Sachie Panawela

Dr Sachie Panawala has eleven years of experience in Research Management, as she worked as a scientific officer at the National Science Foundation and coordinated research projects in health Sciences, Non-Communicable Diseases and Science Education. She was the National Coordinator of the International Expert Consultative Meeting on Chronic Kidney Disease of unknown aetiology (CKDu) in Sri Lanka, held in April 2016, convened by the WHO Country Office (Sri Lanka) and the WHO SEARO. She was also the National Science Foundation (NSF) coordinator of the National Research Project on CKDu, which was conducted by the Ministry of Health and the WHO Country Office Sri Lanka and funded by the NSF during 2011-2012. Further, she coordinated the National Thematic Research Programme (NTRP) which was a novel concept introduced to promote mission oriented multidisciplinary collaborative research in the country. Dr Panawala has academic and research experience of four years as she joined the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, University of Peradeniya, after obtaining both BVSc and MPhil degrees from the same faculty. She has served and still serves in several Committees and councils in various professional bodies. Presently she serves as a Project Scientist at the Coordinating Secretariat for Science Technology and Innovation (COSTI) of the Ministry of Science Technology and Research in Sri Lanka, and is the focal point that coordinates the online literature repository on CKDu and the largest virtual dialogue platform on CKDu, both run by COSTI.