Clinical and Ethics experts join The UWI COVID-19 Task Force
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Prof. Terence Seemungal |
Dr. Carl Bruce |
Dr. Anna Perkins |
Mr. Caleb Gardiner |
The UWI Regional Headquarters, Kingston, Jamaica, Thursday, 9 April, 2020. Four new members have joined The UWI COVID-19 Task Force, bringing expertise to address the clinical aspects of the virus. They are Professor Terence Seemungal, Pulmonologist and Dean of the Faculty of Medical Sciences at The UWI St Augustine Campus; Dr Carl A. R. Bruce, Medical Chief of Staff and Consultant Neurosurgeon at the University Hospital of the West Indies and Dr Anna K. Perkins, Senior Programme Officer, Quality Assurance Unit at The UWI whose expertise is in ethics. Newly elected Guild President at The UWI Five Islands Campus, Mr. Caleb Gardiner, has also been added to the diverse response team to represent the youth and student voice.
Altogether, they comprise a regional team of 19 persons, mobilised since February by The UWI to leverage the University's knowledge and expertise to assist the Caribbean in its readiness and response to the virus outbreak. The Task Force is committed to providing clear and accurate information, sharing its research with stakeholders across the region. The members’ expertise span areas such as virology, epidemiology, laboratory diagnostics, critical care, respiratory medicine, pulmonology, health leadership, emergency medicine, veterinary medicine, mental health, public health, clinical psychology and counselling, tourism, trade, international relations, public education, youth advocacy, ethics, and communication, among other areas.
A trusted, reliable, single source of information, the Task Force website, www.uwi.edu/covid19 provides a helpful repository of shared resources from a range of partner agencies and regular updates, all relevant to the Caribbean’s response to the global COVID-19 pandemic amid a wave of misinformation and speculation. In addition, Task Force experts are available to provide commentary or media interviews. Members of the media are invited to make requests via email to universitymktgcomms@sta.uwi.edu.
The complete list of members of the UWI COVID-19 Task Force and their specialisations are as follows:
Professor Clive Landis, Chairman, Cardiovascular Research
Dr Harold Watson, Emergency Medicine
Dr Carl A. R. Bruce, Neurosurgery and Health Leadership
Professor Terence Seemungal, Pulmonology
Dr Joshua Anzinger, Virology
Professor Christine Carrington, Molecular Genetics and Virology
Professor Christopher Oura, Veterinary Virology
Professor Julie Meeks, Health Research
Professor Wendel Abel, Mental Health/Public Health
Professor Donna-Maria Maynard, Clinical Counselling & Psychology
Dr Katija Khan, Clinical Psychology
Mrs Ceceile Minott, Counselling/Child Development/Social Development
Dr Anna K. Perkins, Ethics
Dr Don Marshall, International Relations & Economics
Dr Michelle McLeod, Hotel & Tourism Management
Mr Caleb Gardiner, Youth Advocacy
Dr Veronica Simon, Continuing Education & Public Outreach
Ms Janet Caroo, Broadcast & Public Outreach
Dr Rhonda Jaipaul-O'Garro, Marketing & Communications
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Notes to the Editor:
Full bios of Task Force members are available at http://www.uwi.edu/covid19/taskforce.php
About The UWI
For over 70 years The University of the West Indies (The UWI) has provided service and leadership to the Caribbean region and wider world. The UWI has evolved from a university college of London in Jamaica with 33 medical students in 1948 to an internationally respected, regional university with near 50,000 students and five campuses: Mona in Jamaica, St. Augustine in Trinidad and Tobago, Cave Hill in Barbados, Five Islands in Antigua and Barbuda and an Open Campus. As part of its robust globalization agenda, The UWI has established partnering centres with universities in North America, Latin America, Asia, Africa and Europe including the State University of New York (SUNY)-UWI Center for Leadership and Sustainable Development; the Canada-Caribbean Institute with Brock University; the Strategic Alliance for Hemispheric Development with Universidad de los Andes (UNIANDES); The UWI-China Institute of Information Technology, the University of Lagos (UNILAG)-UWI Institute of African and Diaspora Studies; the Institute for Global African Affairs with the University of Johannesburg (UJ); The UWI-University of Havana Centre for Sustainable Development; The UWI-Coventry Institute for Industry-Academic Partnership with the University of Coventry and the Glasgow-Caribbean Centre for Development Research with the University of Glasgow
The UWI offers over 800 certificate, diploma, undergraduate and postgraduate degree options in Food & Agriculture, Engineering, Humanities & Education, Law, Medical Sciences, Science & Technology, Social Sciences and Sport.
As the region’s premier research academy, The UWI’s foremost objective is driving the growth and development of the regional economy. The world’s most reputable ranking agency, Times Higher Education, has ranked The UWI among the top 600 universities in the world for 2019 and 2020, and the 40 best universities in Latin America and the Caribbean for 2018 and 2019. The UWI has been the only Caribbean-based university to make the prestigious lists. For more, visit www.uwi.edu.
(Please note that the proper name of the university is The University of the West Indies, inclusive of the “The”, hence The UWI.)
