Prof. Tissa Vitharana passes away.
Professor Tissa Vitharana earned his MBBS in 1959 and an MD in Clinical Medicine in 1965. He completed postgraduate training in bacteriology and a PhD in virology (1971) in the United Kingdom and later served as Head of Virology and Director of the Medical Research Institute (MRI), Colombo. He also held senior virology posts in the UK and served as Deputy Director of the Victoria Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory in Melbourne from 1991 to 1993. He was appointed Minister of Technology and Research in 2010. Professor Tissa Vitharana died on 13 February 2026, at the age of 91, at his home in Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, Sri Lanka, following a prolonged illness.
Mahesh Bandara