DrNimali Munasinghe

Dr. Nimali Munasinghe is an internationally experienced researcher and public health expert with a strong medical background, underpinned by nearly two decades of frontline emergency management and clinical leadership experience in Sri Lanka. She is currently a Research Fellow at Deakin University and an Adjunct Senior Lecturer at Monash University.

Her research sits at the intersection of health emergencies and disaster management, hospital disaster preparedness, climate resilient and sustainable healthcare systems, psychological wellbeing of healthcare professionals, health system strengthening, and digital health innovation, with a strong emphasis on translating research into policy and practice.

She is the first author of multiple peer reviewed publications in high impact journals, with research cited in international health policy documents. She has demonstrated strong research leadership and led the development of a hospital disaster preparedness toolkit for Sri Lanka, which was piloted and implemented across 18 hospitals. Her work on Lessons Learned from the COVID-19 response received the Best Presentation and Outstanding Research Award at the Asia Pacific Rim Universities Multi Hazards Symposium. She has also received international recognition for academic presentations and posters, as well as a service award for contributions to strengthening mental health services in Sri Lanka.

Her current work includes a Deakin University project on AI-powered advance care planning Tool for older Australians, where she contributes to innovation in person centred care and health system decision support.

She has secured competitive scholarships and grants from Australia and Japan, and is regularly invited to present at international conferences and academic forums. She has also contributed as an instructor to global training programs in health emergency and disaster preparedness, including the Health Emergencies in Large Populations programme.

She is committed to interdisciplinary, policy engaged research that advances resilient, equitable, and high quality health systems globally, drawing on lessons from diverse contexts including low and middle income countries, health emergencies, and complex health system challenges.