KEVIN Fenton, as a youngster, had dreams of being a pilot; as an adult, he settled for a career in medicine – it was in his blood. But Dr Fenton, it seems, was destined for the skies, even if only figuratively, having distinguished himself in public medicine, capped late last year by a directorship at the renowned Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia, a pivotal organisation in international public health.

He takes up his new job of director of CDC National Center for HIV, STD and TB (Tuberculosis) Prevention (NCHSTP) on January 23.

It’s a prestigious appointment by any stretch of the imagination.

Fenton, 39, a Jamaican, who did advanced studies and has worked mostly in the United Kingdom, recalls having mixed emotions after first hearing that he got the CDC job.

“I was delighted when I heard it, but the feeling I had was more of humility (for) the huge responsibility I was going to have,” he said in a Sunday Observer interview.

He has worked with the CDC before as a visiting scientist and chief of its National Syphilis Elimination Effort.

The Wolmer’s Boys high school old boy did not always want to be a doctor. Up until his studies at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona, his first love was aviation.

Fenton even found himself majoring in computer science at UWI in his first year, before transferring to the Faculty of Medicine.

It was his mother, Carmen Fenton, a nurse, who influenced him into medicine, he says.

“I’ve always grown up with a health background and health consciousness. I remember the days when we’d wait to pick my mother up from work at the University Hospital of the West Indies and we’d play on the premises,” said Fenton.

The ‘we’ included his siblings Dr Peter Fenton, who is now a gastroenterologist; sister Kim Wilson, head of the mathematics department at St Hugh’s high school, and another sister Keisha Fenton who, with his mother, distributes Herbalife products.

Through his father, Sydney Fenton, a retired principal and former head of the science department at Excelsior High School, Fenton said he learned to appreciate the value of knowledge.

But he believed in an education that went beyond books, so over time he developed interests in fine foods, music, clubbing, travelling, and is fluent in French and Spanish. He is also a painter, developing the flair after classes at the Edna Manley School for the Visual Arts, and has sold several pieces, he says.

“I’ve always been able to combine the artistic parts of my life . I enjoy studying, but I’ve always been able to combine it with other extracurricular activities,” he said.

In medical school, Fenton racked up several honours and medals, and was voted class president (1985-86) and vice president of the UWI Medical Students Association (1987).

After completing his pre-registration clinical rotations at the Cornwall Regional Hospital in Montego Bay and the University College Hospital in Kingston (now UHWI), Fenton had his first appointment in public medicine as acting Medical Officer for Health to the Hanover Health Department in Lucea.

In 1992, he got a Carreras Post Graduate Scholarship to pursue a masters in public health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. He couldn’t have been happier, having gained an affinity for the field from his tutors in medical school.

“They were young, bright and exuberant and excited about public health, and changing public heath,” Fenton said, adding that their passion easily rubbed off on him.

In the United Kingdom, after completing his masters, Fenton worked in the field of clinical infectious diseases for 18 months, after which he was appointed a lecturer in HIV/AIDS epidemiology, and was made honorary Specialist Registrar in Public Health Medicine at the Medical Research Centre.

He also held positions at the UK Centre for Coordinating the Epidemiological Studies of HIV and AIDS, the Department of Sexually Transmitted Diseases, the Royal Free and the University College London Medical School in 1995.

In these positions, Fenton both led and participated in a number of studies on HIV/AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD) within the UK.

In 1999, having completed training as a public health registrar, he was appointed senior lecturer in epidemiology and public health, as well as Honorary Consultant Epidemiologist with the HIV and STD Division of the UK’s Health Protection Agency.

In 2002, Fenton was appointed head of the HIV/STI Department. In this capacity, he was instrumental in the formation of the African HIV Policy Network and the European Surveillance of Sexually Transmitted Infections Network.

In addition, he was the first chair of the English Chlamydia Screening Programme and was a co-investigator on the second British National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles.

Alongside his research, he has authored and co-authored several works in his field, the latest of which was published in the 2005 Journal of Infectious Diseases – a paper titled ‘Reported Sexually Transmitted Disease Clinic Attendance and Sexually Transmitted Infections in Britain: Prevalence, Risk Factors, and Proportionate Population Burden’ by Fenton and nine others.

After a decade of studies, research, papers and symposia, Fenton has earned the following list of letters behind his name – MBBS, MSc, Dip.GUM, PhD, MFPH.

For his achievements, he credits the guidance of “two wonderful, bright and energetic parents, and an extended family that has been very great and helpful.”.

Fenton has no children of his own, but is a mentor to others.

“Mentoring is very important. I think it is very important for kids to see that hard work does pay off and that your time in school is a big investment.”

In future relations with Jamaica, Fenton expects to figure not only in the promotion of education but is hoping for collaborations between the CDC and the health ministry.

“I have maintained good relationships with people in the Ministry of Health and I will be looking proactively at ways in which we can collaborate. It’s just a matter of time before we start working together,” he told the Sunday Observer.

davisv@jamaicaobserver.com