Jayasundara’s research featured in NIEHS Global Environmental Health Newsletter
Research conducted by Nishad Jayasundara, an assistant professor of marine physiology at the University of Maine, was featured in the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) Global Environmental Health Newsletter. Jayasundara has developed a project that integrates his expertise in environmental health research with capacity building to address issues related to environmental health in his native country of Sri Lanka, according to the article. By testing local water quality and using community-engaged research approaches, Jayasundara and his team hope not only to better understand the association between chemical mixtures and water quality to kidney disease in the population, but also to inspire the next generation of Sri Lankan scientists, the article states. “When we started this project, we approached it as an opportunity to teach local communities about current existing environmental health issues, and to learn more from them about the local practices and ecology,” Jayasundara said. “Although community members are highly aware of kidney disease, they have little understanding of how environmental contaminants in their water systems and other water quality issues can impact risk of the disease.”