First Sri Lankan to be honoured as HB Williams Travelling Professor

Dr. Athula Sumathipala, Director of the Institute for Research & Development, has been invited by the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists to be the HB Williams Travelling Professor for 2007.

He will be the keynote speaker at the annual conference of Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, being held in Napier New Zealand from October 7 to 10. He will speak on 'Medically unexplained symptoms; treatment development research in Sri Lanka' based on 20 years of his research in the country.

He is expected to deliver lectures at the School of Public Health and Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales, the Population Health Research & Neurological/Mental Health Division, The George Institute for International Health, Sydney, the Center for Population Mental Health Research, University of New South Wales, the Royal Adelaide Hospital and the Queensland Institute of Medical Research, Brisbane.

This invitation is a major recognition of his pioneering research including the only two treatment trials done in the developing world for medically unexplained symptoms using a psychological intervention. His talks will also include disaster research and ethics, twin research and medically unexplained symptoms. This is the first time a Sri Lankan has been honoured with this fellowship.