Harshanee Jayasekera

Postdoctoral Research Associate

Bio: D. Harshanee Jayasekera is a social scientist specializing in water policy, demography, and public health. She joined the Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute in August 2022. Her research focuses on agricultural water contamination, environmental exposures affecting public health, and agricultural disasters. Harshanee is particularly passionate about interdisciplinary collaborations that address the distributional implications of public policy, working closely with both internal and external stakeholders to inform policy decisions regarding water’s impact on communities.

Originally from Sri Lanka, Harshanee holds a BA (Hons) in Economics from the University of Colombo, an MS in Agricultural Economics from Oklahoma State University, and a dual-title PhD in Agricultural, Environmental and Regional Economics and Demography from Pennsylvania State University.

Responsibilities:

Plan and execute research projects on water and food security, emphasizing water quality and its public health and ecological implications.
Lead and contribute to interdisciplinary research, data analysis, and data visualization, while disseminating findings through blogs, reports, and journal publications, and mentoring students.
Engage with stakeholders in higher education, government, and nonprofit sectors to foster collaboration and build relationships.