The Faculty has launched The FMS Research Support Fund, garnering millions in contributions

On April 28, 2026, Dean Joseph Plummber annouced the launch of The Faculty of Medical Sciences Research Support Fund,  this represented not merely as a ceremonial event, but as a thoughtful recommitment to its mission. The mandate from the outset was clear, train local professionals, generate research that speaks to Caribbean realities.  The Research Support Fund is a direct response to that gap. The initiative aims to expand access to competitive research funding within the Faculty, particularly for early-career academics and students, and links that funding with mentorship, institutional support, and collaboration across the Clinical Translational Research Unit and the Mona Office of Research and Innovation. From the donor community, Everton Anderson, Chief Executive Officer of the National Health Fund, underscored the importance of evidence based decision-making in shaping health policy and committed JMD $30 million over five years. Mark Thwaites, Chairman of the Tony Thwaites Wing Board, echoed the importance of forward-looking, data-informed research and confirmed a contribution of JMD $5 million. iRAD Medical Supplies Ltd. also pledged JMD $1 million in support of the initiative. The national relevance of this effort was brought into sharper focus by the featured address delivered by the Honourable Edmund Bartlett, Minister of Tourism. Building on the Dean’s framing, he positioned the Fund not simply as an academic initiative, but as part of a wider alignment between research, public health, and economic resilience. As he noted, “This is not only the launch of a fund. It is the launch of a possibility.” Drawing on the concept of tourism health resilience, he argued that the strength of a country’s health systems and research capacity directly influences national confidence, economic stability, and global competitiveness. This, he argued, demands a “local first” approach: Jamaican expertise, and research at the leading edge of national problem-solving.

Watch the Live broadcast of the FMS Research Support Fund Launch