Sasanka Wijayawardhana

I am Dr Sasanka Wijayawardhana, a postgraduate trainee currently working as a Senior Registrar in Respiratory Medicine at the National Hospital of Sri Lanka.

I was very honoured to have been selected to receive the APSR / Paul Zimmerman Physiology Young Investigator Award offered for the best paper accepted for presentation at the APSR 2021 Congress on the topics: Respiratory Neurobiology and Sleep or Respiratory Structure and Function.

The ARSR 2021 Congress was a great experience where I had a chance to present my work to an international audience. Unfortunately, the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic made it physically impossible for me to attend the venue in Kyoto and meet leaders and colleagues in the field of respiratory medicine, however I attended to the hybrid congress via the online platform.

The APSR Congress covered a variety of respiratory topics with a focus on updates on diagnosis, evidence-based treatment and prevention, which guided the audience on the provision of holistic patient care. In addition, the scientific programme consisted of fresh and timely topics on all respiratory related diseases which contributed to the success of the Congress, the Presidential Lecture on “Our future; the path we’re on” was thought-provocative and eye opening for young investigators like us to be mindful of protecting natural ecosystems while on the way for sustained development.

The Congress was very well organized and it was a once in a lifetime experience to listen to the authors of some major research in the field of pulmonology, which also was a great encouragement for me to initiate future research work.

The title of my presentation which won the award was “A novel mutation in SEPN 1 gene causing Rigid Spinal Muscular Dystrophy presenting as diaphragmatic dysfunction and respiratory failure in adulthood”, and I am very thankful to the guidance given by my trainers Dr Amitha Fernando (Consultant Respiratory Physician – National Hospital of Sri Lanka), Dr Aflah Sadikeen (Consultant Respiratory Physician –National Hospital of Sri Lanka) and my colleagues in the respiratory department - National Hospital of Sri Lanka who contributed immensely to achieve this success. I am grateful to the APSR and especially Prof. Paul Zimmerman who serves to spur on the next generation of physiology researchers to reach the achievements through vital peer support and mentorship.

As an awardee and delegate I congratulate the successfully staging the 25th Congress of the Asian Pacific Society of Respirology (APSR 2021) hosted by the Japanese Respiratory Society (JRS), as a hybrid event in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic.

I am looking forward to attending physically the APSR 2022 Congress in Seoul.

Sasanka Wijayawardhana