UB faculty interested in global health research in the Caribbean are invited to participate in the third session of the SUNY-University of the West Indies (UWI) Health Research Consortium, an event that will introduce researchers to opportunities to engage in international collaborations between scholars, government agencies and industry partners in Jamaica.

The conference, organized in partnership with the National Association of Jamaican and Supportive Organizations, the SUNY-UWI Center for Leadership and Sustainable Development, and the SUNY Global Health Institute, will explore facilitation of international partnerships that advance the study of infectious and non-communicable diseases, climate change and alternative energy in Jamaica.

Participants will gain insight into high-priority health research areas, which include the study of cancer, heart disease, liver disease, diabetes and mental health. The event will include remarks from Audrey Marks, Jamaica’s ambassador to the U.S., and UWI Vice-Chancellor Sir Hilary Beckles.

The free conference is scheduled from 10 a.m. to noon Sept. 22 via Zoom. The program is open to all SUNY faculty and staff. Guests may register online at this link.

The SUNY-UWI Health Research Consortium was established in 2015 to advance public health in the Caribbean through partnerships with SUNY faculty.

The initiative has led to development of several programs at UWI, including the Jamaica Center for Infectious Diseases Research, Global Infectious Diseases Research Training Program; a prostate cancer center and pelvic oncology center through a collaboration with Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center; a scholarship program that enables UWI students to participate in certificate programs offered by the UB School of Management; and industry partnerships with mobile phone network Digicel and medical and lab diagnostics manufacturer Abbott Laboratories. UWI was also designated an affiliate center of the Global Virus Network Center of Excellence at UB.

The event is facilitated by Gene D. Morse, SUNY Global Health Institute co-director and SUNY Distinguished Professor in the UB School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences; John F. Lindo, co-director of the SUNY-UWI Health Research Consortium and professor of parasite epidemiology at the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus; Jack A. DeHovitz, SUNY Global Health Institute co-director and SUNY Distinguished Service Professor at SUNY Downstate Medical Center; and James L. Mohler, chief of inter-institutional academics and professor of oncology at Roswell Park.