News Releases

ST. AUGUSTINE, Trinidad and Tobago. Friday 6 November 2020 – The 2020 National Health Research Conference under the banner “Advancing Health Research in Trinidad and Tobago”, will be held on November 19-20, 2020 by several key stakeholders.  This event is a joint effort by the Faculty of Medical Sciences, The University of the West Indies (The UWI) St. Augustine Campus, the Ministry of Health, the Tobago House of Assembly, regional health authorities, the University of Trinidad and Tobago and the University of the Southern Caribbean.

Set to be the first annual conference of its kind, the planning committee was not to be thwarted by the inability to gather in a physical setting but instead, pivoted the event to a virtual offering, set over two days. “We felt it was really important to highlight the excellent work that Trinidad and Tobago researchers are doing and so, sought to make the conference a reality in spite of the circumstances,” said Professor Donald T Simeon, Director of The UWI St. Augustine’s Caribbean Centre for Health Systems Research and Development (CCHSRD) and UWI St. Augustine Planning Committee Chair.

Targeted to attract over 200 participants across various arms of the health sector, the Conference is open for members of the public to attend. Minister of Health, the Honourable Terrence Deyalsingh is slated to bring remarks. The feature presentation will be done by Professor John Lavis, Director of the renown McMaster Health Forum.  Also speaking are Dr. Erica Wheeler, PAHO/WHO Representative for T&T as well as Professor Terence Seemungal, Dean of the Faculty of Medical Sciences at The UWI St. Augustine.

Professor Seemungal noted, “The goal of this conference is to foster collaboration among health researchers and provide a forum to share health research findings of the country. It is an opportunity to celebrate health research achievements in Trinidad and Tobago.”

The conference will cover the pertinent topics of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular disease; mental health and cancer; veterinary and dental health and of course COVID-19. Among the unique offerings, participants can look forward to a 3D Poster Hall, virtual speaker lounge, sponsor booths and contests.

To register, persons can visit the website at http://conferences.sta.uwi.edu/nhrc/

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NOTES TO EDITOR

About The UWI

For more than 70 years The University of the West Indies (The UWI) has provided service and leadership to the Caribbean region and wider world. The UWI evolved from a university college of London in Jamaica with 33 medical students in 1948 to an internationally respected, regional university with near 50,000 students across five campuses: Cave Hill in Barbados; Five Islands in Antigua and Barbuda; Mona in Jamaica, St. Augustine in Trinidad and Tobago; and an Open Campus. Times Higher Education has ranked The UWI among the top 1,258 universities in world for 2019, and the 40 best universities in its Latin America Rankings for 2018 and 2019. The UWI is the only Caribbean-based university to make the prestigious lists.

As part of its robust globalization agenda, The UWI has established partnering centres with universities in North America, Latin America, Asia, and Africa including the State University of New York (SUNY)-UWI Center for Leadership and Sustainable Development; the Canada-Caribbean Studies Institute with Brock University; the Strategic Alliance for Hemispheric Development with Universidad de los Andes (UNIANDES); The UWI-China Institute of Information Technology, the University of Lagos (UNILAG)-UWI Institute of African and Diaspora Studies and the Institute for Global African Affairs with the University of Johannesburg (UJ). The UWI offers over 800 certificate, diploma, undergraduate and postgraduate degree options in Food & Agriculture, Engineering, Humanities & Education, Law, Medical Sciences, Science & Technology, Social Sciences and Sport. As the region’s premier research academy, The UWI’s foremost objective is driving the growth and development of the regional economy. For more, visit www.uwi.edu.

 (Please note that the proper name of the university is The University of the West Indies, inclusive of “The”)