Event

The Open Lectures Committee  cordially invites you  to attend the Professorial Inaugural Lecture by  Professor Adesh Ramsubhag, Professor of Microbiology and Biotechnology. The lecture,  Journey through the local microbial landscape: Challenges and biotechnological potential for the Caribbean takes place on Wednesday 12 April at 6 pm at the Learning Resource Centre, The UWI St Augustine Campus.

To register, visit https://uwi.jotform.com/230754961166057

Biography- Professor Adesh Ramsubhag specializes in Microbiology and Biotechnology. As a child growing up in the 1970s, it would have been unimaginable to conceive the idea of a life outside farming for Professor Ramsubhag. Born and raised in the rural community of Rochard Road, Penal; he was the last of nine children born to Bridglal and Rajdaye Ramsubhag. At that time, the mainstay of the village was agriculture. Like most in his community and family, this also appeared to be his destiny but the universe had other plans and he was propelled into the unlikely world of academia. His was not a typical journey, and he attributes the values instilled by his family and community, and the rich experiences of his rural upbringing as largely responsible for his achievements in academia.  

Prof. Ramsubhag worked for two years on his family’s farm before pursuing the BSc degree in agriculture at The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine. He was interested in completing the degree not only for gaining employment for himself, but also to contribute to the growth and development of his family’s farm. The programme gave Prof. Ramsubhag exposure to the sciences, particularly in pure and applied biology and chemistry, which provided much fascination, excitement and satisfaction. He enjoyed learning in the enabling environment of intellectual exploration and quest for deeper knowledge at the university. With encouragement and support of a small group of friends, he gradually transformed into a more conscientious and focused student. After graduating with his bachelor’s degree he registered for the M.Phil research degree for which he was awarded a UWI Open Postgraduate Scholarship. He was intrigued with molecular genetics, and chose a research project on microbial genetics and biotechnology. His supervisors, Prof. Pathmanathan Umaharan and the late Dr. Alfred Donowa, served as mentors and were instrumental in his intellectual development. He was keenly interested in applying the latest cutting-edge technology in his research and received full support from his supervisors to pursue this strategy. Prof. Ramsubhag subsequently upgraded to a PhD in Microbiology which he completed in 1997.         

After completing the doctoral degree, Prof. Ramsubhag took up a position as Microbiologist and Deputy Laboratory Manager at the Caribbean Industrial Research Institute. This was an environment that provided further opportunities to learn and to grow, and the experience was extremely satisfying and rewarding. He was involved in laboratory testing and consultancies related to food and water, public health, the environment and industrial microbiology. Being a “problem solver” by nature he thoroughly enjoyed working with clients to analyze problems and developing solutions. However, he was missing research in hardcore biotechnology, and when the opportunity presented itself in 2001, he moved to the Department of Life Sciences, UWI, St. Augustine as a Lecturer in Microbiology and Plant Pathology. He later served as Head of the Department of Life Sciences from 2015-2018, and was promoted to the rank of Professor in 2021.  

Since joining the UWI, Prof. Ramsubhag has lectured to thousands of students in a relatively large number of both postgraduate and undergraduate courses in microbiology, biotechnology and plant pathology. He believes the current education system encourages rote learning and is doing a major disservice to our young people and the country. He uses strategies to promote active learning and for students to develop deeper interests and a love for knowledge. He is also a very active researcher and has completed a number of pure and applied research projects. He emphasizes on keeping up with current technology in order to be relevant to local needs, e.g. for diagnosing and managing diseases of plants, animals and humans, detecting and managing pollution in the environment and drug discovery from microorganisms. Prof. Ramsubhag enjoys working with students and has supervised 35 MSc, M.Phil and PhD student projects. He also depends on teamwork for accomplishing research and has collaborations with many researchers in all the science faculties at UWI as well as many from foreign universities. Thus far, Prof. Ramsubhag has published over 50 research articles in peer-reviewed journals as well as dozens of abstracts, short communications and conference proceedings. He also has a patent application pending for a novel class of adjuvant compounds that break resistance in diseases causing microorganisms. In 2018, he received the Anthony N. Sabga Caribbean Award for Excellence in Science and Technology and the UWI Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Research in 2019. He attributes his success to the influences of his family, community and teachers, as well as from the support of friends and colleagues at the UWI.  

Abstract- With more than one trillion estimated species and 5 trillion (5³⁰) cells, microorganisms dominate the world, and have major impacts on our lives. While a small number of these organisms can cause disease, the vast majority of microbes are beneficial, and many have been exploited for providing important products and services for humans. This lecture will focus on explorations of microorganisms in Trinidad and Tobago, for both detecting and helping to manage harmful species, and more importantly, for isolating and assessing beneficial types for biotechnological applications.  

Trinidad and Tobago is considered a biodiversity hotspot for higher organisms but ploughing deep into our microbial landscape using DNA based methods, Prof. Ramsubhag’s  research group has revealed, an unimaginable level of diversity and uniqueness in the local environment. This provides a tremendous opportunity for biotechnological exploitation of the huge potential pool of unique genes and metabolites for commercialization, such as the discovery of new drug molecules. However, Prof. Ramsubhag has also found that microbial and chemical pollution from domestic, agricultural, and industrial sources pose a significant threat to our unique microbial biodiversity, and to human health. Evaluation of drinking water in rural communities has also revealed the presence of some bacteria of potential human health significance.  

Professor Ramsubhag will also be presenting information on work done on disease causing microbes, including characterization of antibiotic resistance genes in clinical bacteria and the environment. However, on the other side of the spectrum, he will show how we can capitalize on our unique microbial biodiversity to find solutions to the scourge of antibiotic resistance. His work on drug discovery from indigenous bacteria has yielded several new compounds with therapeutic potential for treating antibiotic resistant infections. Two classes of compounds currently in pre-clinical development were found to break resistance in infectious bacteria and restore the efficacy of antibiotics in combination treatment. His lecture will also touch on other applications of indigenous microorganisms, including bioremediation of petroleum pollutants, biofertilizers, and biological control of pests. Ongoing research on valorization of Sargassum seaweed has also resulted in development of bio stimulant products for commercial use.