The University of the West Indies (UWI) is pleased to announce the promotion of Dr. Kathleen Coard, Senior Lecturer in Pathology at the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus to the post of Professor in the Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, with effect from May 28, 2003.

Dr. Coard obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Anatomy, with honours from the University of Bristol, UK and went on to obtain the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery degrees from the UWI in 1978, receiving awards in Anatomy, Pharmacology and Surgery. In 1983, during her Residency in Pathology, she was awarded a WHO-PAHO fellowship in Cardiovascular Pathology at the University of Western Ontario, Canada. She later earned, in 1984, the Doctor of Medicine degree in Pathology from the UWI, and in the same year a Diploma of the Royal College of Pathologists. Professor Coard has also attended a number of Continuing Medical Education/Post Doctoral training courses in the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States of America.

Kathleen Coard joined the staff of the UWI Mona, in 1984 as Lecturer in Pathology. She was appointed on indefinite tenure in 1990 and promoted to Senior Lecturer in 1991. She has served as Consultant Pathologist at the University Hospital of the West Indies since 1984 and has also served as PAHO Consultant Pathologist to the General Hospital in St. Georges, Grenada, Consultant Pathologist to Cornwall Regional Hospital in Montego Bay, Jamaica and Consultant Pathologist to Derriford Hospital in Plymouth, UK.

Professor Coard has a strong record of distinguished original work. Much of her research has focused on specific medical problems, facing the population in Jamaica, which are of practical concern to the local medical community and she has provided epidemiologic and clinicopathologic data on a number of these diseases. Among those studied have been tumours of the thyroid gland, bone tumours and a range of benign and malignant soft tissue tumours. She has also always maintained a keen interest in Cardiovascular Pathology and has continually supplied local data on a variety of cardiovascular diseases.

She was involved in “The Jamaican Perinatal Mortality and Morbidity Survey” (1986-1988) undertaken to determine the extent and causes of perinatal mortality and neonatal morbidity in Jamaica and to identify factors associated with these adverse outcomes so that planning of maternal and child health services to address these problems could be based on objective evidence. The information generated from this study eventually led to the publication of recommendations which focused on policy issues related to resource development and to the organization and management of the government health services as they related to maternal and child health issues. It also identified areas for further analysis and research.

More recently, she has been examining the incidence and other aspects of prostate cancer in the Jamaican population as part of a larger study aimed at comparing a variety of characteristics of prostate cancer among Blacks in West Africa, the Caribbean and America who share a common genetic background, although residing in widely different environmental settings. A comparison of prostate cancer across these populations is expected to shed light on potential causative factors in the environment as well as inheritable aspects of this disease.

Professor Coard has an admirable publication record, being the author of dozens of scientific publications in peer-reviewed journals and many abstracts on a range of subjects of pathologic interest. Throughout her career, she has consistently presented pap\ers at scientific conferences held locally, regionally and internationally, the most recent being presentations emanating from the prostate cancer project at the annual conferences of the American Society of Clinical Oncology and American Association for Cancer Research.

As an academic, she has been involved in teaching and training activities at the medical undergraduate and postgraduate levels. She has also been keenly involved in student assessment and now plays an integral part in the Examination and Assessment Committee of the new medical curriculum. Dr. Coard is also occupied with staff training activities and has served as a Tutor in Teaching Improvement Project Systems (TIPS) Workshops for training Health Professionals from 1990 to 1995 and Tutor in the Instructional Development Unit’s Teaching Skills Workshops for University Academic and Senior Administrative staff since 1997.

At the administrative level, Kathleen Coard was the Coordinator for Pathology Undergraduate Lectures and Tutorials in the Faculty of Medical Sciences since 1995 and has been the Organizer, Coordinator and Supervisor of Academic Conferences and Seminars for the DM (Path) Post-graduate programme, for the last 10 years. She has also served as the Coordinator of the Medical Museum from 1984 to 1994 and on the Medical Records sub-committee for the last 18 years.

Professor Coard is a Fellow of the American Society of Clinical Pathologists and a founding member of The Jamaican Association of Clinical Pathologists (JACP) and the Caribbean Cardiac Society (CCS). She is the current President of the JACP and Assistant Secretary to the CCS. She also holds membership in other professional associations and societies including the Medical Association of Jamaica, the UWI Medical Alumni Association, to which she served as Secretary from 1991 to 1996, the Jamaica Philatelic Society and the Catholic Doctors Association.