Overview
Background
Hemamali Samaratunga MBBS (Hons) LRCP (London) MRCS (UK) FRCPA, FRCPath
- Specialist Anatomical Pathologist, Managing Director, Aquesta Specialised Uropathology
- Full Professor, University of Queensland Faculty of Medicine
- Visiting Medical Officer, Greenslopes Private Hospital
Hemamali graduated with honours from the University of Sri Lanka, Colombo Medical School and completed Pathology specialty training in Queensland. She held a number of consultant posts in both hospital and private practice. In 2008 she established Aquesta Uropathology which now provides diagnostic uropathology services to the majority of urologists in Queensland and Northern New South Wales. In addition to this she maintains a large second opinion consultation practice with requests obtained from throughout Australia and from overseas.
She is active in Genitourinary Pathology research with collaborators in Australia, USA, Canada, Karolinska Institute in Sweden and the Wellington School of Medicine in New Zealand. She held the position of Secretary of the International Society of Urological Pathology from 2015 to 2019.
She was a contributor to the 2004, 2015 and 2022 World Health Organization (WHO) books on Classification of Tumours: Pathology and Genetics of Tumours of the Urinary and Male Reproductive System. She participated in the 2015 revision of the WHO Tumour Classification in Zurich, Switzerland (4th edition) as member, Prostate Tumour Panel. She was a representative of the Expert Groups formulating structured reporting protocols for the Royal College Pathologists of Australasia on kidney, testis and prostate cancer and is currently chairperson of the structured reporting protocols for Genitourinary cancer. She is also currently the Convener for the RCPA Uropathology Quality Assurance Program.
Qualifications
MBBS (HONS) LRCP (London) MRCS (UK) FRCPA FRCPath
Current UQ Appointments
Academic Title-Professor
Non-UQ Appointments
2008 - current: Specialist Anatomical Pathologist & Managing Director, Aquesta Specialized Uropathology
2015 - Current: Visiting Medical Officer, Greenslopes Private Hospital
2003 - 2021: Visiting Medical Officer, Princess Alexandra Hospital
June 2001 - Oct 2008: Specialist Anatomical Pathologist, Sullivan Nicolaides Pathology, Brisbane
1993 - 1997: Specialist Anatomical Pathologist, Royal Brisbane Hospital
1998 - 2001: Senior Anatomical Pathologist, North Brisbane Hospitals Board
Research Interests
- Granular tumour necrosis
- Diagnosis of limited adenocarcinoma on prostate needle biopsy
- Ductal adenocarcinoma of prostate
- Mucinous adenocarcinoma of prostate
- Radical prostatectomy handling and reporting
- Micropapillary urothelial cancer
- Mimics of bladder cancer
Awards and other Esteem Indicators
2017 Admitted to Fellowship of the Royal College of Pathologists, London (FRC Path) for sustained excellence in published works
2022 Awarded the Grawitz Medal of the International Society of Urological Pathology for distinguished service to the discipline of Urological Pathology
2023 Author of the publication Percentage grade 4 tumour predicts outcome for prostate adenocarcinoma in needle biopsies from patients with advanced disease: Ten year data from the TROG 03.04 RADAR Trial. Pathology 54: 49- 54, awarded the prize of
Article of the Year by the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia.
2024 Distinguished Fellowship Award of the Royal College Pathologists of Australasia
For distinguished service to the discipline of Urological Pathology
Keywords
Pathology, Genitourinary cancer, Prostate, Kidney, Urinary tract, Testis, Penis
Availability
- Professor Hemamali Samaratunga is:
- Available for supervision
Fields of research
Research impacts
She has over 320 scientific publications and has a Google Scholar H-index of 56 with 18150 citations. To date she has authored or co-authored 28 books, 21 book chapters and 274 peer-reviewed publications. Apart from her primary research activities Professor Samaratunga actively collaborates with other research groups and is a regular contributor - often as primary or senior author to international research consortia. One notable contribution has been her involvement in the development of artificial intelligence programs for the reporting of prostate cancer. In collaborative studies involving colleagues from the Netherlands, Sweden, Australia, New Zealand and the United States she was chosen to be one of three expert pathologists to review all cases, thus setting the gold standard for the diagnosis and grading of prostate cancer. These studies have been published in highly prestigious journals as noted in her CV. Importantly in comparative studies, the AI program informed by the findings of group of three pathologists that included Professor Samaratunga, outperformed all other AI programs.
Works
Search Professor Hemamali Samaratunga’s works on UQ eSpace
2011
Journal Article
International society of urological pathology (ISUP) consensus conference on handling and staging of radical prostatectomy specimens. working group 1: Specimen handling
Samaratunga, Hemamali, Montironi, Rodolfo, True, Lawrence, Epstein, Jonathan I., Griffiths, David F., Humphrey, Peter A., van der Kwast, Theo, Wheeler, Thomas M., Srigley, John R., Delahunt, Brett, Egevad, Lars and The ISUP Prostate Cancer Group (2011). International society of urological pathology (ISUP) consensus conference on handling and staging of radical prostatectomy specimens. working group 1: Specimen handling. Modern Pathology, 24 (1), 6-15. doi: 10.1038/modpathol.2010.178
2011
Journal Article
Tertiary Gleason pattern 5 on needle biopsy predicts greater tumour volume on radical prostatectomy
Ranaweera, Matheesha, Samaratunga, Hemamali, Duffy, David, Klopfer, Kiara, Brunelli, Matteo, Martignoni, Guido and Delahunt, Brett (2011). Tertiary Gleason pattern 5 on needle biopsy predicts greater tumour volume on radical prostatectomy. Pathology, 43 (7), 693-696. doi: 10.1097/PAT.0b013e32834ba487
2011
Conference Publication
Multiple markers in prediction of prostate cancer from ejaculate
Gardiner, R. A., Buck, M., Teng, L., Schirra, H. J., Roberts, M. J., Zenzmaier, C., Hancock, J., O'Rourke, P., Samaratunga, M. L. T. H., Scells, B., Payton, J. D., Perry-Keene, J., Yaxley, J., Coughlin, G. and Lavin, M. F. (2011). Multiple markers in prediction of prostate cancer from ejaculate. 20th Annual RBWH Health Care Symposium: Personalised Health Care, Brisbane, Australia, 10 -14 October 2011.
2011
Journal Article
Grading of clear cell renal cell carcinoma should be based on nucleolar prominence
Delahunt, Brett, Sika-Paotonu, Dianne, Bethwaite, Peter B., William Jordan, Thomas, Magi-Galluzzi, Cristina, Zhou, Ming, Samaratunga, Hemamali and Srigley, John R. (2011). Grading of clear cell renal cell carcinoma should be based on nucleolar prominence. American Journal of Surgical Pathology, 35 (8), 1134-1139. doi: 10.1097/PAS.0b013e318220697f
2011
Conference Publication
Immunohistochemical Expression of Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA), Prostatic Acid Phosphatase (PAP) and Antibody Cocktail (P63/HMWCK/AMACR) in Ductal Adenocarcinoma of the Prostate
Samaratunga, H., Adamson, M., Yaxley, J. and Delahunt, B. (2011). Immunohistochemical Expression of Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA), Prostatic Acid Phosphatase (PAP) and Antibody Cocktail (P63/HMWCK/AMACR) in Ductal Adenocarcinoma of the Prostate. 100th Annual Meeting of the United States and Canadian-Academy-of-Pathology, San Antonio Tx, Feb 26-Mar 04, 2011. NEW YORK: NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP.
2010
Journal Article
Micropapillary urothelial carcinoma of the urinary bladder: a clinicopathological analysis of 72 cases
Comperat, Eva, Roupret, Morgan, Yaxley, John, Reynolds, Jamie, Varinot, Justine, Ouzaid, Idir, Cussenot, Olivier and Samaratunga, Hemamali (2010). Micropapillary urothelial carcinoma of the urinary bladder: a clinicopathological analysis of 72 cases. Pathology, 42 (7), 650-654. doi: 10.3109/00313025.2010.522173
2010
Journal Article
Distal seminal vesicle invasion by prostate adenocarcinoma does not occur in isolation of proximal seminal vesicle invasion or lymphovascular infiltration
Samaratunga, Hemamali, Samaratunga, Dinithi, Perry-Keene, Joanna, Adamson, Michael, Yaxley, John and Delahunt, Brett (2010). Distal seminal vesicle invasion by prostate adenocarcinoma does not occur in isolation of proximal seminal vesicle invasion or lymphovascular infiltration. Pathology, 42 (4), 330-333. doi: 10.3109/00313021003767330
2010
Journal Article
Genitourinary pathology in the new millennium
Samaratunga, Hemamali and Epstein, Jonathan I. (2010). Genitourinary pathology in the new millennium. Pathology, 42 (4), 317-318. doi: 10.3109/00313021003768338
2010
Conference Publication
Seminal Vesicle Sampling in Radical Prostatectomy Specimens
Samaratunga, H., Perry-Keene, J., Samaratunga, D., Adamson, M., Yaxley, J. and Delahunt, B. (2010). Seminal Vesicle Sampling in Radical Prostatectomy Specimens. 99th Annual Meeting of the United-States-and-Canadian-Academy-of-Pathology, Washington Dc, Mar 20-26, 2010. NEW YORK: NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP.
2010
Conference Publication
Molecular and metabonomic profiling of ejaculate fluid in prostate cancer detection
Teng, L., Buck, M., Scells, B., Clarke, R. A., Samaratunga, M. L. T. H., Yaxley, J., Gianduzzo, T., Coughlin, G., Lavin, M. F. and Gardiner, R. A. (2010). Molecular and metabonomic profiling of ejaculate fluid in prostate cancer detection. 63rd Annual Meeting of the Urological Society of Australia and New Zealand, Perth, Australia, 21-24 February 2010. Oxford, U.K.: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing. doi: 10.1111/j.1464-410X.2010.09122.x
2010
Journal Article
Gleason scoring: A comparison of classical and modified (International Society of Urological Pathology) criteria using nadir PSA as a clinical end point
Delahunt, Brett, Lamb, David S., Srigley, John R., Murray, Judy D., Wilcox, Chantelle, Samaratunga, Hemamali, Atkinson, Christopher, Spry, Nigel A., Joseph, David and Denham, James W. (2010). Gleason scoring: A comparison of classical and modified (International Society of Urological Pathology) criteria using nadir PSA as a clinical end point. Pathology, 42 (4), 339-343. doi: 10.3109/00313021003787924
2010
Conference Publication
Expression of PSA-RP2, an alternatively spliced variant from the PSA gene, is increased in prostate cancer tissues but the protein is not secreted from prostate cancer cells
Whitbread, Astrid K., Veveris-Lowe, Tara L., Dong, Ying, Tan, Olivia L., Gardiner, Robert, Samaratunga, Hema M., Nicol, David L. and Clements, Judith A. (2010). Expression of PSA-RP2, an alternatively spliced variant from the PSA gene, is increased in prostate cancer tissues but the protein is not secreted from prostate cancer cells. IKS 2009: 3rd International Symposium on Kallikreins and Kallikrein-Related Peptidases, Munich, Germany, 30 August-2 September 2009. Berlin, Germany: Walter de Gruyter. doi: 10.1515/BC.2010.043
2010
Journal Article
Any proportion of ductal adenocarcinoma in radical prostatectomy specimens predicts extraprostatic extension
Samaratunga, Hemamali, Duffy, David, Yaxley, John and Delahunt, Brett (2010). Any proportion of ductal adenocarcinoma in radical prostatectomy specimens predicts extraprostatic extension. Human Pathology, 41 (2), 281-285. doi: 10.1016/j.humpath.2009.08.010
2010
Journal Article
Renal cell neoplasms of oncocytosis have distinct morphologic, immunohistochemical, and cytogenetic profiles
Gobbo, Stefano, Eble, John N., Delahunt, Brett, Grignon, David J., Samaratunga, Hemamali, Martignoni, Guido, Zhang, Shaobo, Wang, Mingsheng, Brunelli, Matteo, Cossu-Rocca, Paolo and Cheng, Liang (2010). Renal cell neoplasms of oncocytosis have distinct morphologic, immunohistochemical, and cytogenetic profiles. American Journal of Surgical Pathology, 34 (5), 620-626. doi: 10.1097/PAS.0b013e3181d73293
2010
Journal Article
Comparative biomarker expression and RNA integrity in biospecimens derived from radical retropubic and robot-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomies
Ricciardelli, Carmela, Bianco-Miotto, Tina, Jindal, Shalini, Dodd, Thomas J., Cohen, Penelope A., Marshall, Villis R., Sutherland, Peter D., Samaratunga, Hemamali, Kench, James G., Dong, Ying, Wang, Hong, Clements, Judith A., Risbridger, Gail P., Sutherland, Robert L., Tilley, Wayne D. and Horsfall, David J. (2010). Comparative biomarker expression and RNA integrity in biospecimens derived from radical retropubic and robot-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomies. Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention, 19 (7), 1755-1765. doi: 10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-10-0059
2010
Journal Article
Ductal adenocarcinoma of the prostate diagnosed on transurethral biopsy or resection is not always indicative of aggressive disease: Implications for clinical management
Aydin, Hakan, Zhang, Jun, Samaratunga, Hemamali, Tan, Nelly, Magi-Galluzzi, Cristina, Klein, Eric, Jones, J. Stephen and Zhou, Ming (2010). Ductal adenocarcinoma of the prostate diagnosed on transurethral biopsy or resection is not always indicative of aggressive disease: Implications for clinical management. BJU International, 105 (4), 476-480. doi: 10.1111/j.1464-410X.2009.08812.x
2010
Conference Publication
Multiple markers in prostate cancer detection in ejaculate
Teng, L., Buck, M., Hancock, J., Clarke, R., Samaratunga, H., Schirra, H., Zenzmaier, C., Berger, P., Catto, J., Yaxley, J., Gianduzzo, T., Coughlin, G., Lavin, M. and Gardiner, R. (2010). Multiple markers in prostate cancer detection in ejaculate. URS, USANZ Meeting 2010, Nelson, New Zealand, 10-12 November, 2010.
2009
Journal Article
New genomic structure for prostate cancer specific gene PCA3 within BMCC1: implications for prostate cancer detection and progression.
Clarke, Raymond A., Zhao, Zhongming, Guo, An-Yuan, Roper, Kathrein, Teng, Linda, Fang Zhi-Ming, Samaratunga, Hema, Lavin, Martin F. and Gardiner, Robert A. (2009). New genomic structure for prostate cancer specific gene PCA3 within BMCC1: implications for prostate cancer detection and progression.. PLoS One, 4 (3) e4995, e4995. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0004995
2009
Conference Publication
Prostatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma Diagnosed on Transurethral Biopsy or Transurethral Resection of the Prostate (TURP) Is Not Always Clinically Aggressive Disease
Aydin, H., Zhang, J., Samaratunga, H., Magi-Galluzzi, C. and Zhou, M. (2009). Prostatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma Diagnosed on Transurethral Biopsy or Transurethral Resection of the Prostate (TURP) Is Not Always Clinically Aggressive Disease. 98th Annual Meeting of the United-States-and-Canadian-Academy-of-Pathology, Boston Ma, Mar 07-13, 2009. NEW YORK: NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP.
2009
Conference Publication
Correlation of Conventional and Modified Gleason Grading of Prostatic Adenocarcinoma after Radical Prostatectomy
Samaratunga, H., Delahunt, B., Duffy, D. and Yaxley, J. (2009). Correlation of Conventional and Modified Gleason Grading of Prostatic Adenocarcinoma after Radical Prostatectomy. 98th Annual Meeting of the United-States-and-Canadian-Academy-of-Pathology, Boston, MA, United States, Mar 07-13, 2009. NEW YORK: NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP.
Supervision
Availability
- Professor Hemamali Samaratunga is:
- Available for supervision
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Supervision history
Completed supervision
-
2020
Doctor Philosophy
Exploring Resistance of Renal Cell Carcinoma to Sunitinib Therapy
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor David Vesey
-
2019
Doctor Philosophy
Cellular and molecular mechanisms of pancreatitis in atrophy and regeneration
Associate Advisor
Media
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