Dr Sivananthan Sarasanandarajah—Endeavour Executive Fellowship
Home institution: Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute, and RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia
Host institution: The Ottawa Hospital Cancer Centre, Canada
“I see this as an excellent opportunity to
understand the education and practice of
medical physics in North America and further
develop my networking and ongoing
collaborations.”
Dr Siva Sarasanandarajah, Senior Medical
Physicist at Primary Standard Radiation
Laboratory, National Research Council in Ottawa,
Canada.
Backed by his 2013 Endeavour Executive Fellowship, Dr Sarasanandarajah, a Senior Medical
Physicist at Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute (Peter Mac) in Melbourne, spent time as a visiting
fellow at the Ottawa Hospital Cancer Centre to better understand the practice of medical physics in
radiation oncology.
He also visited Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto, McGill University Medical Centre in Montreal
and the Canadian Primary Standard Radiation Laboratory and the Medical Physics Department of
the Carleton University in Ottawa, helping to establish further research collaborations between
these institutes and Peter Mac.
Dr Sarasanandarajah returned to Peter Mac with the knowledge to improve practices in radiation
oncology. He has shared his Canadian experience with his colleagues and delivered a detail
presentation at his work place.
The Endeavour Executive Fellowship gave Dr Sarasanandarajah the opportunity to undertake a
professional experience in a different environment at an advanced Cancer Institute in North
America.
“Medical physics practice was pioneered in North America and general and medical physics roles
are very well-established and enjoy the support of various peak bodies, associations and
conferences.
“The knowledge and skills I acquired in Canada, particularly in advanced treatment techniques, may
be helpful to develop new treatment options and procedures at my current work place.”
Dr Sivananthan Sarasanandarajah—Endeavour Executive Fellowship
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Dr Sarasanandarajah recognises the need for safer work practices and structured training programs
for radiation workers. A highlight of his Ottawa visit was discussing protocols and quality control
documentation around nascent technologies, such as the commercialised Cyberknife and
TomoTherapy, which are not commonplace in Australia.
“People who calibrate machinery and conduct quality assurance and control activities to ensure the
correct dosage of radiation is emitted from linear accelerators to treat cancer patients accurately
and safely is an important task in the treatment of cancer using radiation.”
Dr Sarasanandarajah currently holds an affiliate academic position in medical physics with RMIT
University in Melbourne where he is delivering medical physics lectures to medical doctors and
medical radiation science students, and is contributing to developing medical physics education and
training programs in Sri Lankan universities and hospitals. He is also supervising two PhD students in
medical physics and collaborates with his mentors in Canada.
He has been invited as a resource person by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to conduct a
workshop for oncologists and physicists from developing countries. He has also authored/coauthored many research papers in the International Peer reviewed scientific journals and is a coinventor of two international patents.
Dr Sarasanandarajah found that travelling overseas and interacting with research and professional
experts in his field allowed him to develop many more skills and competencies.
“The fellowship increased my enthusiasm and provided me with unique challenges. I would strongly
recommend high achieving individuals to engage in similar professional activities as an Endeavour
Executive fellow, a unique rewarding opportunity for collaboration, networking and career
advancement.”
Dr Sivananthan Sarasanandarajah—Endeavour Executive Fellowship
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