Departmental Affiliations
Center & Institute Affiliations
Amal Wanigatunga, PhD, MPH, FACSM, is an epidemiologist who studies physical activity and emerging technology to improve quality of life as we age.
Contact Info
Research Interests
aging; disability; dementia; physical function; physical activity; sedentary behavior; wearables; digital health
Additional Links
Experiences & Accomplishments
Dr. Wanigatunga's primary focus is to investigate the intersection of the aging process and physical activity, a topic that broadly touches all aspects of health. He is currently exploring the interactions among the brain, physical activity, and mobility with aging. Dr. Wanigatunga's ultimate goal is to promote the infusion of healthy levels of physical activity back into the public's routine lifestyle in an effort to increase quality of life, prevent disease and disability, and positively shift the perspective of aging independently as a welcomed stage of life.
Honors & Awards
2023 American College of Sports Medicine Fellow
2019 Gerontological Society of America Health Sciences Section Research Award
2018 National Institute on Aging Butler-Williams Scholar
Select Publications
Publications that report on how physical activity both affects and is influenced by different states of disability and disease that typically occur during the aging process.
Marino, F. R., Chen, X., Deal, J. A., Simonsick, E. M., Ferrucci, L., Schrack, J. A., & Wanigatunga, A. A. (2023). Perceived Fatigability, Fatigue, and Mortality in Mid-to-Late Life in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise.
Wanigatunga, A. A., Liu, F., Urbanek, J. K., Wang, H., Di, J., Zipunnikov, V., ... & Schrack, J. A. (2022). Wrist-Worn Accelerometry, Aging, and Gait Speed in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging. Journal of aging and physical activity, 31(3), 408-416.
Wanigatunga, A. A., Cai, Y., Urbanek, J. K., Mitchell, C. M., Roth, D. L., Miller, E. R., ... & Schrack, J. A. (2022). Objectively Measured Patterns of Daily Physical Activity and Phenotypic Frailty. The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences, 77(9), 1882-1889.
Wanigatunga, A. A., Wang, H., An, Y., Simonsick, E. M., Tian, Q., Davatzikos, C., ... & Schrack, J. A. (2021). Association Between Brain Volumes and Patterns of Physical Activity in Community-Dwelling Older Adults. The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences, 76(8), 1504-1511.
Wanigatunga, A. A., Ambrosius, W. T., Rejeski, W. J., Gill, T. M., Glynn, N. W., Tudor-Locke, C., & Manini, T. M. (2017). Association Between Structured Physical Activity and Sedentary Time in Older Adults. JAMA, 318(3), 297-299.