Institute for Research & Development

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Introduction

The Department of Epidemiology is a vibrant community of researchers dedicated to understanding and preventing disease. Our faculty are leading experts in their fields, and our curriculum is designed to provide students with the knowledge and skills they need to make a difference in the world. Our research program is focused on finding solutions to the most pressing public health problems, from infectious diseases to chronic conditions. We are committed to working with communities to translate our research into practice, and we are proud of our long history of improving the health of populations around the world.

This allows scientists to study the causes and contributing factors of health conditions in communities. Without twins, this type of research would be nearly impossible to conduct. Such information can help improve the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of many health issues in Sri Lanka and other South Asian countries.

Team

Krishani Jayasinghe

  • Research Associate

Sameeha Jabir

  • Research Assistant

Dr. Buddhika Fernando

  • Hon. Research Associate

Dr. Kaushalya Jayaweera

  • Research Associate

Lasith Dissanayake

  • Research Associate

Dr. Kalpani Abhayasinghe

  • Hon. Research Associate

Vidath Samarakkody

  • Research Assistant

Latest Project

Colombo Twin and Singleton Study – 3 – Pilot Study 2

  • Twin Research
  • Ongoing
Colombo Twin and Singleton Study – 3 Pilot Study – 2 is funded by the Medical Research Council, UK and is conducted by the Institute

Colombo Twin and Singleton Study -3

  • Twin Research
  • Ongoing
The Colombo Twin and Singleton Study 3 (COTASS-3) is funded by the Medical Research Council, UK under a Nutrition-based training grant, and is conducted by

ENHANCE Sri Lanka

  • Perinatal Depression
  • Ongoing
Perinatal depression is depression that occurs during or after pregnancy. It has negative impacts on the health of the mother and the child. Perinatal depression, though

COVID-19 Lived Experience Study

  • COVID-19
  • Completed
We invite you to take part in this study conducted by the Institute for Research and Development in Health and Social Care, with permission from

COVID-19 Impact on Youth & Young Adults

  • COVID-19
  • Completed
The COVID-19 Pandemic resulted in a sudden and abrupt change to our academic and daily lives due to the lockdown, university closure, social distancing and

COVID-19 Diary Study

  • COVID-19
  • Completed
The COVID-19 Pandemic has resulted in a sudden and abrupt change to our daily lives and the routines of all children in the UK and

Colombo Twin and Singleton Study – Development Project (CoTaSS 3)

  • Twin Research
  • Ongoing
Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) globally have undergone rapid urbanisation, and changes in demography and health behaviours. Whilst life expectancy at birth for many LMICs

South Asian Early Development & Research Capacity Building Project

  • Twin Research
  • Completed
The Medical Research Council of the United Kingdom (MRC-UK) launched ‘Confidence in Global Mental Health Research: Institutional “pump-priming” awards to develop new opportunities in Global

Illness Perceptions & Explanatory Modelsin People with Type 2 Diabetes & Co-morbid Depression

  • Completed
This ongoing study aims to explore, capture and understand models of personal illness belief and cognition among diabetics, while also assessing the presence or absence

Adolescent Mental Health & Substance Use in Vavuniya District

  • Mental Health
  • Completed
This ongoing study aims to determine the prevalence of common mental disorders, suicidal ideation, and substance use (alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drugs) among adolescents in

Dementia 10/66 Study

  • Completed
The 10/66 Dementia Research Group is a collective of researchers carrying out population-based research into dementia, non-communicable diseases and ageing in low- and middle-income.

The Sleep Sub-study

  • Twin Research
  • Completed
The Sleep sub-study was conducted within the Colombo Twin and Singleton Follow-up Study and determined the contribution of sleep and activity to the prevalence of

Latest Publication

Ethics and research in psychiatry: Consent, capacity, and bioethics

  • Bioethics
  • Book Chapter
This chapter provides an overview of the principles underlying ethical procedures in psychiatric research, with a specific focus on populations with mental disorders and research

The relationship between independent and dependent life events and depression symptoms in Sri Lanka: a twin and singleton study

  • Twin Research
  • Journal Article
Life events have been associated with a variety of mental health conditions including depression. There is a scarcity of research in South Asia exploring the

Ethics, a critical friend of research

  • Bioethics
  • Journal Article
Ethics is perceived by some at least, as an opponent of research, or as a barrier or even a hindrance. Ethicists and researchers seem to

The association between emotional eating and depressive symptoms: a population-based twin study in Sri Lanka

  • Twin Research
  • Journal Article
This study investigated the genetic and environmental contributions to emotional overeating (EOE) and depressive symptoms, and their covariation, in a Sri-Lankan population, using genetic model-fitting

Agreement between subjective and objective measures of sleep duration in a low-middle income country setting

  • Twin Research
  • Journal Article
Describe sleep duration in adult Sri Lankans and determine the bias and agreement of self-report and actigraphic assessments.

The Colombo Twin and Singleton Follow-up Study: a population based twin study of psychiatric disorders and metabolic syndrome in Sri Lanka

  • Twin Research
  • Journal Article
The disease burden related to mental disorders and metabolic syndrome is growing in low-and middle-income countries (LMIC). The Colombo Twin and Singleton Study (COTASS) is

Education in Twins and Their Parents Across Birth Cohorts Over 100 years: An Individual-Level Pooled Analysis of 42-Twin Cohorts

  • Twin Research
  • Journal Article
Whether monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twins differ from each other in a variety of phenotypes is important for genetic twin modeling and for inferences

Genetic and other risk factors for suicidal ideation and the relationship with depression

  • Suicide
  • Journal Article
There is a genetic contribution to the risk of suicide, but sparse prior research on the genetics of suicidal ideation.

A systematic review of the Dementia Research in Sri Lanka

  • Systematic Reviews
  • Journal Article
The aim of this systematic review is to describe dementia research in Sri Lanka. This information will inform on dementia prevalence, person with dementia and caregiver

Integrating mental health into primary care for post‑conflict populations: A pilot study

  • Migration Research
  • Journal Article
Mental health care in post-conflict settings is often not prioritized, despite its important public health role. There is a salient gap in integrating mental health

Discrimination in the workplace, reported by people with major depressive disorder: a cross-sectional study in 35 countries

  • Common Mental Disorders
  • Journal Article
Whereas employment has been shown to be beneficial for people with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) across different cultures, employers’ attitudes have been shown to be

Exposure to conflict and disaster: A national survey on the prevalence of psychotic experiences in Sri Lanka

  • Disaster Management, Tsunami
  • Journal Article
Recent research conducted in high-income countries suggests psychotic experiences are common in the general population, but evidence from low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) remains limited.