We proudly celebrate the retirement of our sister, Prof. Badra Hewavithana, after 34 years of service in Radiology. On 30 September, she stepped down from her role as Senior Professor in Radiology at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Peradeniya. As her family, we take this moment to honour not only her academic and professional brilliance, but also her kindness, generosity, and the inspiration she has been to us, her students, her colleagues, and her country by and large.

From her school days at Sanghamiththa Balika Vidyalaya, Galle, Badra’s brilliance shone. She achieved the best GCE O/L results in the Southern Province and the best GCE A/L results in the school in 1974 and 1977 respectively, and was awarded Best Student Performance of the school in 1977. She was a school prefect and the Captain of Vihara Maha Devi House, leading in studies and contributing to inter-house activities. She played inter-house netball, served as President of the Sinhala Literary Association, President Junior Science society displaying leadership qualities even during her childhood. Everyone at school knew her by her full name, Padma Badra Hewavithana, because she would walk onto the stage year after year to collect many of the prizes at every annual prize-giving. It became a sight no one forgot — a symbol of focus, discipline, and commitment. Years later, in 2014, she returned as the Chief Guest of the very same prize-giving, of her alma mater, a moment of immense pride for our family and a testament to her extraordinary journey. Her achievements in both academics and extracurricular activities made her an all-rounder, admired by teachers and peers alike. Even as children, we watched her dedication with awe. While we spent school holidays playing, she memorised Subashithaya or Loweda sangarawa, following our father’s advice to strengthen her Sinhala language skills. Every term in the school she came first in the class, earning a humble sum of Rs. 50 from our father as a small reward for her remarkable perseverance.

Her professional career has been equally inspiring. After earning her MBBS at the University of Colombo, she began her career as a Medical Officer at Karapitiya Hospital in 1984. She went on to complete her MD in Radiology at the Postgraduate Institute of Medicine, University of Colombo, in 1990, followed by training in General Radiology at the John Hunter Hospital, Newcastle, Australia. Later she furthered her expertise in Vascular and Interventional Radiology as well as Breast Imaging in John Hunter Hospital, Newcastle Australia, All India Institutes of Medical Sciences, Delhi, India, and St Georges Hospital, UK respectively. She became the first Senior Professor in Radiology in Sri Lanka in 2017 and went on to hold many key positions, including Chairperson of the Board of Study in Radiology at the Postgraduate Institute of Medicine, President of the Sri Lanka College of Radiologists, President of the Radiological Society of SAARC Countries, President of the Kandy Society of Medicine during its Golden Jubilee year-2014, and pioneering Head of the Department of Radiology at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Peradeniya. She was the founder head of the Department of Radiography and radiotherapy at the Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, and paved the path for 40- 50 undergraduates per year to pursue a degree in Radiography / Radiotherapy. She was the pioneering Editor of the Sri Lanka Journal of Radiology.

Her academic affiliations with the University of Peradeniya have allowed her to inspire and guide countless undergraduate students of both medical and BSc radiography degree courses. She has published a textbook titled Interpretation of Chest Radiographs for Medical Students, now used by fourth-year medical students of several medical schools. She contributed to supervising numerous postgraduate students in radiology at the Teaching Hospital, Peradeniya—over forty of whom are now board-certified radiologists serving locally and globally. In addition, she co-supervised many MSc and MPhil students at the Faculty of Medicine and the Postgraduate Institute of Science. She has published extensively, with more than forty peer-reviewed research papers and nearly thirty publications in indexed journals related to radiology.

Her recent collaborative research explores the application of artificial intelligence in breast cancer and brain tumour imaging. Through her teaching, examining, and mentoring, she has guided hundreds of undergraduates, postgraduates, and researchers, shaping the future of radiology in Sri Lanka and beyond. As an academic of international repute, she has delivered guest lectures, keynote addresses at major conferences locally and internationally. She delivered the first Dr SNB Talwatte oration on breast cancer imaging at Annual Academic sessions of Sri Lanka College of Radiologists in 2012.

Beyond her professional brilliance, she is admired for her heart and humanity. She has quietly supported many charitable causes. Within our family, she has been a source of strength, helping us in countless ways and motivating us to help one another and extend care to others. To her students and patients alike, she offered not only medical expertise but also wisdom for life, reminding them to embrace practices such as meditation alongside medicine. Her generosity to medical students from her school, whom she supported until they graduated, was so profound that it was acknowledged in the school Principal’s speech at the 2014 prize-giving.

Her journey was rooted in the guidance of her parents, Gilbert Hewavithana (Notary Public) and Hema Jayawardena (teacher), who instilled in her the love for learning, and a strong sense of values from an early age. From her father, she learned the importance of striving towards becoming a professional, and from her mother, she absorbed the lesson of helping fellow human beings whenever possible. These values shaped not only her brilliant career but also the generosity and compassion she has shown throughout her life. This journey was further enriched by the unwavering love and support of her family a constant source of strength throughout her exceptional professional career: her husband, Prof. Ranjith Kumarasiri Pallegodavithana; her son, Dr. Sanura Pallegodavithana, MD Surgery, and daughter-in-law, Dr. Chathula Wickramasinghe, MD Forensic Medicine, Lecturer at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Peradeniya ; and daughter, Sajani Pallegodavithana, Post-Doctoral Engineer at Harvard University, USA, with son-in-law Dilhara Jayasundara, PhD Aerospace Engineer, Boston, USA.

As her siblings, we are humbly proud of her journey. From the girl who won prize after prize on stage, to the Senior Professor who became a pioneer in Radiology, to the sister who guided us with humility and kindness — she has always been a beacon of inspiration. Her retirement is not an end, but a celebration of a life of excellence, compassion, and service. We are grateful for the example she has set for us and for so many others.

We honour her today with love, pride, and gratitude, and wish her a retirement as fulfilling as the career she so selflessly devoted to her students, colleagues, patients, family, and country. We are truly blessed to call her our sister, and her legacy lives on in the lives she has touched, the students she has guided, and the countless hearts she has inspired.

– With love and gratitude, her siblings.