Dr Cecil Boston and Dr Rajini Kurup recently made history as the first two graduates of the University of Guyana’s first doctoral degree programme.
The university last evening said they were among a number of students graduating from new programmes at the ongoing convocation ceremonies. They both graduated on March 19.
Dr Boston and Dr Kurup are the first graduates from the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Degree in Biodiversity, which the university said is an interfaculty Research Programme being offered jointly by the faculties of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Natural Sciences and Agriculture and Forestry.
In a news release, the university noted that Dr Boston’s Doctoral Thesis focused on “A study relating to the use of medicinal plants in the treatment and management of Diabetes mellitus in Guyana with a case study of Pakuri (St Cuthbert’s Mission) on selected indigenous herbal treatment for diabetes”.
Dr Boston currently serves as Dean of the College of Medical Sciences (formerly called the Faculty of Health Sciences) at the University of Guyana.
The release said that Dr Kurup’s doctoral research was focused on “Microbial diversity and knowledge and practices among diabetic foot patients in Guyana”.
Dr Elroy Charles, one of the three persons responsible for the development of the PhD programme, was reported as saying that he was elated with the success of Boston and Kurup as well as several others expected to march in the 2020/2021 graduation later this year. He added that the programme is essential because Guyana is 80% forest with a high level of biodiversity of flora and fauna, a lot of which is unknown to science. Accord-ing to Charles, there is a huge amount of work, especially on taxonomic diversity that needs to be done.
“Quite often, the Guiana Shield is represented as the last bastion of biodiversity that remains largely untouched. For this reason, the graduates’ work is important as it addresses and contributes to the body of knowledge that is necessary for the development of Guyana and the region. Graduates from the Doctoral programme will energize the Guyanese public and academia and the programme will gain the recognition it deserves,” he was quoted as saying. “When we go abroad to study, the majority of the study is centered on issues relevant to that country. By having our own PhD programme we can address our local issues thus enriching our body of indigenous biodiversity knowledge,” he added.
According to the university, the other new programmes that produced their first graduates are the Master’s of Medicine in Diagnostic Radiology, the Master’s in Agro-Technology and Business, the Bachelor’s in Mathematics – Online, and the Advanced Post Graduate Diploma in Education.
