Jamaicans.Biz

Charah Watson, a PhD. Candidate in the Department of Chemistry, at the University of the West Indies (Mona), was announced recently as the recipient of an International Year of Chemistry Award. The Award was presented to her at a prestigious Natural Products, Medicinal, and Organic Synthesis Chemistry Symposium held in celebration of the International Year of Chemistry in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Four Nobel Prize Winners in Chemistry were among the invited speakers at the event.

The year 2011 has been designated by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry as the International Year of Chemistry. As part of the celebrations, the event’s organisers invited one hundred promising young chemists from around the world to present their research at the Symposium themed ‘Integrated Solutions for Tomorrow’s World’. Miss Watson was one of only two young chemists from this region who were invited with full sponsorship (all airfare, accommodation, and conference expenses paid.) In her application, she described her investigations into two invasive citrus pests that have been found on the citrus plants in the region, the Citrus and Chequered Swallowtail Butterflies, the latter being a recent discovery. Her research has led to two recent patent applications for effective methods of control against both pest species, and which have the added benefit of also being environmentally friendly. Her research supervisor is Dr. Trevor Yee of the UWI Mona’s Natural Products Institute.

Dr. Paula Dawson is an expert in physical medicine and rehabilitation (psychiatry). She holds the distinction of being the only physician in Jamaica with United States board certification in psychiatry and has fellowship training in interventional spine, musculoskeletal and sports medicine rehabilitation from prestigious Northwestern University and Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago – which is the number one rehabilitation hospital in the United States, as reported by US News since 1991.

Dr. Dawson returned to Jamaica in 2008 to become a lecturer in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of the West Indies (UWI) and a consultant at the University Hospital of the West Indies. She is currently pioneering the development of the physical medicine and rehabilitation in Jamaica and by extension, in the Caribbean.

She has already pioneered areas in rehabilitation medicine in Jamaica including new techniques in fluoroscopic interventional spine treatment and spasticity management with Botulinum Toxin and Phenol injection. She is the co-founder of the UWI Sports Medicine Clinic and one of the University examiners for the MSc in sports medicine for doctors and physiotherapists. She currently treats many professional athletics and was one of the doctors for the Jamaican team to the IAAF World Championships in Berlin, 2009.

She was educated at the University of the West Indies where she obtained an Honours Bachelor’s Degree in the double major biochemistry and zoology, after which she joined the Faculty of Medicine and obtained a medical degree. She later went to long island Jewish Medical Centre/Northshore, Albert Einstein College of Medicine where she completed a year in general surgery and three years residency in physical medicine and rehabilitation. Her leadership skills and clinical abilities lead her to the appointment of chief resident and to the top spot for a fellowship in interventional spine, musculoskeletal and sports medicine rehabilitation from the prestigious Northwestern University and Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, which has over 100 applicants from the United States.

She has published in peer-reviewed medical journals and has spoken at several international medical meetings, including the National Medical Association annual meeting in Hawaii in 2007, American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (AAPM&R) annual Assembly in 2007 and 2008, the Medical Association of Jamaica since 2006, and the Caribbean Neurosciences Symposium since 2006. She is peer reviewer for the West Indies Medical Journal and the PM&R Journal, which is published by the AAPM&R.

Dr. Dawson, although accomplished, is well grounded, and attributes her success to hard work, great support from family and friends, but primarily blessings from above.