Nilanga (Aki) Bandara, 1st year Master of Kinesiology student.
Aki states, “the pandemic has completely changed our ways of life. Evidence from health care professionals working on the frontlines shows that their mental health has been negatively impacted by the pandemic.”
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Nilanga (Aki) Bandara is an impressive first-year Master of Kinesiology student who arrived with a Bachelor of Science in Food Nutrition and Health. He is a top student with many projects, ambitions and goals, who is aiming to go to Medical School upon his graduation from KIN. His passion lies in international and local issues concerning the health of youth as well as those of healthcare workers.
Aki is recognized as a KIN Community Champion due to his leadership, research initiatives and advocacy work. He displays strong KIN values through his multiple research projects, one of which focuses on the well-being of healthcare workers serving on the frontline of COVID-19. You will find this research project listed on the official UBC COVID-19 Research pages. He and his research partners are presently focused on investigating and promoting awareness of self-care strategies for healthcare professionals during the pandemic. Aki states, “the pandemic has completely changed our ways of life. Evidence from healthcare professionals working on the frontlines shows that their mental health has been negatively impacted by the pandemic. Our work advocates for systems-level changes, so that healthcare professionals have the support they need to take care of themselves and the patients they treat.”
Aki is also researching the impacts of vaping on adolescents and the likely increased risk to them of becoming sick with COVID-19. He states that “there is a potential for confusion between the symptoms of COVID-19 and symptoms of EVALI, an e-cigarette or vaping product, associated with lung injury that can impact lungs in a similar way to COVID-19.”
Aki is interested in working with other students on his e-cigarette research topic. He invites students to email him at: n.bandara@alumni.ubc.ca.