Master-builder of the Human Genetics Unit
Walking up the stairs of the Faculty of Medicine, which reminded me
of a colonial English Mansion with an imposing regal atmosphere, I
finally found the Office of the Dean.
In his spacious office sat Professor Rohan W. Jayasekara, Dean of the
Faculty of Medicine who is a pioneer in the field of Medical Genetics in
Sri Lanka. He is the person who established the first Human Genetics
Unit in the country in 1983. Professor Jayasekara appeared to be
extremely affable with a most friendly disposition and he immediately
put one at ease. This is his interview with Reminiscences of Gold.
Professor Rohan Jayasekara |
“I was born in Colombo and had my upbringing in Mount Lavinia. I was
the only child in the family. The childhood I spent in the early 50s was
a laid back setup where things moved at a leisurely pace. Children got
their education but at the same time they enjoyed their childhood.
School began at 8.45 am and finished at 3.15 in the afternoon. So after
a good breakfast, we went to school with a lunch break of one hour from
12.15pm - 1.15pm. We could even play a cricket match continuing the next
day. Classes finished at 3.15 pm and those who wanted to play sports
could stay on in the college.
Peradeniya University
“Others came home and played the usual cricket, rugby and football in
our garden. All the neighbours were one family. My father was an old
Peterite so he sent me to St. Peter’s. There was strict discipline at
St. Peter’s but at the same time there was a lot of freedom and we had a
proper moulding. I owe so much to my old school. The important thing
during that era was that we didn’t have television. I remember coming to
the British Council very regularly because I used to finish two books
every week. We developed our reading habits which helped improve our
command of the language,” explained Jayasekara.
He joined the Faculty of Medicine at the Peradeniya University in
1967 where he spent five years. “Those were the best years of my life
and it was one of the most beautiful universities in the world. We had a
balanced life. We thoroughly enjoyed seeing plays in the Open Arts
Theatre. There were very dedicated teachers and there were the likes of
Professor Bibile who had musical evenings in their homes. It was an
enriching experience. I always felt that the graduates of Peradeniya had
a kindred spirit. Maybe because we lived together, ate and drank
together, enjoyed, celebrated and cried together. The 1971 JVP
insurrection was the only tragic experience we had. Some lost their
lives.”
Jayasekera joined the Faculty of Medicine as a lecturer in 1974. He
left the island in 1977 for his postgraduate studies at the Department
of Human Genetics, University of Newcastle upon Tyne. “It’s a beautiful
university town with friendly people. We learnt not only the subject
matter but also other character moulding traits: how to communicate with
people, how to be polite and how to disagree with people and how to
control oneself. I have never seen any British professional throwing
tantrums. Not even under the harshest of provocations. I have never seen
my boss losing his temper. They had a way about them.”
“I had a very interesting experience during my stay in England.
Besides my Ph.D. certificate, I also have a certificate from the Chief
Constable of Northern England, the equivalent of our IGP there because I
helped them arrest red handed a gang of car thieves. I used to work on
the fourth floor of the Human Genetics Unit from where I could see the
car park. One day I looked down at the car park and saw my car there.
Fifteen minutes later I noticed that my red car was missing. So I phoned
the Police. A week later they came home and knocked on the door and the
people in my flat thought that I had committed a crime. My car had been
found in Glasgow because some football hooligans had taken it there. It
had been full of empty bottles of beer. “A few months later, when I was
looking down at the car park, I saw some guys trying to open some cars
in the car park. I quickly rang the cops, and in five minutes, four
panda cars rushed in and they caught the thieves red handed. Then they
came up to the fourth floor looking for “Dr. J” and I identified myself.
Three weeks later I got a letter from the Chief of Police saying : “we
greatly appreciate your action which helped us in arresting the car
thieves and breaking a ring of crime that has been going on there”. My
boss Professor Roberts said: “Chum, this is more valuable than your
Ph.D. certificate.” I felt happy because I did something good for the
community.
Jayasekara returned to the island in 1980 having obtained a Ph.D. in
Cytogenetics, which was a pioneering field at the time. The study of
Human Genetics has far-reaching consequences for the health of any
nation. Jayasekara established the first Human Genetics Unit in the
country in 1983. “When I came back from England, I was determined not to
waste my knowledge and skills so I decided to start the unit. With the
initial assistance of the WHO, I managed to build it up. Now we have
collaborations and link programmes with several institutes abroad. We
conduct teaching programmes for other faculties, institutes and
colleges.
“We have trained five doctors as clinical geneticists. Now it can run
on its own and it is quite independent. I don’t even have to sight the
place because it is running really well. I’m blessed with good people.
Now there are 30 people in the unit. Our biggest problem is the lack of
space and that is the only constraint. We have an abundance of talent.
People are enthusiastic and they need to be encouraged and nurtured. Our
talent is unmatched anywhere in the world. So my ambition is to see that
every main town has a Human Genetics Unit.”
Research programmes
At present the Human Genetics Unit at the Colombo University is a
highly developed unit which handles not only undergraduate teaching but
also very successful MSc and Ph.D. research programmes. It also has a
Genetics Awareness Programme (GAP) which is aimed at educating health
professionals and the public on genetic disorders and congenital
malformations. Such population sensitization programmes guide parents to
have normal children as much as possible. Thus, this unit renders a
valuable service in supporting the national effort to prevent and
control birth defects.
Jayasekara penned a research article titled Genetic Variation in Sri
Lanka. For this piece of original research and his work in population
genetics, he was made a Fellow of the Galton Institute, London. “That
was a landmark paper I wrote. I did it in collaboration with some
population geneticists in Newcastle. We all got the data from here and I
collected blood samples of the Sinhalese, Tamils, Malays, Moors and
Burghers. We analyzed them and found some definite variations among
these different groups. Generally the Malays and the Moors are classed
as Muslims. Even though they belong to the same religion, their genetic
groups are different. The Malays came from the Malaysian Archipelago
whereas the Moors came from North Africa and when you look at the
population in North Africa, the same gene frequencies are found there.
And when you look at the Portuguese Burghers, the same gene frequency
is found there in Portugal. Some of the North Indian populations are
similar to the Sinhala population. It showed how the population has
evolved over a period of time.”
Jayasekara has also chaired several National Committees such as the
one on Genetically Modified (GM) Food in Sri Lanka. He was also a
Founder member and former president of the Sri Lanka Sports Medicine
Association, which is affiliated to the International Federation of
Sports Medicine (FIMS). |