Professor Sir Hilary Beckles, Vice-Chancellor, The UWI and President of UM, Dr. Julio Frenk, sign an MOU at a bilateral meeting of the two universities at The UWI Regional Headquarters in Jamaica on Tuesday, October 22, 2019.At left is Dr. Felicia Knaul, of UM, and at right, Ambassador Gillian Bristol, Director, Latin American-Caribbean Centre of The UWI.
In October 2019, The UWI and the University of Miami (UM) concluded two years of negotiations with the signing of an MOU to create a bilateral partnership focused on areas of public health, local harming from global warming, access to global technology, poverty reduction, innovation, and youth entrepreneurship.
Brokered by The UWI's Latin America-Caribbean Centre, a university-wide initiative has been underway in conjunction with UM to develop a joint Sustainable Health Institute for research on women's cancers, palliative care, non-communicable diseases, and climate and health in the Caribbean.
The UWI partners in this endeavour include the Faculties of Medical Science, George Alleyne Chronic Disease Research Centre (GA-CDRC), and School of Clinical Medicine and Research (Nassau). Representing the UM is the Institute for Advanced Study of the Americas headed by Dr. Felicia Knaul, with collaboration from the Office for Hemispheric and Global Affairs and Dr. Gilberto Lopes de Lima of the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Miller School of Medicine.
The proposed Sustainable Health Institute is envisioned as an umbrella organization for a range of health-related projects, including a Caribbean-wide Biobank; a mobile health/telemedicine app that would enable physicians to examine patients from a distance; and mobility of UWI medical students.
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