Born on 2nd December 1915, Professor Kumaradasa Rajasuriya had his primary education at Ananda College Colombo and later at Nalanda Vidyalaya, Colombo. He joined the Colombo Medical College in 1934. Graduating in 1939, he started his career as a medical officer in 1943 in Murunkan. This was followed by Gampola, Children’s Hospital Colombo, Health Unit, Kalutara and the Prison Hospital. He proceeded to UK in 1951 and obtained the MRCP (London) in 1952 and thereafter the Diploma in Child Health.
On his return he served with distinction as a physician starting in Jaffna and later in Kurunegala and Colombo. In 1958 he became co-Professor in Medicine and later the Professor of Medicine of the Colombo Medical School.
In 1970 he took over as the Director of Health Services in the country. He was elected the second President of the Ceylon College of Physicians in 1970/71.
His research interests were wide and he contributed to many international journals. In 1970 he delivered the Sir Marcus Fernando Oration. He was for some time the Editor of the Ceylon Medical Journal. His forte was in the Conducting of MD examinations of the University of Colombo which was not second to the MRCP. His sudden death in 1975 while conducting the MD examination was shock to everyone he associated with.
| YEAR | TOPIC | ORATOR |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | The Rajasuriya legacy to Medicine in the 21st century ” | Prof Justin LaBrooy |
| 2003 | The Brain-Mind Controversy and the Concept of Rebirth: a Neuroscientist’s Viewpoint | Prof Nimal Senanayake |
| 2004 | Chronic auto immune thyroiditis – Why the fascination? | Dr H N Rajaratnam |
| 2005 | Not awarded | N/A |
| 2006 | Not awarded | N/A |
| 2007 | Syndromic approach to snake identification – a clinico– epidemiological study of victims of snake bites | Dr Ariaranee Gnanathasan |
| 2008 | Not awarded | N/A |
| 2009 | Not awarded | N/A |
| 2010 | Not awarded | N/A |
| 2011 | Physicians: Pioneers and Pivots of Toxicology in Sri Lanka | Dr Indika Gawarammana |
| 2012 | Dengue and the Liver: the deadly tango | Prof Arjuna de Silva |
| 2013 | From pesticide to medicinal drugs: suicide and deliberate self harm in Sri Lanka | Prof Varuni de Silva |
| 2014 | The role of single nucleotide polymorphisms in genetic predisposition, disease diagnosis, and therapy – a decade of work in the Sri Lankan population | Prof Vajira Dissanayake |
| 2015 | Novel risk factors for coronary artery disease – role of testosterone and high sensitive CRP in Sri Lankan males | Dr C M Wickramatilake |
| 2016 | Hump nosed pit viper bite: unraveling an enigma | Prof Kolitha Sellahewa |
| 2017 | Not awarded | N/A |
| 2018 | Non-communicable diseases: A twenty-first century epidemic | Prof Udaya Ralapanawa |
| 2019 | Not awarded | N/A |
| 2020 | Not awarded | N/A |
| 2021 | Not awarded | N/A |
| 2022 | Hymenoptera (wasps, bees and ants) envenomation; A neglected tropical disorder in Sri Lanka | Dr. E.W. Rohotha Amara Witharana |