“What makes Amita unique and so special is the astonishing number of people she has mentored, both students and faculty colleagues,” says John Hanfelt, an Emory biostatistics professor. “She gives people those three rare things: her time, attention and empathy.”
Kay Hinton, Emory Photo/Video
Word of her proficiency in arithmetic had made its way through the channels of unpaved lanes that connected her neighborhood. Local parents soon began to encourage their children to visit the Manatunga home for rudimentary math lessons.
Decades later and halfway across the globe, the names of her pupils and the scope of her expertise may have changed, but she’s still crafting her own lessons and expanding opportunities for those around her. Manatunga, the Donna J. Brogan Professor in Biostatistics at Rollins School of Public Health, has been driven since childhood to teach and foster community through mentorship.
Her 30-year-plus legacy of applying those values at Emory is now etched in university history as she receives the 2025 Exemplary Teacher of the Year Award, a distinction honoring exceptional teaching, significant contributions to the scholarly life of the university and high personal and professional standards.
Three miles of dirt road
“I was a teacher long before I had an official title,” says Manatunga, recalling her childhood in Sri Lanka. “I started teaching math when I was in third grade. Because our house was quite small, we couldn’t accommodate people inside, so I would invite neighborhood children to our garden.”
Every day, Manatunga walked three miles of dirt road to school and back. The route took her through several dangerous neighborhoods. At the time, her family could not afford the transportation to send her to the advanced school she attended, so walking was the only option.
Manatunga says her quiet observations on these walks played a foundational role in shaping her lifelong commitment to mentorship: “They opened my eyes to the harsh realities of inequality, and I recognize that’s a reason I naturally gravitate toward mentoring others.”
In her educational journey, both in Sri Lanka and the United States, Manatunga says she did not have the benefit of guidance that many others receive from either parents or mentors. At Emory, she wants to make sure her students do — especially those from underprivileged backgrounds.
“I can relate to their experiences,” she explains.
John Hanfelt, a fellow biostatistics professor at Rollins, says he has seen the impact of Manatunga's mentorship on her students.
“What makes Amita unique and so special is the astonishing number of people she has mentored, both students and faculty colleagues,” Hanfelt says. “She cares enough to say what people might not necessarily want to hear but what is important for them to hear. She gives people those three rare things: her time, attention and empathy.”
A love for numbers and people
As a child, Manatunga was keenly aware of what she describes as a lack of control in her environment. Math, though, proved a potent antidote — an opportunity to find certainty in a world where nothing seemed certain.
“Math is very logical,” she says, adding that she took solace in knowing she could solve a problem with “100% accuracy.”
After completing her undergraduate studies in Sri Lanka, Manatunga came to the United States to study statistics, which eventually led her to biostatistics. She earned a PhD from the University of Rochester and joined the Emory faculty in 1994, just four years after the Rollins School of Public Health was founded.
Manatunga has been a significant part of Rollins’ history and growth, and her list of honors and awards is long and distinguished. In addition to her election as a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, she has received the Emory Women of Excellence Award for Mentorship, the Committee of Presidents of Statistical Societies’ Elizabeth L. Scott Award for furthering the careers of women in academia and the Janet L. Norwood Award for outstanding career achievement by a woman in statistical sciences.
“It’s an incredible environment to grow and do the things you like to do, and to support each other,” Manatunga says of Rollins.
Her Emory career is defined by that support, which she views as a two-way street between herself and her colleagues, as well as her students.
In Manatunga’s early years at Emory, she held a joint appointment with Rollins and the School of Medicine. She developed a course to help physicians interpret vast data sets on important issues of public health, such as epidemiology, nuclear medicine and mental health.
She also helped lead the development of Emory’s Master of Science in Clinical Research (MSCR) program at Laney Graduate School. To date, she has supported the theses work of more than 100 MSCR students, as well as countless dissertations from her own graduate students in biostatistics.
Manatunga says these instances of collaboration and mentorship — and the enduring relationships they’ve helped her form — are the most rewarding aspects of her career. With the help of her imparted wisdom, former students have led meaningful careers as deans and faculty at universities across the world, as well as in government and the private sector.
“To me, there are no words to express how I feel about my students and all the people I’ve mentored,” she says. “I feel so much joy when I hear that they are doing well. That’s the most fun part for me — seeing how they overcome difficulties in life and then are in successful positions. It’s just an incredible feeling to know that you have helped in a very small way.”
Rachel Parker, a fifth-year PhD student in biostatistics, says Manatunga’s impact has been anything but “small.” Manatunga is a co-advisor on Parker’s dissertation.
“She's the type of mentor that is willing to sit with you as long as necessary for you to understand something,” Parker says. “She demands excellence and puts me in spaces where I thrive. I know she has my best interests at heart, and I have felt that since the very beginning.”
Parker adds Manatunga expanded her professional network by connecting her with decades of former mentees. She now feels part of a “family tree,” one with deep roots that has also helped Manatunga feel at home.
“Because I am an immigrant, I’m the only one in my family — or my husband’s family — who is here in the United States,” Manatunga says. “I feel like these relationships with my students and colleagues are a big part of my life.”