Professor S.K.M.K. Herapathdeniya received her secondary education at Mahamaya Girls’ College, Kandy. She entered the Institute of Indigenous Medicine, University of Colombo, in 1985 and graduated with a Bachelor of Ayurveda Medicine and Surgery (BAMS) degree with First Class Honours in 1995. She obtained her Doctor of Medicine (MD) in Ayurveda, specializing in Rasa Shastra, from Banaras Hindu University, India, in 2006. She also earned a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Kelaniya and holds a Diploma in Yoga from Banaras Hindu University.
Professor Herapathdeniya began her professional career as a Medical Officer in the Department of Ayurveda in 1996. In 2002, she joined the Institute of Indigenous Medicine, University of Colombo, Rajagiriya, as a Lecturer (Probationary). She was promoted to Senior Lecturer Grade II in 2007 and attained the position of Professor in 2021.
She served as the Head of the Department of Dravya Guna Vignana from 2010 to 2013. Following the establishment of the Faculty of Indigenous Medicine on 1 March 2023, she became the Founding Head of the Department of Ayurveda Pharmacology, Pharmaceutics and Community Medicine.
Professor Herapathdeniya has also held several important academic and administrative positions. She served as the Chairperson of the Specialty Board and the Study Board of Bhaishajya Kalpana and Rasa Shastra at the Postgraduate Institute of Indigenous Medicine (PGIIM). In addition, she served as a Medical Officer and Student Counsellor at the Institute of Indigenous Medicine, University of Colombo.
She has contributed extensively to national policy development and professional service through membership in numerous committees and subcommittees. These include the Ayurveda Drug Formulary Committee (Yoga Sangraha/Sutra Committee) of the Department of Ayurveda, the Hospital Committee of the National Ayurvedic Teaching Hospital of Sri Lanka, the Steering Committee of the Minamata Convention, the Ayurveda Act and Code Amendment Committee, the Drug and Cosmetics Act Development Committee, and several other national-level committees representing the field of Ayurveda.
Professor Herapathdeniya’s teaching and research interests encompass Rasa Shastra, Bhaishajya Kalpana, and Dravya Guna Vignana. She has supervised numerous undergraduate and postgraduate research projects, including MPhil and PhD studies, and has served as an examiner and adjudicator for MPhil and PhD theses at both national and international levels.
She has published numerous research papers in national and international peer-reviewed journals and presented many abstracts at scientific symposia. She has also delivered keynote addresses at several national and international conferences, reflecting her significant contributions to the advancement of Ayurveda education, research, and pharmaceutical sciences.