Dr Gaya Abeywickrama is a Senior Lecturer in Community and Health at the University of Winchester. She holds a PhD in Social Statistics and Demography from the University of Southampton (2021). Her research focuses on global health dynamics, with a particular interest in social and economic inequalities affecting the health of children, young people, and women in disadvantaged communities.

Specialising in quantitative data analysis, Gaya uses a range of statistical packages and methodologies to explore complex health and demographic issues. Before joining Winchester, she was a Senior Lecturer in Demography at the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka. She also worked at the Office for National Statistics (ONS), where she conducted research and provided data-driven insights to support policy decisions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gaya has collaborated on several research projects at the University of Southampton, including studies on socioeconomic differentials among South Asians in the UK using longitudinal data, and the Co-Power project focused on empowering Black and other ethnic minority communities. In addition to her research contributions, she provides statistical consultancy on various projects. Gaya is an associate editor for the Frontieres journal on Human Dynamics -Population and development, and a reviewer for the NIHR. She is currently working as an honorary researcher for the HHFT NHS.

She is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.