A 28-year-old Guyana-born scientist has been recognized for her contributions to medicine by Black Enterprise (BE) magazine’s December 2007 issue, which is now on newsstands in America, a release said yesterday.
Dr Paulianda J Jones has been named one of the top 40 African-Americans under age 40 who are making significant contributions in their fields. The release said Jones was recognized for her neuropharmacological research that “focuses on the development and discovery of potential therapeutic treatments of neurological diseases such as Parkinson’s and anxiety disorders”. She is one of three scientists included in this year’s list.
The release, which was circulated by her husband Alwin Jones, quoted the magazine as stating that Jones, a postdoctoral research fellow at Vanderbilt School of Medicine, made the list because “her interdisciplinary training puts her on the cutting edge of research: she is a chemist with expertise in brain slice electrophysiology using techniques to understanding neuronal activity in both diseased and normal states.” The monthly magazine also said Jones had been awarded several fellowships for her graduate work on epilepsy, including “the nationally competitive UNCF/Merck Science Graduate Dissertation Fellowship”.
Jones was born to Andrew Griffith and Paulette Griffith (nee Seaton), both of Georgetown and she resided in both Georgetown and Lethem before migrating to the US in the mid 1980s. After a brief stay in Brooklyn, NY, she and her family migrated to Northern Virginia where she attended elementary and high school. She graduated with her BS in Chemistry from Washington and Lee University (Lexington, VA) in 1997 and her PhD in Chemistry from the University of Virginia (Charlottesville) in 2006.
Married to Alwin Jones, also of Guyana, she is the oldest of three siblings-Amanda (born in Guyana) and Aaron. The release said Jones had just begun her journey as she plans use her academic training to excel in entrepreneurship. She plans to work actively to increase the number of women who decide to pursue a science career both in the US and Guyana.
About the honour, Jones was quoted as saying, “I am happy to see that BE has included educators, researchers and scientists and has recognized that our contributions are just as valuable as the accomplishments of individuals in other sectors. And, it’s very good for our young people.”
BE describes the honorees as “bold innovators – all under the age of 40 – who are shaping our world.” The Hot List honors African Americans who are “making their mark” on sectors ranging from finance and medicine to media and entertainment, and includes well recognized names such as Tyra Banks, Edwidge Danticat, Shawn “Jay Z” Carter, Lebron James, Wyclef Jean, Alicia Keys, Beyonce Knowles, Tyler Perry, Kanye West, and Tiger Woods.
