PROFESSOR E Nigel Harris, vice-chancellor of the University of the West Indies (UWI), has been recognised by Howard University in Washington DC, USA, with the Distinguished Alumni Award in the field of Medical Research & Education.

At the same time, Harris was hailed as “a globally renowned physician and researcher, revered professor, top administrator and health care leader, who has been at the forefront of making a difference in the lives of thousands”.

The occasion was the 85th annual Howard University Charter Day awards dinner held on March 14.

The foreign university commended Harris’ work over the past five years to make real his vision of “making the UWI the first choice of Caribbean nationals seeking high-quality education and providing new knowledge through research contributing to growth, development and transformation of the region”.

The university noted in particular, “the restructuring of the UWI presence in the 12 contributing countries without campuses and determining how best to meet the educational, research and aconsultancy needs and strengthening relationships with universities outside of the 15 UWI countries, such as the University of Guyana”. The honour to Harris comes 41 years after he graduated magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa from Howard with a degree in Chemistry. He later proceeded to Yale University (Master of Philosophy degree in Biochemistry) and University of Pennsylvania (medical degree). Harris completed his residency in internal medicine at the UWI, Mona, where he earned the postgraduate degree – Doctor of Medicine.

Internationally known for his work as a rheumatologist, Harris completed another fellowship at the Royal Postgraduate Medical School, Hammersmith Hospital in London, England. It was there that he collaborated with Dr Graham Hughes and Dr Aziz Gharavi to define a disorder, which he named “Antiphospholipia Syndrome” and devised a diagnostic test (the anticardiolipin test). It is widely used today to diagnose the auto-immune disorder the team discovered, which causes recurrent blood vessel clotting resulting in strokes, deep vein thrombosis, and other serious conditions.

In accepting the award at Howard, Harris said, “There can be no greater honour than one in which one is recognised by one’s alma mater.”

Addressing the award ceremony, he said that “Tonight, I may have completed one of the greatest circles of my life.” He noted, however, that “while there have been one or two visible accomplishments, it is whether one has made a difference to other lives that counts most”.

The professor said that for him, “the answer with respect to making the difference is elusive, but I hope that when it is all over, a few people will say, ‘yes, he did'”.

Also receiving an honorary degree at the Howard University Charter Day was Phylicia Al Rashad (Claire Huxtable in the popular Cosby Show).