Professor Roy Porter is an internationally recognised expert in Natural Products Chemistry. He holds a PhD in Organic Chemistry from The University of the West Indies (The UWI). He started his career at The UWI, Mona in 1987 and has since served as Head, Department of Chemistry (2014–2020), Chair of the Curriculum Committee (2015-2019), Examinations Coordinator (2020-present), an Associate Dean and a Senior Lecturer in Chemistry. Professor Porter has also taught at the Georgia State University; the State University of New York; and Gothenburg University, Sweden.

Professor Porter has published in and served as reviewer for several highly-regarded international journals including the Journal of Agricultural & Food Chemistry and Phytochemistry. His significant publication record includes 2 monographs, 2 book chapters, 47 conference presentations and 37 refereed journal articles with several more in preparation. One assessor notes the research community’s recognition of Professor Porter’s approach to a variety of problems in natural products chemistry and the ‘important implications for biomedical and pharmaceutical applications.’ 

As an academic, Professor Porter has examined 24 MPhil/PhD candidates and initiated the implementation of the Chemistry Honours Society. Professionally, from 2017-2020, he served as Deputy-Chairman, Hazardous Lab Waste Clean-Up Ad-hoc Committee, National Commission on Science and Technology under the Jamaica Ministry of Science, Energy and Technology. He is a member of the American Chemical Society, the New York Academy of Science and the Caribbean Academy of Sciences, among others.

Across his career, Professor Porter has received JA $11.8 M in research grant funding. In 2009 Professor Porter engaged in a Research Fellowship for the project ‘Investigations of endophytic marine fungi associated with Jamaican mangroves for novel and bioactive compounds’. He also has a registered US-patent titled ‘Uses for epingaione and derivatives thereof’.

For his work, Professor Porter has received the Principal’s Research Award for the Best Publication, Faculty of Pure and Applied Sciences/Faculty of Science and Technology, The UWI Mona (2006, 2022). 

Photo caption: Professor Roy Porter, Natural Product Chemist, Faculty of Science and Technology, The University of the West indies, Mona.

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