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Last Updated: Feb 13, 2017 - 1:45:37 AM |
The Hon. Jerome Fitzgerald, Minister of Education, Science and Technology; Dr. Robin Roberts; Dr. John Lunn; and Minister of Health, the Hon. Perry Gomez. (Photos by Aletha Cooper)
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Nassau, Bahamas - The University of The West Indies, School of Clinical Medicine and Research, The Bahamas (SCMR) recently held its Eighth Annual Research Day under the theme, “Hypertension: Bettering Prevention and Treatment in The Bahamas”. RBC Royal Bank has sponsored the Research Day since its inception and this year’s RBC Lecturer was Dr. John Lunn. Dr. Lunn spoke on the topic, “Hypertension Research in The Bahamas – A Global Leader in the Twentieth Century”. Guest Lecturers for the event were Dr. Alafia Samuels from the Chronic Disease Research Unit in Barbados; Dr. Trevor Ferguson from the Tropical Medicine Research Institute in Jamaica and Dr. Winston Campbell an Associate Lecturer at the UWI, SCMR, The Bahamas. Lecturers and postgraduate student researchers also made presentations.
The Honourable Jerome Fitzgerald, Minister of Education, Science and Technology brought remarks at the official opening ceremony. He congratulated Dr. Robin Roberts and his team for ensuring that the medical community and the public are sensitized and informed about hypertension, a disease that has greatly affected our society. “Your theme is timely due to the challenges that exist to prevent and curb the burden of this disease in our country. Your focus on one of the government’s primary national health priorities speaks to your recognition of the need to address relevant health issues consistently”, said the Minister.
Minister Fitzgerald saluted Dr. John Lunn for being chosen as the RBC Lecturer for 2014. He pointed out that research conducted by Dr. Lunn in The Bahamas in the seventies defined the determinants of hypertension in our Black population. Additionally, Dr. Lunn produced the data to explain the best medications for controlling hypertension in this population and these are still the medications of choice today. The Minister noted that during the seventies and eighties, Dr. Lunn was a world authority on the successful treatment of hypertension in Black populations. He said that Dr. Lunn’s accomplishments were admirable and should prove to be an incentive to all of the postgraduate student researchers and lecturers who would be making presentations.
The University of The West Indies, School of Clinical Medicine and Research, The Bahamas (SCMR) held its 8th Annual Research Day under the theme, “Hypertension: Bettering Prevention and Treatment in The Bahamas”. Pictured above left to right are: Dr. Trevor Ferguson, Tropical Medicine Research Institute, Jamaica; Dr. Anthony Frankson, Co-Chair Research Committee, SCMR; Dr. Alafia Samuels, Chronic Disease Research Unit, Barbados; Dr. Robin Roberts, Director, SCMR; Dr. Perry Gomez, Minister of Health; Dr. John Lunn, Bahamas Comprehensive Cancer Centre; Ms. Evita Burrows, Branch Manager, Prince Charles, RBC Royal Bank and Dr. Raleigh Butler, Co-Chair Research Committee. (Photo by Aletha Cooper)
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The Education Minister also applauded Dr. Winston Campbell for the research he conducted in the area of Hypertension and Sleep Apnea. He mentioned that Dr. Campbell is the first Bahamian to be certified in Sleep Medicine. Minister Fitzgerald told the audience that we must celebrate the achievements of our fellowmen and publicize the positive contributions that they are making. He emphasized, “We are responsible for writing our own history, so that we can inspire the next generation to achieve more than we have done”.
The Honourable Dr. Perry Gomez, Minister of Health was also present at the opening ceremony. He stated that The University of the West Indies has had and still has a tradition of training great clinical doctors. Dr. Gomez said that research must be translated to the bedside because its purpose is not only to advance medicine and scientific knowledge but translate into improving the lives of people, which is inclusive of improved therapies and understanding diseases.
Dr. Robin Roberts, Director of SCMR reported that the School was well on the way to meeting the seven objectives that were established when the Research Committee was formed eight years ago. Dr. Roberts said that they have a vision of being the leading centre of research in all aspects of health. “There must be consistency in direction, which will lead to a quality product”, he said. While the Director expressed his pleasure at the fact that the number of papers presented have increased from eight in the first year to nineteen this year, he pointed out “We need to go to the next stage which is publication”. Dr. Roberts also mentioned the use of telemedicine and how this would allow our expertise to be shared beyond our shores. He asked the postgraduate students in the audience to recognize that “we are trying to bring the culture of research into the medical community through this training programme in order to fulfill our mission to improve the health of the people of The Bahamas”.
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