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166 Professor Patrick Akpaka was born in Nigeria and graduated from the University of Nigeria Nsukka Medical College 1990 and completed his residency programme at The UWI Mona Campus DM 2004. He has had further postgraduate training in the UK USA and Canada. He joined the academic staff of the Paraclinical Sciences Department of the St.Augustine Campus of The Univer- sity of the West Indies in 2005as a temporary full-time lecturer in Microbiology. Dr. Akpaka established his research abilities here at the St. Augustine campus of The UWI with bias in the area of molecular epidemiology diagnosis and characterization of multi-drug resistant microbial agents associated with infections that are of public health interest including their antibiotic-resistance profiles.His research work has had impacts on clinical and labora- tory diagnosis as well as in scientific knowledge. He pioneered several research projects in the department that have investigated the molecular epidemiology of several bacterial organisms including Staphylococcus aureus Pseudomonas aeruginosa Escherichia coli Klebsiella pneumoniae and Mycobacterium tuberculosis to mention but a few.Most of the work done on the above organisms by Dr. Akpaka are published in highly reputable regional and international journals that have high impact factors. His research work which detected multi-drug resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa that acquired Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemases KPC gene that led to a fatal case of a native Trinidad Tobago national was the third such discovery in the whole world. This work was not only presented at the Inter- Science Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy ICAAC in 2008 in the USA but was also published in one of the worlds leading journals in MicrobiologyJournal of Clinical Micro- biology JCM 2009 4782670-1. Professor Akpakas work on Staphylococcus aureus bacteria in the country has shed more light and information about the clonal spread of this organism and patterns of infections it causes in the country and the region. The work has been published in International Journal of Infectious Diseases and European Journal of Clinical Microbiology Int J Infect Dis 2007 11544 548 Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis 2012 317 1497-500 respectively. These research works have delineated how these organisms spread from one hospital to another or how they circulate in the country even tracing their origin outside the country to other regions which is reported in the Journal of Travel Medicine Journal of Travel Medicine 2013 20283-288. One of Professors Akpaka studies identified the Panton Valentine Leococidin PVL toxin gene in methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus that caused the demise of a 13 year old Trinidadian boy and this is reported in Journal of Medical Case Report Biomed Central Journals J Med Case Report Biomed Central 201151157.It revealed how clinically this could occur. The publication of this report has made clinicians aware of such cases. This work has also led to the development of a rapid detection of Panton-Valentine leukocidin in Staphylococcus aureus cultures by monoclonal antibodies using a lateral flow assay by Alere Technologies Germany and USA. This again was published in the Journal of Clinical Microbiology. JCM 2013 2487-95. These publications have heightened the need and urgency to put in place molecular diagnostic facilities not only in the department and regional hospitals in Trinidad Tobago but also worldwide. This work has a very strong clinical and labora- tory diagnosis impact or significance. Dr. Akpakas work in collaboration with other researchers from Germany United Kingdom Australia Ireland France Malta Hong Kong has contributed greatly to the characterization of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus MRSA resulting in a field guide to the nature of this organism producing pandemic epidemic and sporadic clones. This work was published in the PloS ONE journals PLoS ONE 2011 64 e17936. This particular work has had over 250 citations in leading journals demonstrat- ing its strong research and scientific impact. In the area of organisms that have public health impor- tance in terms of acquisiton and spread Dr. Akpakas work has had a high research and scientific knowledge impact. His work has not only highlighted a rapid method of detection of resist- ance to isoniazid and rifampicin in Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates collected in the Caribbean but has also given a first insight into Mycobacterium tuberculosis epidemiology and genetic diversity in Trinidad and Tobago as published in the Journal of Clinical Microbiology JCM 2008 46 103426-3428 and JCM 2009 4761911-4 respectively. Dr. Akpakas work on this organism of public health importance has also led to obtaining a first assessment of Mycobacterium tuberculosis genetic diversity and drug-resistance patterns in twelve Carib- bean territories published in Biomed Research International Biomed Res Int. 20142014718496. doi 10.11552014718496. His work has also resulted in the finer characterization of Mycobacterium tuberculosis using spoligotyping and 15-loci MIRU-VNTRs revealing phylogeographical specificities of MEDICAL SCIENCES Professor of Medical Microbiology Department of Para-Clinical Sciences Tel 868 645 2640 ext. 2332 E-mail patrick.akpakasta.uwi.edu PROF. PATRICK AKPAKA