Main Content

Wasantha Jayawardene

Wasantha Jayawardene, Assistant Professor

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

Wasantha Jayawardene

Office: Pulliam 323C
wasantha@siu.edu