Prof. Shanthi Ameratunga

Member of the Supervisory Board

Role in Supervisory Board

Dr Ameratunga’s personal and professional life is inspired by young people who claim the space to be active, socially connected, challenged to be the best they can be, and live the lives they value. But her work is motivated by the inescapable reality of too many young lives lost on unforgiving roads. Taking up the invitation to serve on the Supervisory Board of YOURS is therefore a ‘no-brainer’ for Shanthi. She looks forward to working with YOURS and the global team of young leaders committed to making our roads safer and transport systems inclusive.  

Biography

Shanthi Ameratunga, MBChB, MPH, PhD, is a Professor of Public Health at the University of Auckland and Senior Researcher at Counties Manukau Health and Kidz First Hospital, in Aotearoa New Zealand. A paediatrician and public health physician by background, Shanthi completed postgraduate training in adolescent health, injury prevention, and road crash-related disability at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health and the University of Auckland.

She has led internationally recognised research collaborations in the Asia Pacific region, and served on numerous regional and global networks in the fields of injury prevention, trauma systems, disability, child and youth health. She has a strong interest in coaching emerging researchers and scholar activists engaging in social justice and community empowerment initiatives. She considers YOURS to be a global youth movement pivotal to road safety efforts in the Sustainable Development Goals era.