PRESS RELEASES 2005

U.S. Embassy Awards Fulbright Scholarship for Diabetes Research

June, 28, 2005

The United States Embassy in Kingston is pleased to announce Dr. Dalip Ragoobirsingh, senior lecturer in Basic Medical Sciences at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona and consultant to the UWI’s Diabetes Outreach Project, has been awarded a prestigious Fulbright Research Program grant from the U.S. Department of State.   Under the Fulbright grant, beginning July 1, 2005, Dr. Ragoobirsingh will be stationed at the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) in Washington, D.C. developing a diabetes education program to be implemented in the Caribbean.

 “It is becoming increasingly obvious that diabetes education is a priority for most countries in the Caribbean, where the prevalence of diabetes is reaching epidemic proportion,” said Dr. Ragoobirsingh.  According to data gathered from Kingston Public Hospital in 2002-2003, diabetes accounted for 20% of inpatient care at the hospital, and only 36.4% of diabetic patients are adequately controlled.
 
Dr. Ragoobirsingh is a former Rhodes Research Scholar in the Department of Medicine, University of New Castle, Upon Tyne, U.K., and has held other post-doctoral attachments at the University of Pittsburgh and University of Miami’s School of Medicine.  He was also a visiting fellow at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota.  Dr. Ragoobirsingh has authored several papers on the subject of diabetes, and has been published in international journals.

The Fulbright Program is a well-respected international exchange program sponsored by the United States Government.  It was established in 1946 to increase mutual understanding between the peoples of the United States and other countries. Since its inception, more than 250,000 participants from countries all over the world have been selected for their academic achievements and leadership potential to study, pursue research and teach internationally.