Wasantha Jayawardene | SIU

Public Health

Professional Interests:

• Opioids, alcohol, tobacco, and prescription drugs
• Digital health and technology-based interventions
• Consumer preferences, behaviors, and attitudes
• Obesity epidemiology, causes, and consequences

Education:

• Postdoctoral Training, Indiana University Bloomington
• Ph.D., Indiana University Bloomington
• M.S., Indiana University Bloomington
• M.D., People's Friendship University of Russia, Moscow

Recent Projects:

• ‘Virtual-Reality Embedded Naloxone Training (VENT)’ – Development and testing of a mixed reality prototype for layperson naloxone training; Funded by Illinois Innovation Network (IIN) under Sustaining Illinois Seed Funding Program (Role: Principal Investigator)
• Office of Firearm Violence Prevention RPSA Evaluator; funded by the Illinois Department of Human Services (Role: Co-Principal Investigator, PI Harvey Henson, STEM Center SIU)
• Population health effects of household purchase of alcohol, tobacco, and e-cigarettes: Analysis of Nielsen-Kilts market data; funded by the Illinois Department of Public Health (Role: Principal Investigator)
• ‘VICTORY (Vaping Initiation, Continuation, and Termination or Resumption in Youth)’ – Study of vaping behaviors and cessation attempts among college students; Internally funded to promote research activity among undergraduate students (Role: Principal Investigator)
• Tobacco Retailer Training Compliance Survey of Southern Illinois – Prevention of underage sales of tobacco and e-cigarettes in southern Illinois; Funded by Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) and Southern Illinois Healthcare (SIH) (Role: Principal Investigator)
• ‘Opioid Rapid Response System (ORRS)’ – Recruitment and training of citizen responders to administer naloxone; Funded by National Institutes of Health (NIH) (Role: Principal Investigator)
• ‘eatNplay’ – A theory-driven, rurally tailored, family-based, telehealth intervention for childhood obesity; Funded by Indiana University Center for Rural Engagement (Role: Principal Investigator)
• ‘Tracking Together’ – Synergistic effects of tracking human and canine activity simultaneously by using activity trackers; Funded by Mars Petcare, Inc. (Role: Principal Investigator)
• Indiana Tobacco Compliance Survey – Prevention of underage sales of tobacco and e-cigarettes in Indiana; Funded by Indiana Department of Mental Health Administration (DMHA) (Role: Principal Investigator)
• National Evaluation of Technology Transfer Centers; Funded by Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) (Role: Evaluator)

Google Scholar Citations

• Social Perception Lab: https://citizens.siu.edu/ Email: citizens@siu.edu