Marcel Denny was awarded a PhD in Chemistry in 2025 from @uwimona_fst @chemistryuwimona . He has consistently demonstrated exceptional academic excellence and leadership throughout his university journey. He began his studies at the University of the West Indies, Mona, where he pursued a BSc in Food Chemistry with dual minors in General Chemistry and Management Studies. His undergraduate years were marked by outstanding achievement, progressing from bronze to diamond status in the Chemistry Honors Society, earning multiple academic commendations, receiving recognition as a top performer in Organic Chemistry, and securing several leadership awards. He also represented his department on the national community program Smile Jamaica It’s Morning Time. Marcel graduated in 2016 with First-Class Honours, a distinction that underscored his strong potential in chemistry.

Motivated to deepen his expertise, Marcel continued to graduate studies under the supervision of Dr. Nadale Downer-Riley. During this period, he remained deeply engaged in service and outreach, both within his department and across the Faculty of Science and Technology. In 2020, he served as the faculty’s graduate representative, contributing to the three-part series Science in Action, which highlighted graduate students’ responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, Marcel was nominated as one of only 21 students from Latin America and the Caribbean to participate in the prestigious Nobel Prize Dialogue, where he engaged in discussions with Nobel Laureate Dr. Bernard Feringa.

Marcel’s doctoral research focused on the synthesis and applications of naphthoquinone derivatives. His thesis, “The Synthesis and Metal Sensing Evaluation of Some Naphthoquinone Derivatives,” introduced a novel two-step synthetic route yielding 33 new compounds with operational simplicity and competitive efficiency. These compounds display distinctive color changes upon interaction with metal ions, making them promising optical chemosensors for rapid, low-cost water-quality analysis.