2018
IRD Section of genetics has been awarded with a small Grant of £5000 by the Rufford Foundation for the project titled: Phylogeny, Ecology and Conservation Status of the Endemic Skink Genus Lankascincus (Squamata: Scincidae) in Sri Lanka. The Rufford Foundation is a UK registered charity which funds nature conservation projects across the developing world. Through which, the Foundation encourages the sharing of knowledge and best practice throughout the conservation world.
The project, led by Dr I.N. Harischandra, aims to study the neglected endemic Skink genus Lankascincus (Squamata: Scincidae) in Sri Lanka and to ensure its species conservation through the conservation strategies and public involvement. This research will lay the foundation to elucidate the taxonomy and phylogeny of Lankascincus, through a multidisciplinary approach including morphometric and molecular typing. The data produced by the project will be crucial for designing effective management and conservation strategies, identifying threats to the population of interest, developing programs for rehabilitating and reconstructing the natural habitats and to increase the public engagement in biodiversity conservation in Sri Lanka.
2016
The Wellcome Trust UK – Public understandings of genomic research: a Sri-Lankan perspective of biobank participants at IRD.
Center for Disease Control (USA) – Integrating mental health into primary care for conflict affected internal forced migrants in Northern Sri Lanka (COMGAP-S).
2013
South Asian Hub for Advocacy, Research & Education on Mental Health (SHARE) – An intervention to improve mental health care for conflict-affected forced migrants in low-resource primary care settings: a WHO MhGAP-based pilot study in Sri Lanka (COM-GAP study).
2012
National Health & Medical Research Council Australia –NHMRC- The University of Sydney as Collaborating Institution. A twin study on sleep duration, disturbance and physical activity levels – Prevalence and associations with depression, BMI and metabolic syndrome in Sri Lanka.
2011
The Wellcome Trust – The Colombo Twin and Singleton follow-up Study (COTASS 2); the overlap between metabolic syndrome and depression.
2010
International Organization on Migration – ‘Impact of spouse migration on the left behind family in Sri Lanka’.
The Wellcome Trust – Bioethics grant, Building capacity in Sri Lanka on veterinary ethics and policy.
The Wellcome Trust – Use of Behavioral Genetics to explore overlaps between depression and metabolic syndrome in Sri Lanka (The Colombo Twin and Singleton Study (CoTaSS) follow up).
2008
The Wellcome Trust – A supplementary grant, Population based Twin study on common mental disorders in Sri Lanka.
The Wellcome Trust – International engagement award Multiples and twins engaging in research through cultural activities.
The Wellcome Trust – Master’s Fellowship in Public Health and Tropical Medicine.
The Wellcome Trust – Bioethics grant; Building capacity in Sri Lanka to conduct research into ethical issues in health care and research.
2007
WHO Colombo – Development, execution and evaluation of a training programme for OPD doctors in Eastern province in Sri Lanka, for identification, treatment and referral of epilepsy, psychosis, severe depression, MUC and heavy alcohol use.
2006
The World Bank & Ministry of Health, Sri Lanka – Island wide mental health survey; community and school based, and attitude survey in Sri Lanka.
The Wellcome Trust – Bioethics grant; A conference grant for a meeting titled; ‘Disaster related research and ethics for the developing world in global context’.
The Wellcome Trust – A training grant for a basic and advanced course on bioethics titled ‘Ethics; a friend of research.
2005
WHO Colombo – Getting 15 years of research on medically unexplained symptoms into policy and practice; a poster, training manual and workshops in Sri Lanka (including evaluation of training).
2004
The Wellcome Trust – Bioethics grant; Projects grant (1 year) for the project titled ‘Informed consent in Sri Lanka; current practices, quality of the information leaflets, consent forms and participants understanding of the process.
2003
The Wellcome Trust – Bioethics grant; To hold a Bioethics training workshop in Sri Lanka.
The Wellcome Trust – A population based twin study on common mental disorders in Sri Lanka.
2002
The Wellcome Trust – An extension for RCTs of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for medically unexplained symptom.
2000
The Wellcome Trust – An International Research Initiative Grant for 2 years to carry out preliminary work of establishing a Population based Twin Registry in Sri Lanka.
1999
The Wellcome Trust – A randomized controlled trial of CBT Vs structured care for patients with medically unexplained symptoms in general medical care in Sri Lanka. CBT was administered by Primary care doctors.
1997
The Wellcome Trust – A randomized controlled trial of CBT, to test the feasibility of an intervention aimed at improving the management of patients with medically unexplained symptoms in Sri Lanka.