Dr Dynatra Subasinghe


Associate Dean Education Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, Senior Lecturer in Small Animal Clinical Practice
BVSc (Hon), MRCVS, SFHEA, PhD (Cambridge)
+44 (0)1483 689936
VMS 02
Executive Assistant: Carolina McGown

About

Areas of specialism

Learning,teaching and assessment in higher education, curriculum design and review, active learning, practical clinical skills learning, academic support in higher education; Small Animal General and Charity Practice and Antimicrobial Stwardship in Veterinary Clincial Practice, Toxicology, Pharmacology

University roles and responsibilities

  • Program Leader/Program Director Clinical years (BVMSci Program)
  • Chair Board of Examiners BVMSci Program
  • Chair Staff Student Liaison Committee BVMSci program
  • Ex-officio member Curriculum Committee BVMSci program
  • Ex-officio member Professionalism Group BVMSci program
  • Ex-officio member final year intra mural rotations (IMR) Operations Group BVMSci program
  • Ex-officio member final year intra mural rotations (IMR) Education Advisory Group BVMSci program
  • Ex-officio member Workload Planning Committee School of Veterinary Medicine University of Surrey
  • Ex-officio member Operations committee School of Veterinary Medicine

My qualifications

BVSc (Hon)
Faculty of Vetrinary Medicine and Animal Science, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka
Post Graduate Diploma in Toxicology
Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Australia
MSc in Toxicology Technology and Management (Graduated first in class)
Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand
MRCVS
Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons,UK
PhD
University of Cambridge, UK
Certificate in Teaching and Learning
University of Colombo, Sri Lanka
FHEA
Higher Education Academy, UK
SFHEA
Higher Education Academy, UK
Attorney-at-Law
Sri Lanka Law College

Previous roles

Year 1 lead BVMSci program
University of Surrey
2021 - 2023
Member of the University of Surrey Senate
University of Surrey
2018 - 2019
Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences representative for Student Experience Sub-committee
University of Surrey
Member Inclusive Curriculum Framework Group
University of Surrey
2022 - 2023
Chair Prizes Committee BVMSci program
University of Surrey
2022 - 2023
Chair Curriculum Committee BVMSci program
2022 - 2023
Chair the Board of Studies for the BVMSci program
2022 - 2023
Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences Pedagogical Coordinator

Research

Research interests

Teaching

Publications

Highlights

Lewis A. Baker and Dona Wilani Dynatra Subasinghe. Student use and perceptions of embedded formative assessments in a basic science veterinary programme. Journal of Veterinary Medical Education. 2023. DOI: 10.3138/jvme-2023-0011

Seneviratne M., Subasinghe D.W.D., and Watson P.J. (2016) A survey of pet feeding practices of dog owners visiting a veterinary practice in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Vet Med Sci, 2, pp. 106–116. doi: 10.1002/vms3.16. doi:10.1002/vms3.16

In Sri Lanka, home‐cooked diets are often fed due to the cost and poor availability of commercial diets. Milk has traditionally been a popular food to give to dogs in this country. There is a recent perceived increase in the number of owners choosing commercial diets for their pets. This study aimed to determine how dog owners visiting a single veterinary practice in Colombo fed their pets. We hoped that this would help achieve a general understanding of pet feeding practices in Sri Lanka and gain some basic demographic information on the owned dog population. The study was conducted via questionnaires distributed to pet owners visiting a first opinion and referral practice in Colombo. Hundred questionnaires were collected and analysed, 69% of study dogs were neutered, 42% of dogs were fed only home‐cooked food, while 18% were fed only commercial food. About 40% of dogs were fed a mixture of commercial and home‐cooked food, 49% of dogs were fed milk as a separate meal in addition to their normal diet and 57% of dogs received dietary supplements. Dogs consuming commercial food for more than half their intake were no less likely (P = 0.75) to receive dietary supplements than dogs fed homemade food for more than half their diet. This study provides some basic information regarding the feeding practices and demographics of the owned dog population in one Sri Lankan city, Colombo, highlighting some areas of concern.

Keywords: homemade diets, nutrition, Sri Lanka

Craighead L., Gilbert W., Subasinghe D., Häslerab B. (2015) Reconciling surveillance systems with limited resources: an evaluation of passive surveillance for rabies in an endemic setting. Preventive veterinary medicine, 121: 206-214. doi: 10.1016/j.prevetmed.2015.06.016

Surveillance systems for rabies in endemic regions are often subject to severe constraints in terms of resources. The World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) propose the use of an active surveillance system to substantiate claims of disease freedom, including rabies. However, many countries do not have the resources to establish active surveillance systems for rabies and the testing of dead dogs poses logistical challenges. This paper explores the potential of using a scenario tree model parameterised with data collected via questionnaires and interviews to estimate the sensitivity of passive surveillance, assessing its potential as a viable low-cost alternative to active surveillance systems. The results of this explorative study illustrated that given a large enough sample size, in this case the entire population of Colombo City, the sensitivity of passive surveillance can be 100% even at a low disease prevalence (0.1%), despite the low sensitivity of individual surveillance components (mean values in the range 4.077 × 10−5 − 1.834 × 10−3 at 1% prevalence). In addition, logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with increased recognition of rabies in dogs and reporting of rabies suspect dogs. Increased recognition was observed amongst dog owners (OR 3.8 (CI, 1.3–10.8)), people previously bitten by dogs (OR 5.9 (CI, 2.2–15.9)) and people who believed they had seen suspect dogs in the past (OR 4.7 (CI, 1.8–12.9)). Increased likelihood of reporting suspect dogs was observed amongst dog owners (OR 5.3 (CI, 1.1–25)). Further work is required to validate the data collection tool and the assumptions made in the model with respect to sample size in order to develop a robust methodology for evaluating passive rabies surveillance.

Subasinghe D. W. D. and Malkanthi K. K. R. (2013) Implications of bites by owned, community- roaming dogs on rabies post-exposure prophylaxis in humans. In: Proceedings of the 65th Annual Scientific Sessions of the Sri Lanka Veterinary Association (SLVA).
Subasinghe D. W. D. and Malkanthi K. K. R. (2012) Does capture, neuter, vaccination and release back to the original environment cause an increased aggression in female cross bred dogs. In: Proceedings of the 64th Annual Scientific Sessions of the Sri Lanka Veterinary Association (SLVA).
Subasinghe D.W.D., Bell J., Glen R.C., Hiley R.C. (2009) Site –directed mutagenesis of the human 5-HT1B receptor; In Proceedings of the British Pharmaceutical Society winter meeting.
Subasinghe D.W.D. (2009) Novel 5 HT 1B antagonist pharmacology. In Proceedings of the New Hall College graduate symposium, University of Cambridge.
Subasinghe D.W.D. (2008) Exploring Novel 5 HT 1B antagonists. In: Proceedings of Babraham institute scientific symposium Cambridge.
Subasinghe D.W.D. (2007) Rabies Control and disaster relief in the tsunami affected southern coast of Sri Lanka. In: Proceedings of the New Hall College graduate symposium, University of Cambridge.
Subasinghe D.W.D. (2006) Microbiological Aspects of the Management and Treatment of Nitrogenous Compounds in Piggery Wastes. In: Proceedings of the Master thesis symposium Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand. Winner of YP Sinhania award for best Masters thesis.
Subasinghe D.W.D. (2004) Manuscript on Laws and regulations relevant to veterinarians practicing in Sri Lanka Volume I and II. Made available in the Veterinary Library, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka.
Subasinghe D.W.D., Obeysekera N., Ijaz M., De Silva D.D.N. (2003) Propofol as a safe intravenous anaesthetic for poor risk surgical canine cases - Sri Lanka. In: Proceedings of the 55th Annual Convention of the Sri Lanka Veterinary Association (SLVA).
Subasinghe, D. W. D. (2019) Multimodal approach to student engagement in a large group shelter medicine lecture. In: Proceedings of the VSC Veterinary Education Symposium (VetEd) Veterinary Schools Council (VSC)
Subasinghe D. W. D. (2019) Contextualisation; enhancing student engagement and learning in a lecture based teaching session in clinical practice. In: Proceedings of the VSC Veterinary Education Symposium (VetEd) Veterinary Schools Council (VSC)
Griffin, C., Zoe, J., Subasinghe, D. (2020) An investigation into antibiotic prescribing behaviours in small animal practice to improve antibiotic stewardship. In: Proceeding of the BSAVA Congress. p. 548.
Subasinghe D. W.D., Sofokleous S., Howgate M., Bartlett K., Trace C., Balloo K., Lygo-Baker S., Cockcroft P., Wyles K., Macdonald A., Chambers M. (2020) Simulations education pilot study; antimicrobial stewardship teaching for veterinary undergraduates. In: Proceedings of the GW4 ECR symposium – multidisciplinary approaches to antimicrobial resistance: bench to bedside and beyond.
Subasinghe D. W.D. (2020) Online MOOC; Team member and educator from the University of Surrey team of contributors; (2020) Antimicrobial Stewardship in Veterinary Practice. Authored by academics from multiple veterinary schools in the UK.
Subasinghe D. W.D., Sofokleous S., Howgate M., Bartlett K., Trace C., Balloo K., Lygo-Baker S., Cockcroft P., Wyles K., Chambers M., Macdonald A. (2021) Efficacy of a Microbial Reality Simulator (AMRSim) as an education tool for antimicrobial stewardship teaching for veterinary undergraduates (2021) In: Proceedings of the VSC Veterinary Education Symposium (VetEd) Veterinary Schools Council (VSC)
Subasinghe D.W.D. (2021) Learning made fun with arts and crafts: using teaching props for online students engagement. In: Surrey ExciTeS Conference University of Surrey
Mitchley J., Subasinghe D.W.D., Lygo-Baker S., Greg B. (2021) Building Professional and Inter-Professional Skills in the Pre-clinical Years, In: Proceedings of the VSC Veterinary Education Symposium (VetEd) Veterinary Schools Council (VSC)
Subasinghe D.W.D. (2021) Public health England consultant veterinarian; Minimising antimicrobial resistance as a pet owner. 2021 e-bug; https://www.e-bug.eu/
Subasighe D.W.D., Lygo-Baker S., Blevins M. (2021) Inclusive learning experiences with staff student partnerships and digital learning aids In: FHMS Learning and Teaching Away Day University of Surrey
Turley A. Subasinghe D. W.D. (2021) Investigation of covid 19 pandemic related challenges in implementing antimicrobial stewardship in UK companion animal practices. In: Proceedings of the 46th (WSAVA) World small animal veterinary association congress
Subasinghe D.W.D. (2021) Antimicrobial stewardship in veterinary practice - the challenges and the opportunities. Invited speaker: British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotheray (BSAC); In: Proceedings of the BSAC Spring Conference 2021.
DW Dynatra Subasinghe (2022) Antimicrobials and veterinary practice; challenges and opportunities. Invited resource person for the SLVA Webinar Series organized by the Sri Lanka Veterinary Association
DWDynatra Subasinghe, Lewis A backer, Harry Hitchcock (2022) Embedding formative assessment strategies in basic sciences undergraduate veterinary curriculum to enhance the development of fundamental clinical competencies. Proceedings of the VSC Veterinary Education Symposium (VetEd) Veterinary Schools Council (VSC)
DW Dynatra Subasinghe and Alison Livesey (2022) Competency based approach to veterinary professionalism: challenges and opportunities within the veterinary curriculum. Proceedings of the VSC Veterinary Education Symposium (VetEd) Veterinary Schools Council (VSC)
DW Dynatra Subasinghe (2022) A proactive approach to antimicrobial stewardship in veterinary practice within one health agenda. Invited plenary speaker for the clinical session, 74th Annual Scientific Sessions of Sri Lanka Veterinary Association (SLVA).
Nicola Swann, Jennifer Oates, Charlotte McCarroll and Dynatra Subasinghe (2023) Accessible academic support: Are we barriers to student success? 2023. STEM Horizons 2023. Proceedings of STEM Horizons HE, University of Swansea,UK
Nicola Swann, Jennifer Oates, Charlotte McCarroll and Dynatra Subasinghe (2023) Don’t go it alone: Can we break down barriers to improve academic support? In: Surrey ExciTeS 2023 Conference University of Surrey
Cait Finnegan, Dynatra Subasinghe, Hannah Davies, Issa Robson and Neerja Muncaster​ (2023) Expanding the umbrella – using a one health framework to incorporate themes of sustainability, equity and inclusivity into a veterinary curriculum. Proceedings of the VSC Veterinary Education Symposium (VetEd) Veterinary Schools Council (VSC)
Dynatra Subasinghe (2023) Antimicrobial stewardship; one health perspective. Invited speaker for Human Health in All Policies Training for Multisectoral Action, • Accredited advanced module within Trop Ed Network of Universities Masters Programme in International Health, Charité University International Health Department, Berlin, Germany.
Dona Wilani Dynatra Subasinghe, Kieran Balloo, Emily Dale, Simon Lygo-Baker, Roberto La Ragione and Mark Chambers. (2024) Efficacy of an antimicrobial reality simulator (AMRSim) as an educational tool for teaching antimicrobial stewardship to veterinary medicine undergraduates. (In Press) Journal of Veterinary Medical Education.