BOWEN
MENTION ACKEE in the Department of Chemistry, UWI, Mona Campus, Jamaica and you will be directed to Camille Bowen, research student and assistant lecturer.
Ms. Bowen recently submitted her PhD thesis on various aspects of the ackee fruit. She was particularly interested in examining changes in the levels of the toxic principles (hypoglycins A and B) as the fruit matured, across different bearing seasons and in two ackee varieties known colloquially as "cheese" and "butter".
Integral to her PhD research was the isolation of a high purity sample of hypoglycin A from the ackee fruit. In collaborative work between her research group, headed by Dr. Donna Minott-Kates, and the Bureau of Standards, Jamaica, this sample has been supplied to various organisations including the United States Food and Drug Administration and is currently being used as the standard for hypoglycin analysis in processed ackees.
In 2001 Ms. Bowen became the first recipient of the Henry Lowe Award for high performance in the organic chemistry graduate examinations at UWI. Ms Bowen, who has two older brothers, hails from Guys Hill, St Catherine, where her parents reside. She is a past student of St. Mary High School. She attributes her successes to the grace and favour of the Lord, Jesus Christ.
Her favourite dish is ackee and salt fish (with roast breadfruit, of course) - is it any wonder?
