A young Anguillian, Carlan V. Romney, graduated from the University of the Virgin Islands with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology and minor in Environmental Science. He received cum laude honours for his exceptional academic achievement during his undergraduate years.
Mr. Romney achieved an impressive record as an undergraduate student. He was a recipient of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Research Initiative for Scientific Enhancement (RISE) scholarship, Dean’s List honouree for several semesters, and a member of the Golden Key International Honour Society, Alpha Mu Gamma, Biology Society, and Anguilla Student Association.
In the summer of 2017, through the Emerging Caribbean Scientists (ECS) Program at UVI, Mr. Romney worked on a research project which involved the genetics of Halophila stipulacea, an invasive seagrass in the Caribbean region. His interest in biomedical research led him to intern at Brown University in the summer of 2018. At Brown, he worked in the Department of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, and Biochemistry. There he used clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR), a gene modification tool, to analyze the functions of genes responsible for ethylene production in Arabidopsis thaliana, a terrestrial plant. These research experiences afforded him the opportunity to receive many travel grants to national research conferences and symposia in Hartford, CT, Atlanta, GA, Indianapolis, IN, Providence, RI, and Washington, DC. He also participated in Research Day and Fall symposium at UVI and captured second place.
Before matriculating at UVI, Mr. Romney attended the Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School and began taking Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) subjects in fourth form. Upon completion of fifth form in 2013, he amassed eleven CSEC subjects. He later attended sixth form, and obtained an Associate degree in General Studies consisting of nine Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) units.
Mr. Romney will spend the next year at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, SC, participating in their Post-Baccalaureate Research Education Program (PREP). This is the next step on his journey of fulfilling a career in biomedical science.
Carlan is the son of Vanroy Romney and Carla T. Richardson. He is also the special son of Chereese Romney, grandson of Maria Baker as well as Carmen and Kelvin (Steve) Romney (both deceased).
Mr. Romney expresses sincere thanks to God for his strength and guidance, family, friends and well-wishers for their unwavering support and encouragement.
-Contributed
