Associate Professor
Dr Ramesh Walpola
Bachelor of Pharmacy (The University of Sydney)
Doctor of Philosophy (The University of Sydney)
Medicine & Health
Faculty Office
Dr Ramesh Walpola is a pharmacist, certified health manager (CHM) and the Pharmacy Academic Lead & Program Authority at the School of Health Sciences. His main area of research expertise and interest is in patient and medication safety, particularly examining the social determinants of safe practices. Ramesh completed his PhD at The University of Sydney in 2016, which focused on the development of educational interventions to enhance generational change in patient safety practices in the pharmacy setting. He was awarded the FIP Young Pharmacist Award for Professional Innovation in 2012 in recognition of the novelty of this work. Following his PhD, he worked in a number of clinical research roles, including a multi-centre deprescribing randomized controlled trial, development of inter-professional student-led clinics and a review of the junior undergraduate pharmacy practice curriculum at The University of Sydney. Ramesh’s current research spans a number of areas including patient and medication safety, safety culture, health professional education, patient experience with a focus on vulnerable populations. Ramesh is currently leading the implementation of the new pharmacy program in the School of Health Sciences, as part of the suite of new and relaunched health professional programs.
- Publications
- Media
- Grants
- Awards
- Research Activities
- Engagement
- Teaching and Supervision
International Pharmaceutical Federation Young Pharmacist/Pharmaceutical Scientist Award for Professional Innovation 2012
Awarded for: The development and evaluation of a peer-led patient safety education program
UNSW Sydney, School of Public Health and Community Medicine Grant Building Support Scheme 2019
Awarded for: Refugee health facilitator program: evaluating scope, scalability and outcomes
UNSW Business Health@Business Research Network and UNSW Medicine Collaborative Seed Funding 2020
Awarded for: Who knows what’s in your medicine? Harmful excipients in medication and the overlooked consequences for public health in Australia
UNSW Business Health@Business Research Network and UNSW Medicine Collaborative Seed Funding 2020
Awarded for: Translation and change: Embedding effective change management in health
UNSW Sydney, School of Public Health and Community Medicine Grant Building Support Scheme 2020
Awarded for: Understanding the needs of informal caregivers in managing medicines for people receiving cancer treatment
Australasian Pharmaceutical Science Association, Research Grant Scheme 2020
Awarded for: Developing a pharmacist led intervention to assist informal caregivers in managing medicines for people receiving cancer treatment
UTS Centre for Carer Research, Early Career Researcher Carer Investment Program 2020/21
Awarded for: Supporting the needs of informal caregivers in managing medicines for people receiving cancer treatment
UNSW Cancer Seed Grant 2021
Awarded for: Understanding the impact of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) on Australian cancer treatment
Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care, MRFF 2022 Models of Care to Improve the Efficiency and Effectiveness of Acute Care
Awarded for: Working together: innovation to improve Emergency Department (ED) performance, and patient outcomes and experience for five complex consumer cohorts
International Pharmaceutical Federation Young Pharmacist/Pharmaceutical Scientist Award for Professional Innovation 2012
Awarded for: The development and evaluation of a peer-led patient safety education program
Member of the International Pharmaceutical Federation Patient Safety Working Group
Member of the Patient Safety Movement Foundation Safety Culture Working Group
My Teaching
PHCM 9391 Strategy, Policy and Change
PHCM 9748 Clinical Governance and Risk Management