The University of the West Indies is pleased to announce the promotion of Dr. Minerva Thame, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Child Health, Faculty of Medical Sciences at Mona to the rank of Professor.

Professor Thame, a past student of Meadowbrook High School holds the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery Degree (1985), Doctor of Medicine Degree in Paediatrics (1991), as well as the Doctor of Philosophy in Community Health (1999) from the University of the West Indies. She also holds a Diploma in Child Health (1988) from the University of the West Indies.

She joined the staff of The University of the West Indies, Mona in 1992 as a Research Fellow at the Tropical Metabolism Research Unit. She was an Associate Lecturer in the Section of Child Health from 2002 – 2005 and was appointed Senior Lecturer in Child Health and Head of the Section in 2005. During this period she was also a Consultant Paediatrician at the University Hospital of the West Indies.

Minerva Thame has distinguished herself in the areas of teaching, research, publication and administration. As Head of Section, she ensured efficient and equitable administration of the functions of the Section.  Her contribution to the teaching and the further development of courses and programmes in the Section of Child Health has been significant.   She contributed to the revision of the curriculum and the regulations as well as to the development of  the Study Guide for the Child Health component of the MB BS programme. Professor Thame actively promoted research theses to advance the development of research in Paediatrics. Currently all DM students do a research paper, many of which have been published in peer reviewed journals.

Professor   Thame also has an impressive record of research focusing on the areas of maternal nutrition and how it impacts foetal growth and birth outcome. Her studies relate directly to the concept of the developmental origins of health and disease. For her doctorial thesis she explored the impact of maternal size during pregnancy, on placental and foetal growth and  on  the outcome of the new born.  This study was the largest ever done worldwide and the only one which measured growth at seven time points during pregnancy.

Subsequently, she went on to examine two high risk groups; pregnant women with sickle cell disease and pregnant teenagers.  She has created new knowledge and has raised important issues with respect to the relationship between the intra-uterine environment, birth outcome and long term development. Her work is well known in the international community and has resulted in several areas of international collaboration and research grants. She has attracted over one hundred thousand United States dollars in research grants.

Professor Thame has published over 35 papers and 28 abstracts, many of which are in international peer reviewed journals.

The newly appointed professor has also contributed significantly to the life of the University, providing leadership and support by serving on   a number of committees at the Faculty and Campus levels. She is presently   the  Chair of the  Speciality Board in Child Health, Faculty of Medical Sciences; she is also a member of the Accreditation Committee and  the Graduate Studies committee, Faculty of Medical Sciences.  She previously served on the Ethics Committee, (UWI, Mona/UHWI).

Minerva Thame has an outstanding record of public service. She served as President of the Paediatric Association of Jamaica from 2002- 2003 and is the Vice President of the Caribbean College of Paediatricians .  She is currently a Director of the Jamaica Down’s Syndrome Foundation and  a member of   Down’s Syndrome International.  She has been a reviewer for the West Indian Medical Journal, BMC Pregnancy and Child birth, Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology, Archives of Diseases in Childhood, Public Health Nutrition and the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Professor Thame was awarded the Principal’s Award for the Most Outstanding Researcher in the Faculty of Medical Sciences 2007-2008. She also received an award from the Jamaica Medical Foundation for outstanding contribution in the field of Child Health as well as The Paul Harris Fellow Award from the Rotary Club of New Kingston in 2009.