The University of the Virgin Islands had the honor of hosting the Director’s Regional Meeting of the National Institute on Aging (NIA) and the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) on April 7 and 8. The two-day meeting, which was open to health and science professionals in the territory, addressed issues such as minority health and health disparities, grant writing and caring for people with Alzheimer’s disease. The keynote address was given by Dr. James S. Jackson, director and research professor at the University of Michigan. In her presentation titled “Perspectives on Ethnicity, Culture and Health Outcomes: US and USVI Comparisons,” Dr. Hedwig Lee said that according to research, Blacks in the Virgin Islands are healthier than Blacks in the United States. Pictured top, left to right, Dr. Hedwig Lee of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health and Society Scholars at University of Michigan, Dr. Chyren Hunter of the NIA and Dr. Doris Campbell of UVI’s School of Nursing discuss Lee’s presentation. Pictured left, left to right, Deputy Director of the NIA Dr. Marie Bernard and Dr. Sidney Stahl answer questions about Alzheimer’s disease.
