DR Michelle Johnson, associate chief of cardiology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre in New York, has been named an American Foundation for the University of the West Indies (AFUWI) Caribbean Luminary Awardee.

Johnson, a graduate of Kingston’s Immaculate Conception High School, was one of four awardees in this category, which included:

* Barbados-born Kaye Foster-Cheek, senior vice-president of Global Human Resources for Onyx Pharmaceuticals;

* the late Carlos Lezama “Mr Carnival”, a Trinidadian who presided over the West Indian American Day Carnival Association for 34 years; and

* Jamaica-born Ambassador Carlton Masters, president and chief executive officer of Goodworks International LLC, which plays a lead role in partnering Fortune 500 companies with Caribbean and African nations.

They were honoured at the 14th annual AFUWI Legacy Awards Gala at The Pierre Hotel in New York on January 26, where US entertainment industry mogul Suzanne de Passe received the Bob Marley Award and Patrick Gaston, former President of Verizon, a special award in recognition of his outstanding professional accomplishments.

Vice Chancellor’s Achievement Awards were presented to broadcaster Brenda Blackmon; artist and author Michael Escoffrey and corporate communicator Jeanine Liburd.

Johnson received her undergraduate education at Haverford College; her Doctor of Medicine degree from Cornell University College of Medicine; and her Master’s in Public Health from Harvard University School of Public Health, where she was also a Commonwealth Fund Harvard University Fellow in Minority Health Policy.

She attributes much of her professional success to the strong science education foundation she received at Immaculate Conception High School and Campion College in Kingston, and credits her early Jamaican role models who instilled in her an appreciation of excellence, commitment to medicine and a sensitivity for the particular health needs of Jamaicans.

Specifically, she honours her aunt and mentor, the late Dr Barbara Johnson, former chief physician at the Bustamante Children’s Hospital in Kingston, from whom she “learnt, first-hand, about the rewards and challenges of medicine and the particular needs of patients in the Caribbean”.

AFUWI said that “Dr Johnson has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to the education and training of young students in science and medicine. She hails from a long line of educators and celebrates their lives by continuing their educational legacy, mentoring minority children from inner-city backgrounds; collaborating in training programmes for high school and college students interested in biomedical sciences; and serving as a mentor to many Caribbean trainees and medical students.”

Johnson has served as a member of a visiting cardiology team to Jamaica, providing pro bono consultation to innumerable patients. Her present projects include work with the American Heart Association and fostering relationships between Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre and the University of the West Indies.