By Town Crier Staff

Interplast, the nonprofit that provides free reconstructive plastic surgery to needy children in developing countries, announced last week that Dr. Anula K. Jayasuriya, a life science venture capitalist in Los Altos, has been elected to its board of directors.

Jayasuriya brings a blend of expertise in business, basic science, and medicine to the organization as she joins the ranks of such prominent Interplast board members as John Morgridge, chairman of Cisco Systems, Richard L. “Sandy” Alderson, former Oakland A’s general manager and executive vice president of Major League Baseball operations, Mark R. Elconin chairman and CEO of Saratoga Systems, and Michael Levinthal of Mayfield.

Jayasuriya first became involved with Interplast three years ago when she approached the organization about helping plastic surgeons in Sri Lanka, her native country, advance their skills.

“There are just five trained plastic surgeons in Sri Lanka; they are skilled and dedicated doctors, but their opportunities for continuing education are limited,” said Jayasuriya. “When a friend of mine who volunteers with Interplast described the organization’s mission of helping doctors around the world become better able to treat their own communities’ needy citizens, I became very interested in connecting Interplast with my colleagues in Sri Lanka.”

Interplast’s visiting educator program, which sends volunteer physicians on trips dedicated to teaching specialized skills, proved to be a perfect fit for the kind of help Jayasuriya sought.

She has collaborated with Interplast to coordinate several visiting educator workshops in the capital, Colombo and in Kandy, and will travel again to Colombo next month to assist with another visiting educator workshop.

“We are delighted that someone with Dr. Jayasuriya’s diverse background has been elected to the board and look forward to benefiting from her guidance as a board member,” said Interplast President and CEO, Susan W. Hayes.

Dr. Jayasuriya works with ATP Capital, a New York-based private equity fund dedicated to life science investing and serves as a consultant to the Immune Tolerance Network, a project sponsored by the National Institutes of Health and administered by the University of California, San Francisco.

Dr. Jayasuriya earned a bachelor’s degree in biology at Harvard College, and went on to complete M.D. and Ph.D. degrees at Harvard as well.

Interplast is a nonprofit organization providing free reconstructive plastic surgery in developing countries. This year marks the celebration of Interplast’s 35th year of providing more than 51,000 life-changing surgeries free of charge to needy patients around the world.

About Interplast

Interplast is a nonprofit organization providing free reconstructive plastic surgery in developing countries. This year marks the celebration of Interplast’s 35th year of service and the achievement of providing more than 51,000 life-changing surgeries free of charge to needy patients around the world.

Interplast’s programs depend entirely on volunteerism and philanthropy. Donations from individuals, foundations, and corporations support surgical trips, locally-managed outreach programs, and a variety of medical education and training programs in more than 25 different sites, in over a dozen countries around the world.

For additional information, visit www.interplast.org or call the main office in Mountain View at 650-962-0123.