Staff news

Professor appointed to Sri Lankan consul role

An Edinburgh Professor has been appointed to a prestigious position by the High Commission of Sri Lanka.

Prof Michael Eddleston is awarded the position of Sri Lankan Honorary Consul in Scotland

At a recent ceremony in London, Professor Michael Eddleston was named the new Sri Lankan Honorary Consul in Scotland.

Professor Eddleston, who is Professor of Clinical Toxicology, was given the position in recognition of his extensive work with health and research organisations in Sri Lanka’s rural areas.

As Honorary Consul, Professor Eddleston will officially represent Sri Lanka in Scotland and build commercial and economic relations between the two countries.

Honorary consuls continue in their profession and perform consular duties in their spare time.

Poisons research

Professor Eddleston’s work concerns fighting pesticide and plant self-poisoning through the development and testing of new antidotes. Such poisonings are responsible for more than 200,000 premature deaths in Asia each year.

His interest in this area began in 1995 when he was involved in a clinical trial of anti-venom at Anuradhapura General Hospital, in North Central Sri Lanka.

Strong ties

Over the past 22 years, Professor Eddleston has built strong ties with Sri Lanka.

He spent four years in the country working as a Wellcome Trust Intermediate Fellow, and has helped secure more than £2 million in funding for research in Sri Lanka. This has contributed to a dramatic reduction in pesticide poisoning deaths.

Professor Eddleston recently organised an event at the University’s Business School marking 150 years since the first Ceylon tea seedlings were planted at the Loolecondera estate, Sri Lanka.  

It is an honour to be made Sri Lankan Honorary Consul in Scotland. I have a sense of debt to the country because of the long collaborations and friendships I have built there, and the kindness I have received, since 1995. I hope to help build up academic collaborations between Scottish and Sri Lankan higher education institutes, and further the development of commercial and economic relations.

Professor Michael EddlestonUniversity of Edinburgh/BHF Centre for Cardiovascular Science

Related links

Centre for Cardiovascular Science