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Professor Chidum Ezenwaka to speak at UWI on Diabetes prevention

For Release Upon Receipt - November 15, 2010

St. Augustine


 

Is it easier to prevent diabetes or prevent its complications? Research studies have shown that the challenges for preventing or delaying the development of Type 2 Diabetes are equal and similar to the challenges for managing the disorder from getting complicated.

Professor Chidum Ezenwaka, Professor of Chemical Pathology at The University of the West Indies (UWI), St Augustine, will address this and other issues related to Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, when he delivers his Professorial Inaugural Lecture on Thursday 25th November, at 5:30 pm, at the Amphitheatre A, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, Mt Hope.

Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus is a heterogeneous disorder, whose underlying causes are not fully understood. It is well known that both genetic and environmental factors play important roles in its development. Thus, a genetic predisposition places the relatives of patients with Type 2 diabetes at a theoretically increased risk of developing the disorder.

“Type 2 diabetes could be prevented or delayed if the modifiable risk factors are identified and initially prevented from getting out of range. However, as in all things, we do not always get it right and consequently many relatives of patients with Type 2 diabetes develop the same disorder and ultimately face the challenges of managing their diabetes, which usually warrant lifestyle modifications,” Professor Ezenwaka explained.

His upcoming lecture promises to be informative and stimulating. Professor Ezenwaka will discuss some of his published research studies on prevention of diabetes and its complications. He has authored numerous full-length, peer-reviewed papers and abstracts in international scientific journals, as well as several conference papers and newspaper articles on related subjects.

Professor Ezenwaka has participated in international research collaborations with Professor Jurgen Eckel of the German Diabetes Research Institute (2002 to present), with Professor KGMM Alberti of University of Newcastle upon Tyne (1994) and with Professor Kwame Osei of Ohio State University Hospitals, USA (1992-93). He has attracted various international grants, and holds several awards and fellowships, including the Robert Turner Clinical Research Award (March 2006) from European Association for the Study of Diabetes Award Sponsorship to the Oxford Diabetes Centre, UK, and the EFSD/Merck Fellowship (July 2003) from the European Foundation for the Study of Diabetes and Merck Company to Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis, Missouri, USA.

 

About UWI

Over the last six decades, The University of the West Indies (UWI) has evolved from a fledgling college in Jamaica with 33 students to a full-fledged University with over 40,000 students. Today, UWI is the largest and most longstanding higher education provider in the English-speaking Caribbean, with main campuses in Barbados, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, and Centres in Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, The Bahamas, Belize, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St Christopher (St Kitts) & Nevis, St Lucia, and St Vincent & the Grenadines. UWI recently launched its Open Campus, a virtual campus with over 50 physical site locations across the region, serving over 20 countries in the English-speaking Caribbean. UWI is an international university with faculty and students from over 40 countries and collaborative links with over 60 universities around the world. Through its seven Faculties, UWI offers undergraduate and postgraduate degree options in Engineering, Humanities & Education, Law, Medical Sciences, Pure & Applied Sciences, Science and Agriculture, and Social Sciences.

 

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