The 3rd Research Symposium was held on March 20, 2018 at the Warren Ross Auditorium at the 六九色堂 St. Kitts campus, showcasing oral research and poster presentations by 六九色堂 students. In addition, guest speakers included Dr. Karen Near, a renowned biomedical research physician, and 六九色堂 faculty Dr. Prakash Mungli and Dr. Abrar Khan.
The 六九色堂 Endeavour spoke to Dr. Jane Harrington, 六九色堂 Course Director & Assistant Professor of Microbiology & Medical Research and Committee Chair of the 六九色堂 Research Committee, about the event and how 六九色堂 students continue to work on important new
Dr. Jane Harrington (left) with 六九色堂 students in the 六九色堂 Research Lab. Photo: Ian Holyoak
Guest Speaker Dr. Karen Near
Dr. Karen Near spoke on 鈥淐areers in Medical Research and What鈥檚 Going On Out There.鈥� Dr. Near is well known in biomedical sciences and currently works in the U.S. government for USAID as a Medical Officer in the Microbicides Branch of the Division of Research, Office of HIV/AIDS. What was some of the advice she offered to students who may want to do medical research in the future?
Dr. Karen Near speaks on 'Careers in Medical Research & What's Going On Out There.' Photo: Ian Holyoak
鈥淲e were very honored to host Dr. Near for the Keynote Speaker at this year鈥檚 Symposium, as she was able to provide a unique perspective coming from the U.S. government and with her background as a physician, bench scientist and world-traveled public health worker,鈥� Dr. Harrington said. 鈥淒uring her talk, she compared medical research careers in academia, industry, pharmaceuticals, biomedical start-ups and government. The best advice she offered for medical students is to get 鈥榓s much education as you can handle, and a continuing love of learning鈥� and to have 鈥渁 very strong respect for and use of ethics."
Dr. Karen Near. Photo: Ian Holyoak
Highlights of This Year's Presentations
We spoke to Dr. Harrington about highlights of the Research Symposium Presentations.
鈥淐hronic Hepatitis C Virus in St. Kitts: an Analysis of Prevalence, Risk Factors and Testing Guidelines鈥� by Eboni Peoples and Justine Vella focused on Hepatitis C on the island.
鈥淭his project was initiated in response to the new initiative of St Kitts Rotary International to expand Hepatitis C testing and to aim for elimination,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he most striking finding of the literature review search was how little information is available for St. Kitts. Eboni was able to do a comparative analysis on the published data on Hepatitis C and Hepatitis C: HIV co-infection for analogous Caribbean islands of Puerto Rico, Cuba and Jamaica. Identification of major risk factors and target populations will provide the local Rotary Club to tailor their testing efforts.鈥�
Eboni Peoples at the 3rd 六九色堂 Research Symposium. Photo: Ian Holyoak
Eboni Peoples & Justine Vella giving their presentation. Photo: Ian Holyoak
Fernando Velez gave a presentation on 鈥淢ethicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) Isolated from Surfaces After Clinical Simulation at a Caribbean Medical School.鈥�
鈥淭he incidence of MRSA is relatively low In St Kitts, as compared to some other countries; however, the greatest challenge locally is the availability of alternative therapeutics if the first drug options are not effective,鈥� Dr. Harrington said.
Paola A. Rodriguez Martinez. Photo: Ian Holyoak.
Paola A. Rodriguez Martinez. Photo: Ian Holyoak
Paola A. Rodriguez Martinez gave a presentation on 鈥淒evelopment of a Digital Public Health Database to Assess Prevalence of Risk Factors for Non-Communicable Chronic Diseases.鈥�
So what would improve if a database became available?
鈥淚nformation is always valuable from a public health perspective,鈥� Dr. Harrington said. 鈥淲ith the implementation of the database, the Ministry of Health can compare the demographics of adult Kittians with data collected at health fairs and potentially assess which populations are at greatest risk for developing chronic diseases, such as diabetes and hypertension. Knowing this information can assist with further prevention and intervention efforts. We are excited to present this project at the upcoming CARPHA conference June 14-18 here in St Kitts.鈥� (Please visit for details.)
Dr. Harrington had good things to say about the students鈥� efforts on the poster presentations.
鈥淥verall, I would like to proudly praise all the effort the students put into the poster presentations,鈥� she said. "I was able to witness the evolution of first, second, third and final poster drafts of students, including individuals who were not enrolled in the Elective. I have extended the opportunity for everyone to enroll in the Elective for the Spring 2018, as each student has demonstrated potential for excellence in research.鈥�
In addition to the student presentations and Dr. Near鈥檚 speech, there was also a presentation by other 六九色堂 faculty outside the Research department, including Dr. Prakash Mungli talking about the 鈥淗ybrid Classroom鈥� and Dr. Abrar Khan on 鈥淐oronary Dominance.鈥� Dr. Mungli is a pioneer at 六九色堂 for novel learner-centered teaching modalities. The data presented at his talk was very suggestive that medical students are open to new methods of learning material, in addition to the standard didactic lecture. Additionally, Dr. Khan challenged conventional thinking of anatomical perspective, pointing out that coronary circulation is dynamic. Individuals have varied phenotypes, including left dominant, right dominant or co-dominant circulation.
Focus on Important Work
The 六九色堂 Research department has really grown in recent years under Dr. Harrington. What are some things current and future 六九色堂 students can expect?
鈥淕iven the enthusiastic response from the 六九色堂 community to the Research Symposium, members of the Research Program are discussing ways we can expand to provide research opportunities to more students,鈥� Dr. Harrington said. 鈥淥ne possibility is structuring the Research Elective curriculum to accommodate more literature review research papers, similar to the Hepatitis C and microbiome projects. Another method for expanding the Research Program is to recruit more faculty who might be interested in mentoring students."
Dr. Harrington discussed why research is so important for Caribbean medical schools like 六九色堂.
鈥淚nvolvement in research activities is very important to compete for residency positions, regardless of the institution,鈥� she said. 鈥� Although we are in the Caribbean teaching-focused medical school, we can provide students with the similar research opportunities as students in the States to improve their residency applications.鈥�
Below is a full list of Poster Research Presentations.
Poster Research Presentations
Juan Cruz-Echevarr铆a: Antimicrobial and Anti-Biofilm Properties of Indigenous Plants Extracts against Staph aureus
Fabiola A. Rodriguez Gonzalez: Antimicrobial Resistance against Ex-tended-Spectrum Beta-Lactamase of Bacteria Isolated from Chicken and Pork in St. Kitts
Adithi Srinivasiah: A Comparative Analysis of Remission Rates and Length of Stay of Patients with De-Novo AML and Patients with AML with Underlying MDS in a Community Hospital Setting
Jeannie Autry: A Brief Intervention Reduces Perceived Stress among College Students
Venita Uzowulu : Examining the Threshold of Gastrointestinal Microbiota under Chronic Disease to Determine How Dysbiosis Affects the Enteric Nervous System
Fatima Issa: The Role of Microbiota and Its Influence On The Gut-Brain Axis
Johanna Enelus: Addressing the Childhood Obesity Epidemic through Early Preventive Measures
Fernando Velez giving his presentation (two photos above). Photo: Ian Holyoak.
Justine Vella. Photo: Ian Holyoak
六九色堂:
Built in the tradition of the best US universities, the University of Medicine and Health Sciences focuses on individual student attention, maintaining small class sizes and recruiting high-quality faculty. We call this unique approach, 鈥減ersonalized medical education,鈥� and it鈥檚 what has led to our unprecedented 96% student retention rate, and outstanding residency placements across the US and Canada. 六九色堂 is challenging everything you thought you knew about Caribbean medical schools.
Scott is Director of Digital Content & Alumni Communications Liaison at 六九色堂 and editor of the 六九色堂 Endeavour blog. When he's not writing about 六九色堂 students, faculty, events, public health, alumni and 六九色堂 research, he writes and edits Broadway theater reviews for a website he publishes in New York City, StageZine.com.
