NIKESHA HAYNES-GILMORE, a TT-born molecular pathologist and research assistant professor at the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York, recently received a career development award for cancer research.
Haynes-Gilmore, who grew up in Chaguanas, saw herself becoming a vet as a teen, but said the trajectory of her professional path changed in college after her grandmother died of cancer. The past student of Holy Faith Convent in Couva migrated to the US after completing her A-levels in 2002.
For the past 30 years, the Cancer Control Program has done cancer-related research across the US. The programme investigates prevention and management of the side effects associated with cancer and cancer treatment.
Haynes-Gilmore is among seven faculty members internationally recognised for their outstanding work in cancer research and treatment.
This grant was set up to fund the necessary infrastructure for research-based clinical trials. Haynes-Gilmore was granted the award to help with a pilot randomised clinical trial to investigate the effect of an anti-inflammatory nutritional supplement in reducing inflammation and frailty in older survivors of colon cancer. It has an emphasis on recruiting older black survivors of colon cancer.
Pathologists are medical professionals who study bodies and body tissues.
Describing her career so far, Haynes-Gilmore said, "I normally will say I am a molecular pathologist by training, with a focus on cancer molecular mechanisms. I have now fused that background with clinical and public health research."
Haynes-Gilmore said she hopes to help bring attention to inequities in healthcare.
"It is known that racial inequities negatively impact health. Blacks are disproportionately affected by cancer as well as cancer and frailty, meaning cancer and the elderly."
Frailty, she explained, "categorises an individual’s physiological reserves and is an important factor for oncologists in determining the risk of chemotherapy toxicity. Inflammation has been shown to be a major contributor to frailty.
"However, the majority of research linking inflammation to frailty has not been done in the context of cancer treatment. With my co-authors, I have published that in patients with breast cancer, inflammation prior to cancer treatment and the change of inflammatory markers with chemotherapy is a predictor of post-treatment frailty. We also demonstrated a longitudinal relationship between immune cell profiles and frailty."
She said research has shown that in people of African ancestry, there is increased inflammation compared to other racial groups.
Asked what causes this, she said preliminary studies found that "socioeconomic status and perceived discrimination were contributors to the increased inflammation."
The specific cause of the disparity in inflammation,, she added, "is still being actively researched. Research is suggestive that social determinants are as important or can be even more important than health behaviours as it relates to health."
Haynes-Gilmore is excited about getting her study off the ground and said the ultimate goal is to develop interventions that address health inequities, thus aiding black people in achieving their fundamental right of health – an inequity that has been evident in the covid19 pandemic.
"Issues related to health inequities are being highlighted again due to covid19. There are reports that people of colour are disproportionately dying from this disease. Many of the reasons for the increased mortality stem from inequities.
"I hope that in the future there is more research in health equity and that governments make policy changes to improve health equity for people of colour around the world."
For her doctorate in pathology, Haynes-Gilmore studied molecular pathways, some of the smallest pathways in the human body for transmitting information, utilised by cancer to escape recognition by the immune system. The rate of detecting cancerous cells is slowed, as the usual identifying symptoms are limited.
Asked to share her research interests and aspirations, she said she is passionate about improving outcomes for older adults with cancer and reducing health inequities faced by people of African ancestry.
"This passion stems from my lived experience. I lost my grandmother to cancer; she experienced no treatment benefit despite severe chemotherapy toxicities, reduced quality of life, and physical and functional impairments.
"Furthermore, as a female researcher and mother of African descent, I have experienced first-hand the negative effects of inequities on my family’s emotional well-being."
This fuelled her aspiration to become an independently-funded translational scientist (scientists who use research to improve human well-being) who designs and implements interventions to improve outcomes for older adults with cancer.
"I dream of a future where people like my grandmother can age successfully without concern about the influence of race on their health and well-being."
Explaining how her research is applicable to TT, Haynes-Gilmore said, "There was a wonderful epidemiology study recently published about cancer facts and statistics in TT. In this study, it was found that the incidence and mortality rates of most cancers were higher in Trinbagonians of African descent as compared to other racial backgrounds."
However, she stressed, "At this time, I am not aware of the rates of frailty or elevated inflammation by racial/ethnic groups in TT."
She said if her current work proves effective, she sees no reason why the findings may not be beneficial to the population of TT.
A summa cum laude graduate of the historically black Lincoln University, Haynes-Gilmore is a first-generation college student in her family. She did her PhD in pathology at the University of Rochester.
Asked what professional challenges she had to overcome, Haynes-Gilmore said, "In my fourth year of completing the PhD, my adviser accepted a job offer at a different university. At that time, I had to restart my thesis project.
"But in hindsight, I am reminded of a saying my friends shared with me: We plan and God decides. I think if I didn’t have to restart my thesis with a different adviser, I wouldn’t be doing the research that I am doing today and I love what I am doing."
As an international student in the US, she said there are also challenges – some opportunities available only to US citizens.
"It was challenging for me to find a research internship. I was unable to secure a research internship until my junior year of college.
"So instead of directly applying to go to grad school at the end of college, I decided to take a year off. In this time, I was able to work as a research technician and in doing so, gain some skills to help me be competitive in applying for graduate school...I think that this year off was extremely beneficial personally and professionally and helped pave the way for what I am doing today."
Having accomplished all she has as a woman of colour from the Caribbean, Haynes-Gilmore said she feels a deep sense of pride and hopes to serve as a source of encouragement for young women from the Caribbean to chase their dreams regardless of their current life situations.
"Our current situation should not be the canvas for what our future should look like."
She emphasised the importance of collaboration, highlighting teamwork as a way of building individuals by supporting each other.
"The field that I work in is collaborative. We believe we are stronger and go further if we do it together. You would notice when I told you about my research I used 'we' pretty often.
"That is because it is all a team effort. We work together and we support each other in all of our endeavours. Honestly, I think if this model could be adopted broadly, we would see greater things being achieved as a society. In this model, as I step forward, or someone else on my team steps forward, we pull along the others. It might mean that instead of you yourself going forward ten steps you only went forward one step, but if you count all the steps that went forward, it’s probably now 20 or more steps forward. So collectively we made more progress."
A wife and mother of two, a son and a daughter, she said she keeps motivated by the impact her work has on families.
"In the field of cancer, you always hear stories from patients and/or their families. Stories about how much their life changed as a result of their diagnosis. How many issues they still face even after their cancer is cured.
"Helping these patients have a better quality of life is my motivation. In the context of health equity, knowing that inequity results in a host of negative health outcomes is also a driving motivation. My colleagues and I frequently chat about what we can do to reduce health inequities and with this clinical trial I hope that this can help in some way."
Her message for people seeking to follow their professional dreams is, "When you are afraid to chase your dreams, sit and ask yourself what are you afraid of and be honest with yourself about the answer."
She said people are often afraid of failing, but added, through failure there are many lessons.
"So go ahead, chase your dream. If you succeed right away, amazing. If you don’t – like most of us – give yourself a short time to grieve your failure, then evaluate the lessons learned from that attempt and try again. We are all stronger than we think."
Haynes-Gilmore wished to encourage readers with a message she would have given to her 16-year-old self: "You got this. Keep your chin up, keep pushing. God has a plan for you." Source: Newsday, June 2, 2020

This is the day when we all celebrate the historic achievements of the Labour movement across the country.
As Prime Minister, I salute those achievements and the efforts of all those labour leaders, who struggled on behalf of workers, so today Trinidad and Tobago enjoys a unique quality of life, which compares favourably, with many countries in the developed world.
My greetings to the Labour movement on Labour Day 2020 are extended on behalf of the Government of Trinidad and Tobago and my own family.
As a result of the Novel Corona Virus, the celebrations this year are expected to be more restrained.
Nonetheless, the victories of June 19, 1937, achieved on behalf of workers are saluted as a historic point in the march of labour, which began almost 100 years earlier, in the Emancipation of slave labour in 1838.
Historical surveys from then, up to1937, indicate that workers over that near one-hundred-year period were, at best, “half-free and half-coerced”, hence their history of fierce opposition and resistance to colonial racism and persecution.
They reveal that up to the pre-1937 period the average oil worker was described as living in a social milieu of squalor, hooliganism and prostitution receiving only 91.5 cents a day, while farm workers on cocoa estates, just like sugar workers, who existed in dilapidated dwellings, without basic sanitary facilities, received a mere 40 cents.
In that period leaders such as Tubal Uriah “Buzz” Butler, Adrian Cola Rienzi, Elma Francois, the ten women who were arrested for their participation in the June 19 riots -- just to cite a few -- responded vigorously to those issues.
Butler, a Grenadian by birth, is remembered as an injured oilfield worker, turned preacher, who passionately articulated the abuses of workers generally, such as their deplorable working conditions, poor remuneration, racial discrimination, and the economic depression of the 1930s.
It is only “right and fitting” that today this country should honour Butler, as the late UWI Principal, Professor Lloyd Braithwaite wrote, in a tribute: “…for without his (Butler’s) persistence and fortitude there would have been no June 1937, and the modern trade union and labour movement would not have been born at that time”.
Having progressed to Independence, we should acknowledge that, although there were differences and tensions, our post-colonial Governments, in the main, have recognised labour’s role in national development. e.g. the Industrial Stabilisation Act, 1965, introduced the concept of compulsory arbitration and the establishment of the Industrial Court.
Since then the Court has been recognised as the legitimate arbiter in industrial disputes between employers and workers.
Today, we can proudly describe labour-employer relations in Trinidad and Tobago as respectful and stable. We can attribute this to efforts of the labour movement, private sector and the Government, each one seeking the best outcomes for this country.
For instance, the Government, as the largest employer, has maintained and supported its employees, using available technology, which allows thousands to work virtually, during the current pandemic.
Significantly, the Government has ensured the jobs and salaries of all public servants, during this stay-at-home.
Undoubtedly, it recognises the importance of the nation’s workers as a most important asset in keeping our country economically, socially and politically stable.
The face of labour as we have known it is changing, and the sudden, devastating appearance of COVID-19 has certainly brought this realisation to the centre stage.
It should be noted that, as a Government, we were forced to make unprecedented decisions to protect everyone in this country.
This country owes a debt of gratitude to our frontline workers, who took up their charge, ensuring that the rest of Trinidad and Tobago remained safe and productive.
Our health care workers, those in the protective services, sanitation and garbage collectors, the public utilities, the supermarkets – essential workers - reminded us that every job is important and even some that society may ignore are the ones most needed to uphold us as a nation.
These workers are exemplars of our national watch words, Discipline, Production and Tolerance. As they worked together, they made us proud to be citizens of this country which so far has successfully fought off destruction by a rampaging virus which is still wreaking havoc across the world.
So, today as we celebrate another Labour Day let us never forget the past struggles and the names of those who brought us to this place of stability.
Nonetheless, let us prepare ourselves very early for the many coming challenges and transformations in the “new” world, after the Covid-19 pandemic.
But let us look towards that future, with boundless faith in our destiny, collectively, in a mutually beneficial relationship, which ultimately will create a stronger Trinidad and Tobago.
Towards this end, I wish all our citizens a safe and enjoyable Labour Day!

Out of a total of 33 endangered species recorded in Trinidad and Tobago, over half of them live in the ocean, and many of them are at risk of extinction due to overfishing.
Many out of the list are prized within the commercial fishing industry, including various species of shark and the Nassau grouper, which is the most important of the groupers for commercial fishery in the West Indies.
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Trinidad and Tobago’s list of critically endangered and endangered species includes the Trinidad White-fronted Capuchin, the Leatherback and Hawksbill Turtles, and many shark species such as the Great Hammerhead, Longfin Mako, Shortfin Mako and Oceanic Whitetip Shark.
Several species of coral, which are critical fishery habitats, are also listed as critically endangered due to temperature rise and habitat impacts.
Here’s a list of 33 endangered and critically animals in Trinidad and Tobago, according to the IUCN:
Trinidad White-fronted Capuchin
Hawksbill Turtle
Green Turtle
Great Hammerhead
Smalltooth Sawfish
Daggernose Shark
Largetooth Sawfish
Scalloped Hammerhead
Nassau Grouper
Oceanic Whitetip Shark
Trinidad Piping-guan
Trinidad Worm Snake
Basking Shark
Longfin Mako
Golden Tilefish
Bentfin Devilray
Sicklefin Devilray
Giant Devilray
Longfin Mako
Shortfin Mako
Atlantic Bluefin Tuna
American Eel
Staghorn coral (Acropora cervicornis)
Mountainous star coral (Orbicella faveolata)
Boulder star coral (Orbicella annularis)
Elkhorn coral (Acropora palmate)
Staghorn coral ((Acropora cervicornis)
Red Siskin
Black-capped Petrel
Eskimo Curlew (migratory)
Golden Tree Frog (Phytotriades auratus)
Adult tree frog (Flectonotus fitzgeraldi)
Robber frog (Pristimantis urichi)
No laws protecting sharks, endangered fish species
Marine scientist Shivonne Peters said more protections should be put in place for endangered marine species, including those within the protected Buccoo Reef Marine Park.
She said there is a dire need for local legislation to protect critical marine species such as sharks and queen conch.
She added that within the protected Buccoo Reef Marine Park poaching of conch, parrotfish and sharks occurs in the protected area.
“There should be more protection, and within the Buccoo Marine Park, the only marine protected area, there needs to be active enforcement, and maybe a change to existing legislation, because the penalties are very minimal…the legislation was enacted decades ago and has not changed since,” she said.
Peters, who was the park manager for seven years and left in 2018, said many environmental organisations have been clamouring for more protections for marine species.
Additionally, she said no consistent scientific monitoring is done to determine species density and reef health.
Peters is currently pursuing a PhD on these issues with an aim to improving the data available on these topics.
According to a 2019 United Nations report, approximately 1 million plant and animal species are at risk of extinction within the next few decades. 
For the full list of endangered and vulnerable species worldwide, see the IUCN's Red List here: https://www.iucnredlist.org/ 
Source: The Loop, March 3, 2020

Almost 175 years ago , some of our ancestors embarked on a journey seeking a better way of life for themselves and their families.the crossing of the dark water or kala pani created an unbreakable bond of kinship , the brotherhood, the jahajisin the jahajis, all barriers of religion, caste and colour were demolished and new relationships grew, forming a strong front in a strange land.it is the fortitude of the jahaji which kept so many arrivals in trinidad to begin new lives among diverse cultures and customs, of which their own became part.fearful of the unknown and challenges and cognizant of the hardships they would have to endure in an alien world they came bringing with them reminders of their motherland wrapped tightly in their small jahagi bundles. These "jahaji bundle" (four corners of a piece of white cotton cloth tied to make a carrier) held all the worldly possessions of an indentured immigrant labourer who travelled the high seas for three months to arrive in trinidad from the port of howrah in calcutta in 1845 . From food to plants, to seeds, curry and spices and reminders of their religious beliefs they travelled with these in their jahaji bundles.but probably the most important religious plant was the tulsi, in fact the agricultural landscape of trinidad has been changed because of the seeds and cuttings of plants which indentured labourers brought in their "jahaji bundles."we salute the many contributions our ancestors have made to the development of trinidad and tobago.
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​The University of the West Indies (UWI), St Augustine, has appointed the first female Professor of Science, Professor Judith Gobin.
According to a statement from NIHERST, Professor Gobin is also Head of the Department of Life Sciences, the largest Department in the Faculty of Science and Technology.
“For the first time in the history of the St. Augustine Campus of The University of the West Indies and the Faculty of Science - we have a female Professor of Science.”
NIHERST commemorated the development, which coincides with World Ocean Day 2020, celebrated on June 8 every year.
“On World Ocean’s Day 2020, celebrated on June 8 every year, NIHERST finds it only fitting that we pay a very special tribute to Professor Gobin, our very own local and pioneering scientist in Marine Biology.”
NIHERST said Professor Gobin’s marine research career spans more than 38 years and she has made significant academic contributions to the knowledge of Marine Biodiversity in Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean. 
She has published on a number of “new marine scientific records” and “new marine species” (approximately 298) - for Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean. Her research concentrations began in soft coastal marine sediments followed by rocky shores and more recently deep-sea areas. 
In this respect, she successfully launched with NIHERST a book and a 5-part DVD in 2018.
The state agency said Professor Gobin is the first and only Caribbean and UWI marine scientist to:

• Be appointed to the REV Ocean Science and Innovation Committee (SIC) alongside other top global scientists (2019).
• Be appointed to the Global advisory board on Deep Ocean Stewardship Initiative (DOSI) - alongside the top global deep sea scientists (2018).
• Contribute (as Lead Author) to the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) (2019)
• Contribute to the global project- Census of Marine Life - a 10-year scientific initiative, which comprised 2,700 scientists from 80 nations (2010).
• Contribute to the World Ocean Assessment 2015 report

“Professor Gobin’s significant contributions are in no way purely academic as she continues at a national, regional and global level to promote and apply scientific knowledge to solve real-world problems.”
NIHERST said some of her international research partners include the IUCN, the Royal Society of the UK, EV Nautilus and the Ocean Environmental Trust (OET), the Deep Ocean Stewardship Initiative (DOSI) and the South American Coastal Research group (SARCE).
NIHSERT said Professor Gobin is globally recognized as a key SIDs (small island developing states) marine science expert and has been doing invited (international) talks on these topics since 2016.
Professor Gobin’s message is to all, but especially to girls and young women who remain less likely to pursue education and careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM):
“In Trinidad and Tobago, we have been making strides in marine and environmental scientific research; for example-here at the University of the West Indies (Faculty of Science and Technology), NIHERST, UTT and IMA with support from the Ministry of Planning and Development (responsibility for the Environment) as well as companies such as SHELL and BPTT.”
“However, there is still much more to be done and I wish to make a personal appeal to all- the Government, Industry and the Private sector of Trinidad and Tobago- please channel more funds and resources into scientific research and STEM- it is where our future lies.”

An Ontario College of Art & Design University (OCAD U) band section in next year’s Toronto Caribbean Carnival is a possibility.
That’s one of the goals of Canadian-born Trinidadian resident Michael Lee Poy who is among five new permanent faculty hires in recognition of the International Decade for Peoples of African Descent.
“I am always ready to start a band,” he said. “At OCAD U, I intend to get directly involved in the carnival at the lowest level like making costumes and also planning a band if we can. The nice thing about carnival, which you don’t see in the Diaspora, is the social commentary that is part of the basis of carnival in the Caribbean where you get to see the placards like what we are seeing in the protests. That aspect gives you the opportunity to speak about things like Black Lives Matter and so on in a festival setting.”
Since 2015, Lee Poy has been incubating Moko Jumbie Mas Camp workshops for children.
“The Moko Jumbie and cultural characters of other Caribbean islands are some of the things I would like to bring to Toronto,” said the artist-activist who utilizes interdisciplinarity to augment the innovative, creative and collaborative process of design. “I want to show people it’s not just about the breast, bumsee, feathers and beads. That is not what I am interested in.”


A University of the West Indies (UWI) Department of Creative & Festival Arts part-time lecturer, Lee Poy said the OCAD U job description spoke directly to his Black experience.
“My parents went to Montreal in 1959 and I grew up as one of the few persons in my environment,” noted the 2018 Cleveland Museum of Art Parade the Circle international guest artist. “I didn’t see any Black teacher through high school besides being the only one of colour in my classes and there wasn’t a Black Architectural group at Pratt until I was leaving. That sort of mentorship from old to young is important just to facilitate your schooling and getting through. The White students have that support.”
Lee Poy’s first 18 years were spent in Montreal before heading to New York to study Architecture at the Pratt Institute and then Connecticut to complete a graduate degree in Environmental Design at Yale before moving to Trinidad 16 years ago.
The last time he was in Toronto was in 1994 for an uncle’s funeral.
Lee Poy joins Kathy Moscou, Marton Robinson, Angela Bains and Kestin Cornwall as the first cohort of full -time Black Faculty members in OCAD U’s Faculty of Design 144-year history.
The hiring is part of the university’s dedication to the implementation of its academic plan that articulates a commitment to decolonization, diversity and equity.
Dr. Elizabeth ‘Dori’ Tunstall pledged last year that Canada’s oldest and largest art & design educational institution would have full-time Black faculty members before she leaves.
Source:  RonFanfair, June 6, 2020

I come here when I have a little time, sometimes late in the evening or very early in the morning. I do a lot of focussed thinking when I am tilling the soil and while I am planting.
Since coming into office I've created and kept a kitchen garden at the Prime Minister's official residence in St. Anns.