Najith Amarasena

Biography

Dr Najith Amarasena is a Research Fellow at the Australian Research Centre for Population Oral Health (ARCPOH), at the University of Adelaide. He obtained his PhD from Niigata University, Japan and also holds a Doctor of Medicine and a Master of Science degree from the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka. Najith is a dentist by profession and received his Bachelor of Dental Surgery from the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka. He is also a recipient of the Japanese Society for Promotion of Science (JSPS) Fellowship from the Ministry of Higher Education, Japan. 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 wellbeing of the Indigenous Australians. Najith has recently embarked on working with Oral Health Practitioner Practice Activity project of Health Sevices Research Unit (HSRU) and is a memeber of the expert team that involved in a consultancy research contract with Primary Health Care Corporation, Qatar on water fluoridation assessment . He is one of the few ARCPOH staff who have been involved working with almost all the units in ARCPOH. Najith has also been a member of an expert working group that reviews nutrional reference values for fluoride for Australia and New Zealand and that is funded by the Department of Health, Federal Government of Australia. 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. Dr Najith Amarasena is a Research Fellow at the Australian Research Centre for Population Oral Health (ARCPOH), at the University of Adelaide. He obtained his PhD from Niigata University, Japan and also holds a Doctor of Medicine and a Master of Science degree from the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka. Najith is a dentist by profession and received his Bachelor of Dental Surgery from the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka. He is also a recipient of the Japanese Society for Promotion of Science (JSPS) Fellowship from the Ministry of Higher Education, Japan. 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 wellbeing of the Indigenous Australians. Najith has recently embarked on working with Oral Health Practitioner Practice Activity project of Health Sevices Research Unit (HSRU) and is a memeber of the expert team that involved in a consultancy research contract with Primary Health Care Corporation, Qatar on water fluoridation assessment . He is one of the few ARCPOH staff who have been involved working with almost all the units in ARCPOH. Najith has also been a member of an expert working group that reviews nutrional reference values for fluoride for Australia and New Zealand and that is funded by the Department of Health, Federal Government of Australia. 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.

Research Interest

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.