Turning numbers into impact for patients living with life-changing injuries

By Binuri Perera, AusHSI PhD Scholar

Since childhood, I have had a strong passion for numbers and helping people. While these interests may seem unrelated, I always believed there would be a way to bring them together. Pursuing my love for maths, I completed an honours degree in mathematics at the University of Sri Jayewardenepura in Sri Lanka. I always wanted to use my skills to make a real difference in people’s lives. Everything changed when I was given the opportunity to work on a short-term project at the intensive care unit (ICU) of the accident and orthopaedic service at the National Hospital in Colombo. At first, I felt like an outsider—what did a maths student know about hospitals and patient care?

For this project, I worked with healthcare professionals to identify factors related to longer length of stay of the patients admitted to this ICU. Seeing statistics directly impact public health was eye-opening. That was the moment I learnt about biostatistics, a field that perfectly combined my love for maths with the desire to help people. While looking for PhD opportunities in Australia, I got to know Associate Professor Susanna Cramb, who is now my Principal Supervisor. I started collaborating with her on a project on Leptospirosis in Sri Lanka. She is the most wonderful person to work with, and through this project, I developed a strong passion for small-area analysis. Working with her not only deepened my interest in spatial statistics but also made me realise that she would be the best supervisor to guide me through my PhD journey.

I began my PhD in Biostatistics in 2023 at AusHSI with Professor Kirsten Vallmuur and Professor Kevin Laupland as my associate supervisors. My research focuses on the burden of bloodstream infections among injured patients. Injuries are a leading cause of death among people under 45 in Australia and overseas. Bloodstream infections can be a serious complication that can increase patients’ risk of death and are costly to treat. Despite this burden, we know little about the impact of injury-related bloodstream infections on patients and health systems. My research aims to address this gap by analysing population-level linked data for all of Queensland over a 20-year period. Examples of questions that my PhD will address are which injured patients have the highest risk of bloodstream infections, where they are located, and how these factors influence health outcomes and healthcare service use among affected patients.

I have presented my research at several forums, including at the International Environmetrics Conference held in Adelaide in December 2024. In the presentation, I highlighted the high risk of injury-related bloodstream infections among people living in remote and very remote areas. This was a great opportunity for me to share my work with experts in the field, gain feedback and expand my research network. I have also participated in QUT’s three-minute thesis competition, which helped me gain skills in communicating my research.

AusHSI has had a profound impact on my career, shaping both my personal and professional growth. Working as a research assistant with Associate Professor Nicole White has been an enriching experience that has given me countless opportunities. This includes collaborating with clinicians across the world, engaging in statistical consulting, peer-reviewing manuscripts for journals, and contributing to grant writing which enhances both my knowledge and confidence in statistics.

I have finally found the perfect blend of my passions in my PhD, doing what I love. Every day, I witness how data shapes public health research. It is exciting to see how the numbers I analyse contribute to reducing disparities in care and ultimately saving lives.