Faculty of Medical Sciences

Dr. Damian Cohall

Dr. Damian Cohall

Dean
Senior Lecturer in Pharmacology

Programme Director
-Bachelor of Health Sciences
-MPhil/PhD in Pharmacology

FMS
Preclinical and Health Sciences

Bio

Damian Cohall is a Senior Lecturer in Pharmacology and the Dean of the Faculty of Medical Sciences, The University of The West Indies, Cave Hill Campus. He has formerly held the posts of the Head of Department-Preclinical and Health Sciences, Deputy Dean – Preclinical Sciences and Director of the Doctor of Philosophy  (PhD) programme in Pharmacology in the faculty.
He has published a number of research articles, book chapters and books within the area of ethnopharmacology and pharmacognosy including a book entitled “Medicinal Plants of Barbados for the Treatment of Communicable and Non-communicable Diseases” and a book chapter entitled “Ten Most Important Medicinal and Aromatic Plants in Barbados” in the Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems.
He is a member of Frontiers in Pharmacology Editorial Board and the Advisory Editorial Board for the West Indian Medical Journal.  He has had many advisory roles and chairmanships of various technical committees in the life sciences industry locally and internationally.  He is also a recipient of  The UWI, Cave Hill’s Principal’s Award of Excellence in Teaching, University and Public Service.

Qualifications

BSc, PhD (Pharmacology) The UWI, 2008
Postgraduate Certificate in University Teaching and Learning, The UWI, 2010

Research Areas

Main research interests are:

  • Ethnopharmacology
  • Pharmacognosy

Interesting published manuscripts:

Cohall, D and Campbell, Jacqueline. 2023. Pharmacodynamics -A Pharmacognosy Perspective. In Badal, S and Clement, Y (ed.) Pharmacognosy: Fundamentals, Applications and Strategy. London, UK: Elsevier – Academic Press

Vujicic, T, Cohall, DH. Important Medicinal and Aromatic Plants of Barbados. In: Medicinal and Aromatic Plants of the World, UNESCO Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems. United Kingdom: Eolss Publishers Co. UK; 2023.

Cohall, D.H. Medicinal Plants of Barbados for the Treatment of Communicable and Non-communicable Diseases. Kingston, Jamaica: UWI Press; 2014.

Grant Funding to date:
BDS $ 650,970.24 (US$325,485.12) in grants for projects since my appointment at The UWI, Cave Hill in 2008 – 2023

Barbadian Medicinal Plants: Development of College Land, St. John into a Health and Wellness Tourism Destination | The United National Development Programme – GEF Small Grants Programme US $50,000.00 (2019).
 
Is Hypertension in African Descent Populations Accounted for by an Imbalance in the Ability of the ACE2/Ang-(1-7)/mas axis to Counteract the Activity of the ACE/Ang II/AT1 axis? |National Institute of Health – National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIH-NIMHD) US $ 24,857.00 (2018)

Teaching Areas

  • Pharmacodynamics
  • Pharmacokinetics
  • Cancer Chemotherapy
  • Cholinergic and Adrenergic Pharmacology
  • Pharmacogenetics and Pharmacogenomics
  • Pharmacotherapeutic Management of Hypertension and Ischaemic Herat Disease
  • Antidiabetic Drugs
  • Gastrointestinal Agents
  • Diuretic Agents
  • Research Methods
  • Clinical Trial Design

Publications

Vujicic, T, Cohall, DH. Important Medicinal and Aromatic Plants of Barbados. In: Medicinal and Aromatic Plants of the World, UNESCO Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems. United Kingdom: Eolss Publishers Co. UK; 2023.

Campbell, J, Kennedy, T, Cohall, D. Pharmacodynamics -A Pharmacognosy Perspective. In Badal, S and Clement, Y (ed.) Pharmacognosy: Fundamentals, Applications and Strategy. London, UK: Elsevier – Academic Press; 2023

Cohall, D.H. Medicinal Plants of Barbados for the Treatment of Communicable and Non-communicable Diseases. Kingston, Jamaica: UWI Press; 2014.

Evadgian, A., Bharatha, A., Cohall, D. (2022). Use of Cheminformatics to Determine Potential Drug Interactions between Popular Barbadian Botanical Medicines and Antihypertensive Drugs. ACS Omega. doi:10.1021/acsomega.2c02446

Vujicic T and Cohall D (2021) Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices on the Use of Botanical Medicines in a Rural Caribbean Territory. Front. Pharmacol. 12:713855. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2021.713855.

Additional Info

While my primary research areas are ethnopharmacology and pharmacognosy, Dr. Cohall maintains research interest in cardiovascular risk profiling, cannabinoid pharmacology and medical education.

Affiliations 

  • Member, International Cannabinoid Research Society
  • Cochrane Author, Cochrane Collaborations & Systematic Reviews

Awards

  • Award of Merit 2011  for Leadership in Education Award, Faculty of Medical Sciences, The University of the West Indies, Cave Hill
  • The University of West Indies, Cave Hill Campus Best Applied Research, 2018 – 2019 for joint authorship of Towards Conceptualising a Policy Framework for the Implementation of Medical Marijuana in a Small Island State in the Caribbean. Drug Science, Policy and Law 0(0) 1–8. DOI: 10.1177/2050324518796349
  • Principal's Award of Excellence in Teaching, University and Public Service 2019

Keywords

Ethnobotany, Ethnopharmacology, Pharmacognosy, Botanical medicines, Herbal products