分类： science

In a sunlit plant tissue culture facility in St. Philip, Barbados, an unexpected all-women support network has ignited a young scientist’s bold mission to advance Alzheimer’s disease treatment. What began as a post-graduation internship for 24-year-old Romelia Dabreo has evolved into a purpose-driven career rooted in mentorship, empowerment, and a growing passion for plant-based scientific research.

Dabreo, a recent biochemistry and microbiology graduate from the University of the West Indies, did not set out to work in plant science. Like many young students, she initially held aspirations of becoming a veterinarian, and walked into the St. Philip facility in June 2024 with just one goal: gaining practical lab experience after earning her degree. At the time, she had little knowledge of tissue culture techniques and no particular interest in crop research. What she found inside the lab walls, however, changed the trajectory of her career and her life’s ambition.

Led by facility head Dr. Sophia Marshall, the lab’s tight-knit team of women—including senior laboratory assistants Althea Grace and Deslyn Newton, and laboratory worker Sandra Alleyne-Belgrave—embraced Dabreo, openly sharing their expertise and creating a welcoming environment that let her curiosity bloom. “They make me feel comfortable and at home,” Dabreo said of her colleagues. That supportive culture transformed a temporary internship into a full-time role as senior agricultural assistant just two months after her arrival, a welcome outcome that caught Dabreo by surprise at a time when many young graduates struggle to secure stable employment.

“It was very exhilarating,” she recalled. “I didn’t really expect to get a position here. I just came into work focused on getting experience to build a science career down the line.”

As she immersed herself in the work of plant tissue culture, Dabreo’s interest grew far beyond the lab. Back at home, she has joined her naturally curious and creative mother in small-scale agricultural experiments, testing growing methods for staple crops. Her mother has even found success growing sweet potatoes and cassava in grass cuttings instead of traditional soil, a project Dabreo says has deepened her connection to plant science outside of her formal work.

Today, Dabreo is leveraging the tissue culture and phytochemical extraction skills she has mastered to pursue a groundbreaking goal: developing a potential Alzheimer’s treatment using compounds extracted from local staple crops including sweet potatoes and yams. She hopes her work will one day slow the progression of the neurodegenerative disease or even contribute to a long-sought cure.

Beyond her own research, Dabreo is working to shift negative perceptions of agriculture among young people. Too often, she says, the younger generation writes off agriculture as nothing more than backbreaking field work under the hot sun, failing to recognize the wide range of innovative career paths the sector offers—from apiculture to high-tech tissue culture, and even opportunities to integrate cutting-edge tools like artificial intelligence.

For Barbados, Dabreo notes, a career in agriculture also offers young people the chance to contribute to national progress beyond personal gain. “It’s contributing to something much greater than yourself,” she explained. “You’re helping Barbados become more food secure, as well as getting our local innovations out onto the international stage.”

Her journey stands as a testament to the power of female mentorship in STEM, proving that supportive work environments can turn unexpected opportunities into life-changing scientific ambition.

On Wednesday, the government of Barbados unveiled a landmark new strategy designed to anchor national and regional scientific research at the heart of public policymaking. The ambitious project seeks to break down long-standing academic silos, bridge gaps between scientific inquiry, public policy design and community-led action, and position evidence-based research as a foundational driver of national development. The initiative was formally launched during the opening ceremony of the second annual Research Frontier Symposium, a two-day convening hosted jointly by the Barbados Fisheries Division and the Coastal Zone Management Unit (CZMU). Held as a centerpiece event for the island’s national Environment Month programming, the symposium functions as a collaborative cross-sector platform to highlight cutting-edge advances in both sustainable blue and green economy development across the Caribbean region.

The gathering brings together a diverse coalition of stakeholders, including multiple agencies under Barbados’ Ministry of Environment and National Beautification, Green Economy and Resilience — among them the CZMU, the National Conservation Commission, the Marine Spatial Plan unit, and the Barbados Fisheries Division — alongside academic partners from the region and leading international collaborators. Dr. Leo Brewster, director of the CZMU, noted that the high level of participation from both local stakeholders and international virtual attendees signals a clear and growing momentum for expanded scientific investment across Barbados.

“Based on the response we have seen this year, it is evident that not only is the Ministry of Environment fostering a wave of new activity and innovation, but through our partnerships with external associate entities like the University of the West Indies, research is steadily growing in importance for Barbados’ long-term success,” Dr. Brewster explained. He emphasized that establishing the symposium as a permanent annual fixture will help reshape public perceptions of the work carried out by government agencies, moving beyond the common view that these bodies only focus on policy drafting and inter-agency administration. “This is a trend we need to cement as an annual event,” Dr. Brewster said. “It is critical for us to show that active research is happening right within our own government departments, not just policy preparation and work on internal or cross-ministerial issues.”

Chief Fisheries Officer Dr. Shelly Cox outlined two additional core goals for the symposium: making scientific career paths more attractive to young Barbadians and dismantling traditional institutional barriers that have historically isolated research from policy action. “Too often, research is seen as something only done by senior, established academics,” Dr. Cox noted. “Over the course of these two days, attendees will get to see outstanding work from talented early-career researchers, which is exactly the kind of visibility we wanted to cultivate to make research feel accessible and appealing to the next generation. We also aim to break down academic silos and translate raw scientific data into actionable national policy.”

Dr. Cox also highlighted that regional research from Barbados already holds its own in the global scientific community, with Barbadian researchers regularly publishing their work in top-tier international peer-reviewed journals. Discussions and presentations at the symposium are tailored to the unique scale of Barbados’ marine jurisdiction: the island’s exclusive economic zone spans more than 400 times the area of its landmass, making marine research a national priority. Topics on the agenda cover a wide range of environmental and economic priorities, including marine spatial planning, deep-sea floor mapping, pelagic species migration patterns, science-based sustainable catch limits for popular commercial species like dolphin fish, as well as green economy topics such as terrestrial biodiversity conservation at Long Pond, municipal waste characterization, circular economy development strategies, and the application of artificial intelligence to advance environmental research.

The symposium is scheduled to conclude on World Environment Day, which coincides this year with the International Day for the Fight Against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing. Organizers have structured the closing of the event to raise public awareness of the harms caused by unsustainable fishing practices and build support for coordinated regional action to address the threat. Delegates in attendance include senior representatives from the United Nations Development Programme, the Food and Agriculture Organization, private sector leaders, and local fishing industry associations. Moving forward, event organizers hope the cross-sector gathering will strengthen existing collaborative partnerships, unlock new financial and institutional resources, and create a clear pathway to expand and support future scientific research initiatives across Barbados.

As climate change intensifies threats to small island nations across the Caribbean, a leading regional scientific leader has sounded an urgent alarm: fragmented data sharing across national and institutional borders is severely limiting climate research, undermining evidence-based policy, and putting the entire region at a critical turning point that could derail climate adaptation efforts. Dr. David Farrell, principal of the Barbados-based Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology (CIMH), outlined these deep-rooted challenges in an exclusive interview with Barbados TODAY, stressing that immediate government policy intervention is required to unlock trapped critical climate and cross-sectoral datasets.

Farrell explained that even CIMH, the region’s primary meteorological and hydrological training and research body, faces persistent barriers accessing key data within Barbados itself, a gap that directly restricts the institute’s ability to deliver actionable insights for decision-makers. He framed the current impasse as a defining moment for the region: if data holders continue to refuse collaboration with scientific researchers, Caribbean nations will fall far behind in global efforts to leverage technology for climate resilience.

“Data sharing is non-negotiable for progress right now – I cannot overstate how central it is to every challenge we face,” Farrell said. He highlighted that interconnected “nexus problems” – overlapping issues that cut across multiple economic and social sectors – are growing increasingly complex, and solving them depends on cross-sector information flow. For example, public health outcomes directly shape agricultural productivity, meaning food system planners require access to public health data to make informed decisions. Similarly, long-term economic planning relies on detailed, up-to-date labor force data that is often locked away in siloed government or private databases.

Farrell acknowledged concerns about sensitive data, noting that existing frameworks already address these risks: sensitive datasets can be clearly marked, and legally binding access agreements can be put in place to govern use. What serves no purpose, he argued, is hoarding data on private servers where it cannot contribute to better decision-making. “Data that is not shared has zero value,” he emphasized. “It cannot improve livelihoods, attract investment, or solve the problems we are all facing.”

The push for open data is particularly urgent as the region looks to adopt cutting-edge technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning to address climate and development challenges, Farrell noted. Both AI and machine learning are deeply data-dependent, and claims of investing in these technologies ring hollow without a commitment to open data sharing. “You can’t say you’re building AI systems if you’re not willing to provide the data that powers them,” he said. “Data is the fuel for these tools – without it, they cannot produce the actionable insights we need.”

Farrell pointed out that data sharing challenges exist at both national and regional levels, but there has been incremental progress. As more regional institutions recognize the scientific and economic value of open data, collaboration has become easier. The biggest gap remains at the interface between national governments and regional bodies, he said, where data holders often hesitate to share information without formal policies in place to protect their interests. Suspicion around the purpose of data requests also slows progress.

To illustrate the benefits of a robust open data policy, Farrell pointed to the United States, where most government-generated data is freely available to the public. This open data ecosystem is a core reason the U.S. leads in many fields of research and technological innovation, he argued, because it allows researchers to test models, validate concepts, and build new products and services that drive economic growth.

Against this backdrop, Farrell is calling on Caribbean governments to lead the shift by enacting formal data sharing policies that encourage open access and streamlined cross-border data movement. In today’s fast-paced digital age, delayed data sharing renders information irrelevant by the time it is released, he warned. If the region moves too slowly to open up its datasets, outside entities will fill the gap with alternative data sources, and local stakeholders will lose out on the economic and scientific benefits of controlling their own information.

“If we want to keep pace with global technological advances and use them to improve climate resilience and quality of life across the Caribbean, we have to revisit our outdated data models and policies,” Farrell insisted. “We are already at a crossroads. The choice to implement thoughtful open data policies will set the region up for progress; failing to act will leave us locked out of the benefits of modern science and technology.”