Access

Celebrating The University of the West Indies' 75th Anniversary

The oldest unit of the Caribbean Institute for Health Research, the Tropical Metabolism Research Unit (TMRU), dates back to the 1950s – the early years of the University of the West Indies and the building of the University Hospital of the West Indies. At that time the faculty in the then Medical Research Council Unit held joint appointments with the University of the West Indies, teaching preclinical and clinical medical students while also developing their research agendas. The Units of CAIHR, in particular the TMRU, have served as a training ground for many of the University’s outstanding leaders. Among them, Professor Sir George Alleyne, Chancellor Emeritus; Professor Sir Henry Fraser, former Dean of the Faculty of Medical Sciences at Cave Hill, Barbados; and Professor Minerva Thame, the first female Dean of the Faculty of Medical Sciences at Mona.

The research done by the early pioneers, Professors John Waterlow, Sally Grantham-McGregor and Graham Serjeant addressed critical public health challenges such as severe acute childhood malnutrition and its neurodevelopmental consequences, sickle cell disease and other non-communicable diseases. This work set the stage for much of the meaningful research programmes that are now being pursued at CAIHR.

Members of the Institute continue to tackle many global health challenges which are of particular significance to the Caribbean. These include obesity, non-communicable diseases (including sickle cell disease), violence prevention and climate change. Our internationally competitive, innovative research projects have helped to develop health policy not only in the region but globally and provides us with an opportunity to shape the next generation of Caribbean scientists to maintain the legacy of the Institute and the University of the West Indies and further establish the reputation of the Caribbean as a global thought-leader in health.

During The UWI’s 75th anniversary year we showcased some of this work through a series of professorial lectures, sharing with our stakeholders and featuring the work of the current generation of research leaders in the Institute. The first by the Institute Director, Professor Marshall Tulloch-Reid, was held in May 2023.

A recording of this lecture is available from the UWI-tv’s Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/UWITV/videos/229147049845659

As we continue to commemorate the University’s 75th Anniversary milestone we are also organizing memorabilia within CAIHR to commemorate the history of the Institute and the achievements of its alumni for display in a section of the TMRU being fitted for this purpose.

Agility

Building global networks through research funding, collaborative publications and new networks

CAIHR continues to identify and obtain external grant funding relevant to our research strategy and regional needs from local and international agencies and donors including the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), The Wellcome Trust, the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UK Global Challenge Research Fund, the Inter-American Development Bank, UKRI/Medical Research Council, The UK National Institute for Health Research and several others.

Seven members of the Child Development Research Group within the Epidemiology Research Unit, including graduate students and junior faculty, were authors in a special issue of the journal Pediatrics on Promoting Childhood Development Globally Through Caregiving Interventions, published in May 2023 (Pediatrics 2023; 151 ,Supplement 2). Professor Susan Walker, head of the research group, was co-guest editor of the supplement.

https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/issue/151/Supplement%202

On December 7, 2022 the TMRU launched the Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change Regional Centre for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) that include the Caribbean, Pacific Islands, as well as SIDS from the African and Indian Ocean. The Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change is a team of global experts tracking the impact of climate change on human health and providing evidence for action. Dr. Georgian Gordon-Strachan will serve as the executive director of the Regional Centre.

https://www.lancetcountdown.org/sids/lancet-countdown-sids-events/

Dr. Zachary Ramsay, a newly appointed lecturer in CAIHR’s Sickle Cell Unit, was one of 16 Jamaicans who were awarded Chevening Scholarships in 2022. He pursued an MSc in Applied Statistical Modelling and Health Informatics, King's College London, providing an opportunity for him to learn important skills in machine learning, artificial intelligence, bioinformatics (interpretation and data quality in genome analysis), spatial epidemiology and prediction modelling. His future PhD work will employ these skills to model and predict sickle cell pain.

https://uwi.edu/caihr/faculty/pg-ramsay.php

Prof. Simon Anderson of the George Alleyne Chronic Disease Research Centre (in collaboration with Prof. Seeromanie Harding of Kings College, London) was awarded a grant of £1 M from the UK Medical Research Council and the Department of Health and Social Care, National Institute of Health Research, to execute the IMPACT (Implementation of a Multi-sectoral Programme to Improve Indigenous AdolesCent Mental Health in Brazil and Dominica) Study. The project will implement and evaluate a culturally adapted multi-sectoral program to improve Indigenous adolescent mental health in Brazil (Guarita Lands) and Dominica (Kalinago Territory).

Alignment

Partnerships for change

In the last year we partnered with the Jamaica Ministry of Health and Wellness to

• Offer training sessions on the management of sickle cell disease
• Implement and evaluate the Reach Up early childhood parenting programme through primary health centres across Jamaica
• Develop new evidence-based guidelines for the management of three chronic diseases: hypertension, diabetes and asthma
• Strengthen hypertension management by training of staff in primary care clinics in Kingston, St. Andrew and St. Thomas as part of the CATCH study

The Child Development Group also continues its work with the Early Childhood Commission (ECC), building skills in preschool teachers and parents through training nationally based on lessons learned from its IRIE Classroom and Irie Homes violence prevention programmes.

Cross University Collaborations continue with graduate student exchange between The UWI, The University of Glasgow Nutrition Collaboration and McGill University.