The University of the West Indies, (UWI) Mona is pleased to announce the promotion of Senior Lecturer in the Department of Surgery, Radiology, Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, Dr. Joseph Plummer, to the rank of Professor.  The promotion comes in the wake of assessment of his academic accomplishments and contribution to his field.
 
Joseph Plummer holds the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) and the Doctor of Medicine (DM) from The UWI, Mona Campus. He also completed a clinical fellowship in Colon and Rectal Surgery at the University of Toronto in 2006, and received additional experiences at the Cleveland Clinic and the Mayo Clinic. He was appointed to the Faculty at The UWI, Mona in 2003 as an Honorary Lecturer in Surgery. He continued as Lecturer until 2011 when he was promoted to Senior Lecturer.
 
Dr. Plummer is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and the Caribbean College of Surgeons. He was also elected fellow of The American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons, which is the premier society for colon and rectal surgeons and other surgeons dedicated to advancing and promoting the science and practice of the treatment of patients with diseases and disorders affecting the colon, rectum and anus.
Joseph Plummer is the author or co-author of 52 peer-reviewed articles, 24 scientific abstracts, and has presented some 37 papers at a range of scientific meetings locally, regionally and internationally. He has received major awards recognizing his scholarship including the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons International Scholar award in 2010 and the American College of Surgeons International Scholar award in 2016. He has made consistent contributions to the scholarly literature in various surgical disorders, focusing on technological applications in surgical disease with a special interest in international situations. He has done extensive research on the adoption of new surgical technology in developing countries, focusing in particular on the case of laparoscopic surgery in Jamaica.
 
He received over four million dollars from the Chase Fund for Advanced Laparoscopic Surgery Project which facilitated the purchasing of various advanced laparoscopic equipment for the Department. This facilitated the introduction of various advanced laparoscopic surgery such as colectomies, surgical procedures to remove the spleen (splenectomies) and hernia repairs to the general surgical service and training of surgical residents in the postgraduate surgical programme at The UWI, Mona. He has also been credited with being the first to perform and popularize laparoscopic colonic resection in Jamaica.  
 
Dr. Plummer has also served as Consultant Surgeon at hospitals across Jamaica. He introduced video-colonoscopy service to the South Regional Health Authority, which now serves hospitals in the parishes of Manchester, Clarendon, St Elizabeth and parts of Trelawny, St Ann, and Hanover.  
 
He introduced and was coordinator of the University of the West Indies/University of Toronto exchange programme for surgical residents, providing vital training in critical areas. He also coordinated the Fundamentals of Laparoscopic Surgery programme with the University of Toronto, resulting in successful certification of six surgical staff and three chief residents. In 2011 he was recipient of the Principal’s New Initiative Grant to establish a Colorectal Cancer Registry. He is an Editorial Board Member and performs peer reviews of manuscripts for several journals.  
 
In addition to his scholarly work, Dr. Plummer has served the University as Acting Head of the Department of Surgery, Radiology, Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, Member of the Board of the Faculty of Medical Sciences, Council Member, Caribbean College of Surgeons and Member, Caribbean Association of Medical Council Examination Committee.