I graduated from the Faculty of Medicine, University of Peradeniya in 2006 and completed my internship attached to Teaching Hospital, Kandy following which I joined the Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Peradeniya in 2009. Having developed a keen interest in research, I decided to follow a career in research, obtaining the degree of Master of Philosophy from the University of Peradeniya through research on rickettsial diseases in Sri Lanka in 2011. Thereafter I pursed doctoral studies at the Chinese University of Hong Kong on pneumococcal diseases from November 2011 to January 2015. My research interests include antibiotic resistance, molecular epidemiology and antibacterial activity of natural products. After returning to Sri Lanka, I am currently working on securing grants to establish molecular detection methods for antibiotic resistance and molecular typing. My main aim is to develop strategies with curb the spread of antibiotic resistance, with a bottom-up approach involving the community