November 15 - 17, 2023
9:00 AM - 4:00 PM (GMT-5)
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November 15-17, 2023
Theme:
The conference will feature research on: Mental Health, Non-Communicable Diseases, Reproductive Health, Technology in Health and Climate Change
November 15 - 17, 2023 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM (GMT-5)The global situation has changed what “summer” traditionally means. However, one thing has not changed: the National Society of High School Scholars' mission to honor and recognize its members for their academic achievements. This August, we are hosting a Scholar’s Summer Virtual Conference with the purpose to celebrate our lifetime members and our new members for achieving great things while enduring extremely difficult times. YOU are our leaders on this journey towards world betterment. Let us celebrate your success!
Scholar’s Summer will be held on Saturday, August 8, 2020. The virtual conference will feature six workshops that are available to stream on-demand for a full 24 hours. We will also have a virtual college and career fair where you will get to network live with college and corporate representatives from 1:00 – 5:00 PM EST.
All NSHSS members will receive a Scholar’s Summer Participation Certificate for attending the event. In addition, the top 10 most engaged attendees will receive an NSHSS swag bag full of goodies. Join us in the celebration of your achievements at Scholar’s Summer!
Please click here
The Ministry of Health and Wellness (MOHW) will be staging the 13th renewal of the Annual National Health Research Conference (NHRC) from November 16-18, 2022. This will be our third virtual staging. The Conference theme is Combatting Non-Communicable Diseases: Looking to a Healthier Future.
The theme for 2022 is pertinent, given the impact of non-communicable diseases on individuals, the family and the health system; and the growing number of individuals facing the challenges of non-communicable diseases as both patient and care-giver. Non-communicable diseases continue to impact global and local economies and governments have been seeking innovative ways to address this silent epidemic.
The 2022 Conference will feature high quality abstracts on (i) Diet and Nutrition, (ii) Health Economics, (iii) Physical activity and Exercise and (iv) Health Status of Healthcare Workers. The conference will likewise feature high quality research from other areas.
The 13th conference will have five (5) Feature and Special Presentations. Firstly we will examine studies commissioned by the Ministry of Health and Wellness, MOHW Commissioned Studies featuring Prof Trevor Ferguson who will share his findings on the SALT Study, and Prof Fitzroy Henry who will highlight the findings of the Trans Fat Study. The growing economic concerns of health will be examined by Prof Abdullahi Abdulkadri in our Health Economics segment. We continue to explore COVID-19 with the Frontiers-Latest Research in COVID-19 in the Caribbean, with a representative from the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO), Mr Casimro Dias and Mr Paul Bourne from the Northern Caribbean University (NCU).
The conference continues to drive innovation with an exciting panel discussion on Innovations in Science and Medicine-Business of Medicine with Mrs Georgia Crawford-Williams, LifeSavers Wipes Innovator, Dr Maurice McNaughton from the Mona School of Business and Dr Yohann White, Entrepreneur. With children being the future, Prof Susan Walker will present findings on Childhood Development-Reach up Jamaica.
The conference will have two (2) workshops geared towards the development of research skills. Participants can learn about Ethics in Research from Dr Princess Thomas-Osbourne, former Director of Standards and Regulations Division and a member of MOHW Advisory Panel on Ethics and Medico-Legal Affairs and Dr Olusegun Afis Ismail, from the Jamaica Statistical Society will take participants through Quantitative Methods in Research.
This year twenty six (26) abstracts were selected for oral presentation and twenty (20) abstracts were selected for poster presentations.
Dr the Honorable Christopher Tufton is the Member of Parliament for West Central St. Catherine since March 2016, and is the current Minister of Health and Wellness. He has served as the Minister of Industry, Investment & Commerce (June 2011-December 2011) and Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries (November 2008 – June 2011). For his impact on the Agricultural sector Dr. Tufton was named by the influential Jamaica Gleaner as Man of the Year for 2010.
A graduate of the University of the West Indies and Georgia State University he received degrees in Management Studies and Marketing respectively. He completed his Doctorate in Business Administration at the Manchester Business School, University of Manchester in the United Kingdom in 2002.
He is the author of a political memoir, State of Mind: Politics, Uncertainty, and the Search for the Jamaican Dream (Ian Randle Publishers, 2019), which has been received to wide acclaim in Jamaica and the Jamaican diaspora in the United States.
Dr. Tufton is married to Neadene and they have three children: Charles, Kimberly and Adam.
Mr. Dunstan Bryan joined the team of the Ministry of Health & Wellness as Permanent Secretary in November 2018, bringing with him a wealth of knowledge and experience from working in the public sector for more than two decades, and with international development partners, including the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank.
Mr. Bryan holds a Master’s degree in Public Policy and Governance, a Bachelor’s in Management Studies and a Diploma in Sociology – all from the University of the West Indies, Mona.
Among his varied skill set is the ability to manage large, multi-skilled teams with output-based methodologies; and the development of monitoring and evaluation structures, processes and framework for effective assessment of outputs, outcomes and impacts.
Dunstan Bryan has been instrumental in spearheading the Ministry’s full scale adaptation of the Performance Management System (PMAS).
Mr. Bryan is married to Yvette and has one son.
Dr. Irving F. McKenzie, BH (M), JP, MD, Dr. (Ortho), MSc (Health Admin), BCCM, DICOI, MAAIP, FADI, FICD, FPFA, FCLM
Dr. Irving McKenzie; is a Justice of the Peace and the Chief Dental Officer in the Ministry of Health & Wellness. The Founding Dean of the College of Oral Health Sciences at the University of Technology, Jamaica and a Fellow in several Oral and Dentistry Boards. Dr. McKenzie was awarded the Badge of Honour for Meritorious Service in the field of Health and Education.
Dr. McKenzie is an avid researcher, lecturer and consultant. He is a member of World Health Organization of Global Informal Expert Group (GIEG), and a member of the Institute of Dental Regulators.
Dr. Nicole Dawkins-Wright is a committed health care specialist and public health practitioner who currently serves as the Senior Director for Emergency, Disaster Management and Special Services Programme. Dr. Dawkins-Wright contributes to nation building through direction of programmed activities that increases the resiliency of the health system in order to optimise health care delivery in emergency and disaster situations.
She is the National Health Disaster Coordinator and Director for the Health Emergency Operations Centre and the Climate Change Focal Point System. Dr. Dawkins-Wright is a Certified Instructor Mass Casualty Management Systems, and the Health Aspect of Disaster Management in Jamaica.
Her personal interests include family, spiritual well-being and national development.
Dr. McCaw-Binns is a retired Professor of Reproductive Health and Epidemiology. Her research and service have focused on measuring and improving maternal morbidity and mortality in Jamaica and globally, including development of maternal mortality surveillance and response systems, and specialist antenatal care for high-risk mothers in Jamaica. Since retirement she has participated in COVID-19 surveillance activities, especially its impact on communities, antenatal women and new mothers.
Prof McCaw-Binns has been integral in shaping the Ministry’s National COVID-19 Research Agenda and research activities.
Dr. Orville Morgan, JP, MB, BS, DGO, DM (O&G), FRCOG, FACOG, MBA
Dr. Orville Morgan is a Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, who is now in private practice. Dr. Morgan served as the Senior Medical Officer at Victoria Jubilee Hospital from 2013- 2018. He was instrumental in establishing the maternal fetal medicine specialist unit, upgrading the neonatal unit to offer ventilatory services for the newborn, designing the high dependency pregnancy unit and the neonatal intensive care unit funded by the European Union.
Dr. Morgan is the co-author of several journal articles in the areas of misoprostol use and HIV in pregnancy. He has made significant contributions to reducing the vertical transmission of HIV. He has also worked on studies involving Zik V vertical transmission funded by the Penta Foundation.
Dr. Morgan is a founding member of the Mona Baptist Church and was awarded the Order of Distinction in 2015 for his contribution to the medical profession.
Professor Jennifer Knight-Madden is the former Director (2014-2021) of the Sickle Cell Unit, the Caribbean Institute for Health Research, The University of the West Indies (UWI) and continues to be apart of Sickle Cell organisations in the Caribbean and Africa.
Her research interests include the pulmonary complications of sickle cell disease, implementation science and health services research. She has published more than 60 peer reviewed articles and several book chapters. Prof Knight-Madden currently chairs the Advisory Panel on Ethics and Medico-Legal Affairs, MOHW. Professor Knight-Madden is married and has two daughters. She serves on the PTA executive and Board of Management of the St. Andrew High School for Girls.
Mr. David Grey, JP serves as the Deputy Information Commissioner at the Office of the Information Commissioner and is a qualified Attorney-at-Law. With a remarkable thirty-six (36) years of experience in the Public Sector, he has contributed his expertise to various government agencies.
He is a Certified Fraud Examiner and holds a post-graduate degree in business from Manchester University. Mr. Grey is the Secretary for the Board of the Quality Network Ltd. He serves as Chairman of the Jamaica Credit Union Pension Fund Ltd and sits on the Board of St. Mary High School, his alma mater.
Dr. Ché Bowen is an innovative and entrepreneurial medical professional, with over a decade of experience in the medical field. Dr. Bowen has been a trailblazer in providing convenient, affordable healthcare to patients across the Caribbean. He launched MDLink in 2018 and currently serves as the CEO and Chief Medical Officer.
MDLink serves its patients virtually and has revolutionized access to healthcare services in Jamaica and eight (8) other countries. Through the development of the MDLink platform, Dr. Bowen has altered the healthcare landscape in the Caribbean to be more inclusive and readily accessible. The necessity of the services offered by MDLink was highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dr. Bowen is committed to finding dynamic ways of changing the way we, in the Caribbean, understand and experience healthcare.
Dr. Leroy Campbell, is a Fellow in Maternal-Fetal Medicine and serves as a Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist and the Deputy Head of Department for Women’s Health in the Cayman Islands Health Services Authority. He is the co-host of “Beyond the Diagnosis” a radio programme on Nationwide 90FM.
Dr. Campbell is a Campion alumni and formerly served at the Victoria Jubilee Hospital. His Christian faith is important to him, and notably Dr. Campbell was a NHRC 2020 Poster Award winner.
Dr. Carol Lord is currently the Programme Development Officer in the Family Health Unit of the Ministry of Health and Wellness, having served the Ministry and the Regional Health Authorities in other capacities. She is in the final stages of completing her Doctorate of Public Health. She completed her Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery degree (M.B, B.S) in 1998 at the University of Guyana has part 1 of The Royal College in Paediatric and Child Health degree (MRCPCH). Dr. Lord has authored research papers in infectious disease, pediatrics, and maternal health.
She is a born-again believer and mother of two wonderful young adults who love people. She is passionate about Public Health, Pediatrics, Obstetrics, and Research.