I am a medical doctor (MBBS) trained in Sri Lanka with a Master of Public Health, combining clinical and public health expertise, particularly in epidemiology. I am currently a PhD candidate at James Cook University, focusing on infectious diseases, specifically Group A Streptococcus, using large linked hospital datasets. I have published around ten papers in peer-reviewed journals, including two from my PhD, with two additional manuscripts under review. I also work as a casual academic at James Cook University, teaching epidemiology in public health and clinical skills to Year 2–4 medical students.