Professor Paula Tennant is a biotechnologist with a focus on the viral diseases of fruit and vegetable crops. After earning first-class honours in botany from the University of the West Indies (UWI), her brilliance caught the attention of Cornell University, where she joined groundbreaking research to combat the Papaya Ring-Spot Virus (PRSV). Professor Tennant is credited with the creation of the Solo Sunrise, a genetically modified strain of papaya which is resistant to the Ring Spot disease - she accomplished this during her Ph.D. research studies at Cornell University, which she completed in 1996. Her discovery helped save the local papaya industry which was under threat from the invasive disease. Dr. Tennant was the first person from the Caribbean to ever develop a bio-engineered product. She lectures several undergraduate courses and supervises post-graduate students in biotechnology, working with both the Department of Life Sciences and the Caribbean Centre for Research in BioScience. Her awards include the Young Scientist of the Year Award from the Scientific Research Council in 1996, the Principal’s Research Day award in the category of Best Researcher: Management of Plant Diseases in 2010, the Faculty’s Award for Outstanding Achievement in Course Assessments of Lecturers in 2012 .
Professor Paula Tennant
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Biotechnology
Senior Lecturer - UWI
Jamaica
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