Hemamali Samaratunga

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