Nandika Bandara, Associate Professor and Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Food Proteins and Bioproducts, University of Manitoba

Born and raised in Sri Lanka, Nandika Bandara is an associate professor and Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Food Proteins and Bioproducts in the Department of Food and Human Nutritional Sciences at the University of Manitoba (UM).

He completed his undergraduate degree in agriculture specializing in food science and technology at the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka. He then worked in the industry for four years before moving to Canada to do his master’s degree in food science and technology and his PhD at the University of Alberta.

Where did you work before UM?

After completing my PhD, I began a postdoctoral fellowship (PDF) position at the University of Guelph in the Department of Food Science, supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada PDF scholarship. I stayed there five months before I got an assistant professor role at Dalhousie University.

What got you interested in this area of work?

When I was in middle school, there was a 50th anniversary of the Faculty of Agriculture at the University of Peradeniya, the oldest university in my country. A family friend was staying in our home, going to university, and he took me to that celebration exhibition. After seeing all the animals, equipment and different farming systems, I knew agriculture was something I would really like. I selected agriculture as my high school major and went directly to that same university for the agriculture degree program.