GRAND TURK, Turks and Caicos Islands; Monday, July 6th, 2009 - Grand Turk native Dr. Terese Maitland, Chief of The National Epidemiology and Research Unit (NERU) of the Ministry of Health was elected to the position of Scientific Secretary, Caribbean Health Research Council (CHRC) at its 54th Annual meeting held in St Lucia on April 22, 2009.
Dr Maitland replaces Professor Peter Figueroa of Jamaica, who is retiring after 17 years of distinguished service in that capacity. CHRC, the region’s oldest research organization is headquartered at the St Augustine campus of the University of the West Indies, Trinidad and Tobago.
The CHRC, originally known as the Standing Advisory Committee (SAC) for Medical Research the British Caribbean and later as the Commonwealth Caribbean Medical Research Council (CCMRC), was formed in 1955 and held its first Council and Scientific meeting in Jamaica in 1956. Its mandate was to function as an advisory body on the region’s needs for medical research, translation of said research findings into practice and to foster inter-territorial collaboration.
(from left to right): Dr. Alan Patrick (Trinidad and Tobago); Dr. Rufus Ewing (Director of Health Services of TCI); Dr Terese (Chief, National Epidemiology and Research Unit of TCI; Dr. Keith Mondesir (Minister for Health, Wellness, Family Affairs, National Mobilization, Human Services and Gender Relations of St Lucia) and Dr. Donald Simeon (Director of CHRC)
In 1998 the name was again changed to Caribbean Health Research Council (CHRC) to reflect the inclusion of Caribbean countries that were not a part of the British Commonwealth; and also, to reflect the need to focus on health research as a whole.
As its philosophy, CHRC advocates that health research is essential for improved health and human development. It thereby supports a research culture in the Caribbean, and the strengthening of the region's capacity to conduct health research and utilize those results to improve health and human development.
The CHRC is governed by a Council comprising of a chairman as well as ex-officio, nominated, elected and non-voting members. The chairman is elected by a majority vote of the Council while the ex-officio members include the Chief Medical Officers of CARICOM and other Caribbean territories and the CARICOM Representative for Health. Nominated members include representatives of the University of the West Indies, University of Guyana and the Medical Research Council of the United Kingdom. The Council can also elect up to six persons to serve as elected members, otherwise known as Scientific Secretaries. They are usually distinguished scientists with a strong record of achievements in health research. It is into this latter fraternity that Dr. Maitland has been elected.
Dr. Maitland now joins Professors Hennis, Le Franc Ramdath, Walker, and Dr. Persaud to become the sixth and newest Scientific Secretary. The Scientific Secretaries meet and communicate regularly outside the Annual Council Meeting to assist the Director in carrying out the mandate of the CHRC Council.
The duties of a Scientific Secretary include critically assessing grant applications for funding under the CHRC Grants Programme; reviewing and assessing scientific papers submitted for the annual CHRC Meeting; assisting with training activities and workshops; assisting with planning and coordinating the annual meeting; liaising and maintaining contact with Ministries of Health, universities and research organizations; and identifying and mentoring potential researchers.
Dr Maitland becomes the first Turks and Caicos Islander to hold this honorary position at the region’s oldest and most prestigious health research organization. She is no stranger to being, “the first.” Most recently in 2008 she became the first TCI national to be numbered among the 13 recipients of a three-year Global Health Leadership Initiative Award (GHLA) in the amount of CAD$199,900.00 from the International Development Research Centre of Canada. The funds from the award will contribute significantly to spearheading capacity building and critical research to strengthen food-borne disease surveillance systems in TCI under the auspices of the National Epidemiology and Research Unit.
Prior to that, she was recognized by Florida International University as the first doctoral candidate to obtain a Dissertation Award from the National Institutes of Health of the USA to fund her research. A presentation from this research, which was entitled health and nutritional status during perimenopause, won her a second place monetary award at the 49th Annual and Scientific CHRC Meeting in Nassau, Bahamas.
Dr Maitland is also the first, and for many years was the only researcher to conduct health-related research in TCI and to present the findings at CHRC meetings. However, this changed in 2009 when; Dr Maitland was joined by two others. This was due largely to her leadership and mentoring capabilities and her commitment to spearheading research and capacity building in TCI under the auspices of the fledgling National Epidemiology and Research Unit.
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