Buddhi Malinda Gunawardana

I managed to attend the APSR 2019 Congress in Hanoi amongst my busy work schedule as an intern doctor, and wasn't even sure whether I could actually attend the event. The senior researchers in my research group, however, encouraged me and supported me in all ways possible, to go and attend the conference and also see the beautiful country, Vietnam. And I am very glad that I did.

The Vietnam National Convention Center was a wonderful venue and the conference in itself promoted the exchange of both local and international knowledge. It was very well organized and the sessions that I attended taught me valuable lessons in pulmonology and furthered my interest in the field. It was a once in a lifetime experience to hear from the authors of some major researches in the field of pulmonology.

My research which was awarded the APSR/KYF Geriatric Respirology Young Investigator Award was on the spirometric feasibility in a cohort of elders from residential care facilities in Colombo district, which is the commercial capital of Sri Lanka. The data analysis showed that abdominal obesity was a hindrance to spirometry in old age, without much influence from ageing by itself or the functional and cognitive impairment associated with ageing. I am very much honoured to have received this prestigious award, and it was a great encouragement for me to carry out future research work.

The Gala Dinner was absolutely fantastic and over a delicious dinner to meet the other young investigator award winners, where we were able to share our cultural experiences.

I also enjoyed travelling to Halong Bay, taking bike taxi rides, the Vietnamese cuisine, and most of all the amazing hospitality of Vietnamese people.

Overall it was a life-changing experience to be in Hanoi at the APSR Congress. The lessons learned, experiences that I had and the people that I met would be cherished forever. I would like to thank everyone who supported me in this endeavor, especially Dr Lakmali Amarasiri and the academics at the Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo.

Buddhi M Gunawardana

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Dr Takahide Nagase (left) and Dr Buddhi M Gunawardana (right)

Poster presentation with of my research, with Dr Lakmali Amarasiri