Kandauda (K.A.S.) Wickrama

College of Human Sciences
Established to commend outstanding national/international contributions in research, as well as research activity that has influenced undergraduate and/or graduate students.

 

Kandauda (K.A.S.) Wickrama

Professor

Human Development and Family Studies (HDFS)

 

Career Achievement in Research Award

 

As an expert in the field of social epidemiology – the relationship between social experience and individual health – Kandauda (K.A.S.) Wickrama has garnered international respect thanks to a large body of research that one colleague called “the envy of scholars worldwide.”

Wickrama’s diverse research interests include the impact of family life on health; racial and ethnic differences in mental and physical well-being; international development; and the application of advanced statistical methods to his field. While his primary studies have focused on family relationships and health in Iowa, Wickrama’s research has ranged from an investigation of mental health among tsunami-exposed adolescents in Sri Lanka to an examination of African-Americans’ cardiovascular risk in Florida. Collectively, his research has generated more than $20 million in funding.

Wickrama has authored or co-authored nearly 50 peer-reviewed journal articles since 1990 and has also written nine book chapters and three books. The significance of Wickrama’s research is evidenced by the fact that other academics have cited his work more than 500 times. His efforts have twice earned Wickrama the prestigious Reuben Hill Research and Theory Award given by the National Council on Family Relations.

Wickrama has also spoken at many academic and professional conferences throughout the United States and the world, many of which have focused upon  social determinants of health and  the cutting-edge statistical methodologies that he has spent years developing and putting to use.

A nominator summarized Wickrama’s research achievements by writing, “His publications are significant, ground-breaking contributions to an area that is only now receiving considerable attention by social scientists.”