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“While visiting a foreign country, I saw a crowd gathered around a man with a crippled hand. He had two paper dolls that were dancing on the sidewalk by themselves. A voice inside of me shouted, “Michelle, this is ridiculous!” but I bought my prized examples of advanced technology. I later found out that the hand that appeared to be hanging limp by the vendor’s side was being used to suspend a piece of string attached to the dolls. The “supportive crowd” was made up of his friends and people who had fun at the expense of unsuspecting tourists. I learned, among other things, that if you can’t laugh at yourself, you may be missing the joke of the century! Time spent with me should prepare my students to face negative experiences and should not be numbered as one of them. I would like to be remembered as someone who saw her skills, training, talents, abilities and experiences, as opportunities given by the true and living God to impact the lives of others.”

Dr. Michelle Hamilton

LECTURER
DEPARTMENT OF BASIC MEDICAL SCIENCES
FACULTY OF MEDICAL SCIENCES
MONA CAMPUS, JAMAICA
Tel: (876) 927-1660-9 ext 2790 • 876-837-5521 • Email: Michelle.Hamilton@uwimona.edu.jm

PROFILE

Dr. Michelle Hamilton obtained her BSc (Hons), MBBS and MPhil (Biochemistry) from The University of the West Indies, Mona, and a PhD (Medical Microbiology) from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, and has received numerous academic fellowships and awards. Initially joining the staff of The UWI, Mona, as a Research Fellow in Biotechnology, she was later appointed to the post of Lecturer in Biochemistry. In 1997, utilising a UWI/IDB grant, she established the first fermentation facility in the Department of Basic Medical Sciences. Her research on xanthan gum production later produced two patents; firstly in 1998, and secondly, a provisional international patent for which filing was completed in 2008, as well as earning a Best Paper Award (Manufacturing), at the 2004 Conference of the West Indies Sugar Technologists. In 2006, she established ‘The University of the West Indies Microbiology Analytical Services’ (UWI MAS), a commercial laboratory within the Department of Basic Medical Sciences, and through her Research Fellow, Mr. Garth Dawkins, has been spearheading the process of international accreditation for this and all Biochemistry laboratories. Dr. Hamilton has supervised the research activities of three Research Fellows, seven postgraduate and eight undergraduate students. She has been actively involved in course development in the Faculties of Pure & Applied Sciences and Medical Sciences, serving as a member of the Stage 1 and Curriculum Development Committees of the latter since 2005. Her student teaching assessments have been consistently high and she has received commendations for obtaining near perfect scores for some courses. Dr. Hamilton has also contributed to non-university teaching through microbiology consultancies with the Ministry of Health, Jamaica and has represented Jamaica at meetings of the Codex Alimentarius Commission.

RESEARCH INTERESTS

Dr. Hamilton’s research interests include:
• The utilization of products and by products of the sugar industry for the production of value-added products which can decrease foreign exchange expenditure through import substitution, as well as increase revenue through non-traditional exports
• a novel process for the production of xanthan gum, a raw material utilized in the pharmaceutical and chemical industries, and which has applications in enhanced oil recovery in the petroleum industry, has been developed and patented.
• Identification and characterization of local food pathogens with a view to increasing regional food safety.