Kellyn George is from
Dominica and in 2013 created a support foundation to help people with sickle cell anemia in her homeland. In 2015, she was awarded
Queen's Young Leader Award for her activism in changing the lives of people in her community.
Biography
Kellyn George is a Dominican from the village of
Mahaut.
In 2006 she earned a double associate degree from
Dominica State College
Dominica State College (DSC) is a National university, national college in Stock Farm, Stockfarm, Dominica. It is an Amalgamation (business), amalgamation of The Technical College, The Dominica Teachers Training College, The Sixth Form College, an ...
in chemistry and biology
and went on to study at
Midwestern State University
Midwestern State University (MSU Texas) is a public liberal arts university in Wichita Falls, Texas. In 2020 it had 5,141 undergraduate students. It is the state's only public institution focused on the liberal arts.
History
Founded in 1922 as ...
in
Wichita Falls, Texas
Wichita Falls ( ) is a city in and the seat of government of Wichita County, Texas, United States. It is the principal city of the Wichita Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Archer, Clay, and Wichita counties. Accord ...
, from 2006 to 2008.
From 2008 to 2010, George studied biology at
Barry University
Barry University is a private Catholic university in Miami Shores, Florida. Founded in 1940 by the Adrian Dominican Sisters, it is one of the largest Catholic universities in the Southeast and is within the territory of the Archdiocese of Mia ...
and in 2011 her research team was the first-place winner of the Biology S.T.E.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) Award at the 3rd Annual S.T.E.M. Research Symposium, for their work on the "effect of embryonic ethanol exposure on zebrafish cranial motor neuron development".
Completing her studies, George returned to Dominica where she worked with the Commonwealth of Dominica on their
Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States
The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS; French: ''Organisation des États de la Caraïbe orientale'', OECO) is an inter-governmental organisation dedicated to economic harmonisation and integration, protection of human and legal ri ...
(OECS) Electronic Government for Regional Integration Project (E-GRIP) in 2012. At the end of 2013, George took a research officer's position at the Livestock Development Unit of the Ministry of Agriculture.
In January 2013, George founded an NGO called the Sickle Cell Cares Foundation to provide information and education about
Sickle Cell Disease
Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a group of blood disorders typically inherited from a person's parents. The most common type is known as sickle cell anaemia. It results in an abnormality in the oxygen-carrying protein haemoglobin found in red b ...
in Dominica.
George, who serves as director of the organization,
recognized the need for additional support because she has had the disease all her life
and statistics show that 35% of the citizens of the island have the disease.
In January 2015, George was named as one of the winners of the inaugural Queen's Young Leaders Award for 2014 for her work in improving the lives of her fellow citizens.
The awards were bestowed in June 2015.
References
External links
Sickle Cell Cares Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:George, Kellyn
Living people
Recipients of the Queen’s Young Leader Award
Dominica activists
Midwestern State University alumni
Barry University alumni
Dominica scientists
Dominica women scientists
Year of birth missing (living people)
People from Saint Paul Parish, Dominica