff in Physiology, is developing high-end research and service laboratories and centres in the Department of Physiology. She has embarked on examining the physiological and therapeutic implications of Ayurvedic medicine collaborating with the Faculty of Indigenous medicine. Prof.Dissanayake is currently leading a multidisciplinary team of researchers in the University of Colombo, via the CMR, on a World Bank-funded project to assess the effects of meditation on health.
Profile link: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Dilshani-Dissanayake
Cristiane Silva serves as the adjunct professor in Nursing and Coordinator of Postgraduate in Nephrology at Santa Maria Health School, Portugal. Specializing in epidemiology, infection control, and quality care for adults and the elderly, her journey includes extensive research and projects. She holds a Nursing and Obstetrics degree from USP, a Nursing Degree from ESSJP, a Master’s in Adult Health from the University of São Paulo, and a Doctorate in Health Sciences from the University of São Paulo and University of Porto.
Profile Link: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Cristiane-Silva-40
Prof. Suraweera graduated with a second class (upper) honours from the Faculty of Medicine, Colombo, in 2005. During her training period in Psychiatry, she won the Bobby Somasundarem Gold Medal for the Best Performance in the Selection Examination in Psychiatry and Dr Raghavan Kulanayagam Gold Medal for the Best Essay in Psychiatry. She completed the MD in Psychiatry in 2013, becoming the first in the order of merit. She had her overseas training in the United Kingdom, becoming the first trainee in the world to be selected to undergo training in Psychiatry under the Medical Training Initiative program. Prof. Suraweera was board-certified as a Consultant Psychiatrist in 2015. She is currently the head of the Department of Psychiatry of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo.
Profile link: https://www.res.cmb.ac.lk/medicine/chathurie-suraweera/
Currently, she works at Jamk as a lecturer within a field of social and healthcare management. She holds an MSc degree in Health Sciences and a bachelor’s degree in the field of Business Administration. She is a qualified nurse with strong international clinical experience across the healthcare sector. Previously, she has built solid expertise in the healthcare sector in various roles varying from nursing to research & development, customer relationship management, leadership, and project management. In addition, she has experience working in the business sector in the UK. Her special interests are health and well-being, human resources management & development, research, education, and learning environments.
Dr. Asha Wettasinghe obtained her BSc. in Physiotherapy (Hons) degree from Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka in 2011 with a first class. She joined the faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo in 2013 as a lecturer in the Department of Allied Health Sciences. She completed a MSc. in Exercise and Sports Science from the University of Peradeniya in 2017. She completed CTHE and SEDA accreditation for training in higher education in 2014.
She obtained her Ph.D. from Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka in 2020. Her study focused on development and validation of a falls risk assessment tool for diabetes older adults. She received research grants from the University of Colombo for her PhD. Her research interests are Neurophysiotherapy with a special interest in falls and balance in elderly. She completed a research methodology training at the Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA), Sydney, Australia in 2016.
Profile Link: https://www.res.cmb.ac.lk/medicine/asha-wettasinghe/
Dr. Malsha Gunathilake serves as a Consultant Old Age Psychiatrist at Colombo South Teaching Hospital. She is the project lead for Cognitive Stimulation Therapy for dementia initiatives in Sri Lanka and also a CST trainer to train facilitators. She was the former secretary of Sri Lankan Association of Geriatric Medicine and currently function as the secretary of Sri Lanka College of Psychiatrists. She has contributed to the research and service development projects within the field of old age psychiatry in Sri Lanka. Her scholarly contributions include authoring several book chapters and publications in peer-reviewed journals.
Rudi A. Steenbruggen, PT, MBA, PhD, is a former physiotherapist who started working as a physiotherapist in geriatrics and neurorehabilitation. Hereafter he worked 15 years in a general teaching hospital as manager of allied health care, combining this with a part-time lectureship at the Master Geriatric Physical Therapy (MGPT) at Avans+ (Netherlands). Since 2019 he works as a senior lecturer physiotherapy and researcher at Saxion University of applied Sciences (the Netherlands), where he specializes in prehabilitation, focusing mainly on the ageing population. He obtained his PhD in 2023 on the subject “Quality improvement of hospital-based physiotherapy”. He was a speaker during the CSM 2020 of the APTA in Denver, the German Physiotherapy Congress 2022 in Leipzig, the ENPHE (European Network of Physiotherapy in Higher Education) conference 2023 in Portugal, and the WPC 2023 in Dubai. In 2021 (World Physiotherapy Congress) he was chair of the focused seminar on quality improvement of hospital-based physiotherapy. His most recent publications in BMC Health Services and BMJ Open Quality in 2023 are related to the design of a quality framework for hospital-based physiotherapy.
Dr. Chathurani Sigera is a PhD scholar at the Institute for Musculoskeletal Health, Sydney Local Health District, and the School of Public Health at The University of Sydney, Australia. She is a registered physiotherapist with the Sri Lankan, New Zealand, UK, and Australian Boards of Physiotherapy. Dr. Chathurani holds a master’s degree in applied Statistics and a PhD in Medical Statistics.
Dr. Chathurani has been recognized with numerous awards, including the President’s Award for Scientific Publication and the Senate Commendation for Research Excellence in Sri Lanka. With approximately 35 journal articles published in top-ranking general medical journals (e.g., BMJ, BMC) and physiotherapy journals (e.g., Journal of Physiotherapy), her research aims to enhance physiotherapy clinical service delivery and foster educational engagement with patients, clinicians, students, and researchers.