Professor of Medicine and Neurology and former Dean of the Faculty of Medical Sciences at The University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, Dr. Owen St. Clair Morgan, has been elected to Mastership of The American College of Physicians(ACP). The award will be presented at the College’s Annual Session to be held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Thursday, April 6, 2006.

Professor Morgan has also been elected to Honorary Membership in Alpha Omega Alpha, the national honour medical society in the United States and Canada. The election is in recognition of his many accomplishments in the health care field and related sciences.

Masters comprise a small group of highly distinguished physicians, selected from among ACP Fellows who have achieved recognition in medicine by exhibiting preeminence in practice or medical research, holding positions of high honor, or making significant contributions to medical science or the art of medicine. They are recommended by the Awards Committee for election to Mastership by the Board of Regents. Masters are authorized to use the letters MACP (Master of the American College of Physicians) in connection with their professional activities.
The American College of Physicians (ACP) is the largest medical specialty society in the United States of America. Its mission is to enhance the quality and effectiveness of health care by fostering excellence and professionalism in the practice of medicine. ACP membership includes about 119,000 members who are physicians in general internal medicine and related subspecialties.

Owen Morgan received his undergraduate training at Trinity College, The University of Dublin, Ireland, graduating with honours in 1963. He joined the staff of the UWI in 1970 and was named Professor of Medicine in 1984, becoming the first Jamaican to hold that position. He was Chairman of the Department of Medicine from 1986-1998 and Dean of the Faculty of Medical Sciences from 1999-2005.

Professor Morgan’s areas of specialty include general medicine and neurology. His research has focused on Tropical Spastic Paraparesis (TSP). Working with scientists in the retrovirology association, he helped to establish the link between the Human T lymphocytic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) and TSP. His most recent research has examined the genetic aspects of dementia in blacks from Africa, the Caribbean and the USA, as well as the role of transcultural and environmental influences on the disorders. A prolific writer, he has published over 120 articles as book chapters and papers in related international journals.
Professor Morgan has been honoured locally and internationally, receiving the Vice Chancellor’s Award for Excellence from the UWI, election to Fellowship of the Royal Colleges of Physicians of Edinburgh, London, Ireland as well as the American College of Physicians and the French Neurological Society. His ‘exemplary and distinguished services to Medicine’ have also been recognized by the Association of Consultant Physicians, the Medical Association of Jamaica and the Government of Jamaica which conferred on him the award of Order of Distinction, Commander Class.