Three top students from The University of the West Indies (UWI) will be headed to England for the summer to participate in a surgical robotics research programme at the University of Leeds.
The cutting-edge CariSurg Summer Surgical Robotics Research Programme, in which the students will participate, was founded by Saint Lucian-born researcher Nikita Greenidge at the University of Leeds, in partnership with The UWI.
Designed to create direct pathways for Caribbean students to contribute to—and eventually lead—the next generation of breakthroughs in surgical robotics and AI in medicine, the programme takes students beyond academics to transform healthcare innovation in the Caribbean.
“This programme is about preparing our brightest minds to shape the future of healthcare,” said Greenidge. “We must be part of the solution if we are ever to lead it. By creating access to these spaces, we’re building a foundation for innovation that’s rooted in our region’s context and clinical needs while strengthened by meaningful global collaboration.”
Students selected for the summer programme were chosen from a pool of over 130 applicants from all The UWI campuses. They are: Samiya Allen (Cave Hill), Justin Sooknanan (Augustine), and Abishua Johnson (Mona).
The three will spend two months immersed in the renowned Science and Technology of Robotics in Medicine (STORM) Lab led by Professor Pietro Valdastri; they will conduct research in areas such as robotic-assisted surgery and the development of low-cost AI-driven technologies for cancer detection.
Students will also benefit from professional development workshops to support graduate school applications, tailored career mentorship, cultural exchange activities, and networking with leading researchers from around the world. They will have the opportunity to explore the UK while connecting with Caribbean clinical mentors, as part of this initiative to create globally minded, locally grounded innovators.
The CariSurg initiative is made possible through Emergent Ventures, a prestigious global fellowship that invests in high-impact ideas. It is also supported by the Caribbean College of Surgeons and the Caribbean Society of Endoscopic Surgeons, which will provide clinical mentorship to ensure the students’ research is firmly grounded in regional healthcare realities.
“This is a powerful example of what can happen when our universities work together with a shared vision,” said Dr Carl Beckford, one of the programme’s champions. “We are not only creating a unique opportunity for these students, but building the foundation for a research ecosystem that can serve the Caribbean for generations to come.”
Students will be supervised by faculty from both institutions, including Dr Carl Beckford, Dr Sean Miller, and Sasha-Gay Wright from The UWI, and Nikita Greenidge, Joshua Davy, Andrea Yanez Trujillo, and Gerardo Loza from the University of Leeds.
This is the pilot year of the programme, but plans are already underway to make CariSurg an annual undertaking with increased student participation, deeper research partnerships, and ultimately, the creation of a world-class surgical robotics and AI research institute based in the Caribbean. (PR/BT)
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