Najith Amarasena

Dr Najith Amarasena

Grant-Funded Researcher (B)

Adelaide Dental School

Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences

Dr Najith Amarasena is a Research Fellow at the Australian Research Centre for Population Oral Health (ARCPOH), at the University of Adelaide. He is a dentist by profession.

Before coming to Adelaide, Najith was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Graduate School of Medicine and Dentistry, Niigata University, Japan and a Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Dental Sciences, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka. He had also worked for the Ministry of Health, Sri Lanka as a Consultant in Dental Public Health.

Najith is currently involved in developing educational material for dental professionals and the public in the Dental Practice Education Research Unit (DPERU). He is among one of the few who develop quizzes for online Continuous Professional Development (CPD online) program of the DPERU. Najith has also worked in the Dental Statistics and Research Unit (DSRU) in producing a series of research reports including the Child Dental Health Survey (CDHS), Australia. He has been working with Indigenous Oral Health Unit (IOHU) to explore the relationship between oral health and social and emotional well-being of the Indigenous Australians. Najith has recently embarked on working with Oral Health Practitioner Practice Activity and Oral Health of Older Adults projects of Health Services Research Unit (HSRU) and Oral Health Promotion Clearinghouse while being a member of the expert team that involved in a consultancy research contract with Primary Health Care Corporation, Qatar on water fluoridation assessment . Najith has also been a member of an expert working group that reviews nutritional reference values for fluoride for Australia and New Zealand and that is funded by the Department of Health, Federal Government of Australia. He is one of the few ARCPOH staff who have been involved working with almost all the units in ARCPOH. He has supervised a couple of Masters students as well as a Doctoral candidate and mentored several postgraduate students in a research environment all of who successfully graduated recently. He is currently working on periodontal disease collaborative research with Niigata University, Japan.

Epidemiology of periodontal disease including relationship between systemic health and periodontal disease, micronutrients and periodontal disease, tobacco use and periodontal disease, dentine hypersensitivity, dental caries and family structure, child oral health, indigenous oral health, oral health services research, oral health education and promotion

  • Appointments
    Date Position Institution name
    2008 - ongoing Research Fellow University of Adelaide
    2004 - 2008 Senior Lecturer University of Peradeniya
    2003 - 2004 Consultant Dental Surgeon in Community Dentistry Department of Health
    2001 - 2003 Postdoctoral Fellow Niigata University
    1998 - 2001 Visiting Reseacher Niigata University

  • Language Competencies
    Language Competency
    English Can read, write, speak, understand spoken and peer review
    Japanese Can speak and understand spoken
    Sinhala; Sinhalese Can read, write, speak, understand spoken and peer review

  • Education
    Date Institution name Country Title
    Niigata University Japan PhD
    Japan Society for Promotion of Science Japan FJSPS
    University of Colombo Sri Lanka MD (Community Dentistry)
    University of Colombo Sri Lanka MSc (Community Dentistry)
    University of Peradeniya Sri Lanka BDS

  • Postgraduate Training
    Date Title Institution Country
    PhD Niigata University Medical and Dental Hospital, Niigata Japan
    MD University of Colombo, Colombo Sri Lanka
    MSc University of Colombo, Colombo Sri Lanka

  • Certifications
    Date Title Institution name Country
    2003 Board Certified Specialist in Community Dentistry Postgraduate Institute of Medicine, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka -
    2001 Fellow Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), Tokyo Japan

  • Research Interests
    Dentistry Education Health Promotion Public Health and Health Services

Najith is currently one of the CIs of the Colgate Oral Care Grant and a member of the expert team that involved in a consultancy research contract with Primary Health Care Corporation, Qatar on water fluoridation assessment. He has also been a part to the contract research grant which was obtained by the University of Adelaide from the Department of Health, Federal Government of Australia to review nutritional reference values for fluoride in Australia and New Zealand. 

 

Najith has been involved in teaching in the following courses.

• Community Dentistry 

• Geriatric Dentistry

• Evidence Based Dentistry II

• Population Health (Dental Science Practice 1)

• Social Context of Dentistry

  • Memberships
    Date Role Membership Country
    2012 - ongoing - South Australian Sri Lankan Doctors Association -
    2011 - ongoing - IADR -
    2011 - ongoing - University of Adelaide Alumni Association -
    2005 - ongoing - National Science Foundation, Sri Lanka -
    2004 - ongoing - University of Peradeniya Alumni Association -
    2003 - ongoing - Niigata Dental Society -
    1994 - ongoing - College of Community Dentistry, Sri Lanka -
    1988 - ongoing - Sri Lanka Dental Association -

  • Editorial Boards
    Date Role Editorial Board Name Institution Country
    2013 - ongoing Board Member Journal of International Society of Preventive and Community Dentistry - -
    2013 - ongoing Board Member International Journal of Research in Medical and Health Sciences - -
    2003 - ongoing Board Member Journal of Dental Health - -
  • Position: Grant-Funded Researcher (B)
  • Phone: 83137326
  • Email: najith.amarasena@adelaide.edu.au
  • Fax: 83134048
  • Campus: North Terrace
  • Building: 44-60 Rundle Mall - Rundle Mall Plaza, floor Level Four
  • Org Unit: Australian Research Centre for Population Oral Health
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