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“Some years ago, my 16-year-old daughter was mistreated with the wrong medication and fell into a coma. All her organs shut down. Almost four weeks later she came out of the coma, maintained coherence and called my name…The best thing that has ever happened to me is becoming a mother and entering into a personal relationship with the Almighty Father through Jesus Christ. My students have come to know that with me “Nothing is considered done until it is done”. I have a commitment to serve and worship God through selfless research and teaching. My research into yams, which originated in Nigeria and was fostered in Germany, became buttressed in Jamaica and has since radiated out to many parts of the world, resulting in many UWI-trained PhD scholars. With its strategic location and active research framework, UWI has served as a most suitable hub for the enhancement of this research.”

Professor Helen Asemota

PROFESSOR OF BIOCHEMISTRY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
DEPARTMENT OF BASIC MEDICAL SCIENCES
FACULTY OF MEDICAL SCIENCES
MONA CAMPUS, JAMAICA
Tel: (876) 977-5935 • Email: lisa.vasciannie@uwimona.edu.jmu

PROFILE

Professor Helen Asemota’s academic profile spans a period of approximately three decades. During this period, she served several universities in different countries and rose to the Professorial level at UWI. She received numerous awards and became involved in various local and international organizations in developing and executing new and improved research approaches in Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Biotechnology and recently Nanotechnology. She is currently on joint appointment with UWI Mona and Shaw University in North Carolina, USA where she serves as Head of the Nanobiology Division of the Shaw Nanotechnology Initiative – the Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Research Center (NNRC) – and also as Chairman for the Shaw Institutional Research Board (IRB), among other roles. Her research work on yam improvement using biotechnology has been beneficial to several nations including Jamaica. Her academic career included teaching at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels, developing state-of-the-art technology courses/programmes and consultancy services to various international organizations: the European Union as technical expert (1994-1995); as International Technical Cooperation Programmes (TCP) Consultant for Biotechnology to Syria under the United Nations Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries (TCDC) Programmes (2001); and as UN-FAO International Consultant for Biotechnology to the Republic of Tajikistan (2003-2007), providing technical leadership for the Tajikistan National Seed Potato Production Programme towards food sufficiency in the country. On a periodic basis, she serves the UN as International Consultant for some UN-FAO Seed Production Programmes. She has over 250 publications (over 80 of them in International Refereed Journals) with an admirable postgraduate students supervisory/mentorship record of at least 25. She holds membership in renowned professional organizations and has served in many local, regional and international boards.

RESEARCH INTERESTS

• Conservation of Biodiversity, Improvement of Production and Exploitation of Tropical Tuber Crops for Sustainable Development, Biochemistry, Biotechnology and Molecular Biology.
• Nutritional Supplement as a tool for Harm Reduction in Illicit Drug Addiction: Mechanism of Action in Animal Model.
• Bio-nanotechnology applications in emerging situations.
• Animal model studies for metabolic analyses of physiological conditions under yam products supplementation.