Kamini Nirmala Mendis is a

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

professor emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

at the

University of Colombo (Buddhih Sarvatra Bhrajate) , mottoeng = ''Wisdom Enlightens'' , established = , endowment = Sri Lankan rupee, LKR 1.461 1,000,000,000 (number), billion

and former

malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...

expert at the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...

(WHO).

Education

Mendis went to

Visakha Vidyalaya Visakha Vidyalaya () is a girls' school in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It is a National School managed by the central government providing primary and secondary education. History The school was established in 1917 by Celestina Dias as the Buddhist ...

school in

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...

. She went to the

University of Ceylon The University of Ceylon was the only university in Sri Lanka (earlier Ceylon) from 1942 until 1972. It had several constituent campuses at various locations around Sri Lanka. The University of Ceylon Act No. 1 of 1972, replaced it with the Univer ...

to study medicine in 1972, and then moved to the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

in the UK for her PhD in 1980. For her M.D. in Microbiology, to complete her medical training, Mendis returned to her alma mater in 1989, now split into the

University of Colombo (Buddhih Sarvatra Bhrajate) , mottoeng = ''Wisdom Enlightens'' , established = , endowment = Sri Lankan rupee, LKR 1.461 1,000,000,000 (number), billion

Career

Mendis was awarded a National Presidents Award for Outstanding Citizens in 1983. In 1988, Mendis established the Malaria Research Unit within the Department of Parasitology of the

University of Colombo (Buddhih Sarvatra Bhrajate) , mottoeng = ''Wisdom Enlightens'' , established = , endowment = Sri Lankan rupee, LKR 1.461 1,000,000,000 (number), billion

, and she led them for 17 years. Mendis won the 1991

Chalmers Medal The Chalmers Medal is the major mid-career award of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. The Chalmers Medal was initially awarded biennially, then annually, "in recognition of research of outstanding merit contributing to our knowle ...

from the

Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene The Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, more commonly known by its acronym RSTMH, was founded in 1907 by Sir James Cantlie and George Carmichael Low. Sir Patrick Manson, the Society's first President (1907–1909), was recognised as "th ...

, and the 1993 Bailey K. Ashford Medal from the

American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH) is an Arlington, Virginia-based non-profit organization of scientists, clinicians, students and program professionals whose longstanding mission is to promote global health through the ...

. In 1993, the labs of Mendis and Dyann Wirth published the first successful use of the

electroporation Electroporation, or electropermeabilization, is a microbiology technique in which an electrical field is applied to cells in order to increase the permeability of the cell membrane, allowing chemicals, drugs, electrode arrays or DNA to be introdu ...

method to insert new DNA sequence into a malaria cell, in this case ''

Plasmodium gallinaceum ''Plasmodium gallinaceum'' is a species of the genus ''Plasmodium'' (subgenus '' Haemamoeba'') that causes malaria in poultry. Description This species was described by Alexandre Joseph Emile Brumpt (1877–1951) a French professor of parasit ...

''. Mendis is considered to have been an "architect" of Sri Lanka's successful elimination of malaria, and often writes about how the country needs to actively maintain this status. She continues to be a member of the WHO

Malaria Policy Advisory Committee The Malaria Policy Advisory Group (MPAG) – previously known as Malaria Policy Advisory Committee (MPAC) was established in 2011 to provide independent advice to World Health Organization on all policy areas relating to malaria Malaria is a ...

References

Sri Lankan women scientists Malariologists Alumni of Visakha Vidyalaya Academics of the University of Colombo Alumni of the University of Ceylon (Colombo) Alumni of Ceylon Medical College Alumni of the University of London World Health Organization officials Living people Year of birth missing (living people) {{SriLanka-scientist-stub Women parasitologists