George Alleyne

George Alleyne

Sir George Alleyne, M.D., F.R.C.P., F.A.C.P. (Hon.), D.Sc. (Hon.), is director emeritus of the Pan American Health Organization, where he served as director from 1995 to 2003. Dr. Alleyne is a native of Barbados and graduated from the University of the West Indies in medicine in 1957. He completed his postgraduate training in internal medicine in the United Kingdom and did further postgraduate work there and in the United States. He entered academic medicine at the University of the West Indies in 1962, and his career included research in the Tropical Metabolism Research Unit for his doctorate in medicine. He was appointed professor of medicine at the University of the West Indies in 1972, and four years later he became chair of the Department of Medicine. He is an emeritus professor of the University of the West Indies. Dr. Alleyne joined the Pan American Health Organization in 1981, in 1983 he was appointed director of the Area of Health Programs, and in 1990 he was appointed assistant director.

Dr. Alleyne’s scientific publications have dealt with his research in renal physiology and biochemistry and various aspects of clinical medicine. During his term as director of the Pan American Health Organization, he dealt with and published on issues such as equity in health, health and development, and international cooperation in health. He has also addressed several aspects of health in the Caribbean and the problems the area faces. He is a member of the Institute of Medicine and chancellor of the University of the West Indies.

Dr. Alleyne has received numerous awards in recognition of his work, including prestigious decorations and national honors from many countries of the Americas. In 1990, he was made Knight Bachelor by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II for his services to medicine. In 2001, he was awarded the Order of the Caribbean Community, the highest honor that can be conferred on a Caribbean national.