Dr. Patrice Smith, Jamaican-born scientist living in Canada who discovered a new way to repair damaged nerves. – Contributed
https://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20100104/flair/flair11.html
She hails from Westmoreland from the little town of Darliston and is now a scientist who may have discovered a new way to repair damaged nerves.
Jamaican-born Scientist Dr. Patrice Smith who now resides in Canada, receiving her education from the university of Ottawa. She along with her peers have discovered a way to repair damaged nerves. Not only did she found a way to repair damaged nerves, she has also found a way to allow the brain to respond to those repair signals.
As we age it becomes harder to repair nerves, essentially spinal and brain injuries becomes difficult to repair. Our brains blocks the immune systems from speedily repairing any damaged nerves. For example when our body gets too cold out our immune system sends a message to our central nervous system that repairs any damages that is done. However, if our nervous system or our brain and spinal cord is damaged then there will be absolutely no recovery! The molecule that is responsible to help carry out the repair is called SOCS3 and when there is major damages done it will not do it’s job.
Dr. Smith stated that “In the absence of SOCS3, the damaged nerves were able to regenerate themselves in an adult. My hope is that the research will help people who suffer from brain and spinal-cord injuries by helping to repair the injuries they may have received in an accident, or just through the natural ageing process,” she added.
As a pickney growing up Dr. Smith has always been fascinated about how things work, she would take apart electronics a d put them back together again — now as a scientist, she is doing this with the human body!
Early Life
Before migrating to Canada Dr. Smith lived with her grandparents. She focused on her education and though her CXC was dismissed in Canada and she had to repeat high school she felt that her Jamaican education gave her a strong footing.
Achievements
She completed her doctorate in 2005 and later on received a scholarship from the Canadian Institute of Heath (CIHR) to attend Harvard University. “I am currently working on extending this research in my own lab back in Canada to look at ways of functionally repairing damaged nerves, following spinal cord and brain injury.” She stated.
Source: https://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20100104/flair/flair11.html
