We are what our environments are
Environmental exposures from air, water, soil, food and consumer goods have a profound impact on human health leading to incidence and worsening of cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, cancer, metabolic disease, Alzheimer’s Disease and other aging-related chronic diseases. In spite of these emerging risks, most of us are unaware of the full extent of our exposures, how it’s affecting us and what we can do about it to protect our health.
The HealthSurveil solution uses a multi disciplinary approach combining environmental health sciences, sensor technology, data sciences and machine learning for environmental risk assessment and risk mitigation.
Our Story
HealthSurveil was founded by the scientist sister duo - Dr. Dushani L. Palliyaguru (Toxicologist and Gerontologist) and Dr. Nipuni T. Palliyaguru (Physicist and Data Scientist) as a solution to gaps, challenges and inequities in chronic diseases - that are largely preventable but continue to cause morbidity and mortality in millions of people globally.
This complex biological problem requires innovative and creative solutions, which we hope to accomplish through merging our areas of expertise and interests.
Our goal is to empower people around the world with access to convenient and affordable comprehensive disease risk assessment and risk mitigation tools so that they can live healthier lives.
Our Mission
To use data science, digital health applications and sensor technology to help prevent, early-detect and control aging-related chronic diseases
Our Team
Dushani L. Palliyaguru, Ph.D.
Dushani is a toxicologist and gerontologist with over 12 years of experience in scientific research, and leadership. She obtained her doctoral degree in Environmental and Occupational Health/Toxicology from University of Pittsburgh. Her dissertation work focused on enhancing environmental stress response pathways to prevent chronic disease. Her subsequent postdoctoral training at the National Institute on Aging (NIA/ NIH) was on life course aging and disease biomarkers. Dushani has won several awards and has also served as a peer reviewer for dozens of highly-esteemed journals. She has also served on many expert panels and working groups including ones attached to the World Health Organization (WHO). She has published in numerous high-impact scientific journals, including Cell Metabolism and was awarded a prestigious K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award to establish her own research program. Through this initiative, Dushani is excited about using her expertise in environmental public health, data science as well as aging and chronic disease prevention to improve health outcomes for everyone.
Nipuni T. Palliyaguru, Ph.D.
Nipuni is an astronomer by training. She received her Ph.D. in physics from West Virginia University and has worked as a postdoctoral scholar at Texas Tech University and Arecibo observatory in Puerto Rico. Her research is focused on identifying patterns and faint structures in vast amounts of data and placing limits and constraints based on data modeling and statistical analysis. Nipuni has published in numerous high-impact scientific journals including Science. She has experience serving in key research and leadership roles in large scientific collaborations. She also has a keen interest in education and public outreach and broadening diversity in science. During her time in Arecibo, PR, she actively worked to increase the participation of Puerto Rican students in astronomy. She plans to use her expertise in studying far away, unseen astronomical objects to make sense of unseen biological processes in the human body and to pivot these technologies to improve human health.
Our Projects
Designing environmental risk assessment and risk mitigation tools for chronic disease prevention and control
Developing and testing environmental exposure monitoring systems
Designing environmental risk assessment and risk mitigation tools for chronic disease prevention and control
Examining the role of environmental exposures in aging and aging-related chronic diseases using longitudinal and life course approaches