Lee Nelson awarded 2025 Dr Barry Wint Memorial Scholarship for clinical medical physics studies

Lee Nelson, the 2025 recipient of the Dr Barry Wint Memorial Scholarship, says the award will fully cover his tuition for his first year of study in clinical medical physics and move him closer to working in Jamaica's healthcare system.

Nelson said he chose the field because he has seen the effect cancer can have on people and wants to help with treatment. He explained that clinical medical physics includes two areas: radiation oncology, which uses machines that generate X-rays aimed at affected parts of the body to destroy cancer cells, and nuclear medicine, which uses radioactive elements placed inside the body to do the same.

He said his interest in the subject grew out of a long-standing love for mathematics, which later developed into an interest in physics. Nelson added that he has always wanted to care for people, and that combination led him to the programme.

As a first-year student, he said receiving the scholarship was a happy moment and a sign that his hard work had paid off. Nelson said the first person he would be able to help through the award is his mother, because it will ease the financial burden of his studies.

According to Nelson, his tuition is just under $1 million for the year, and the scholarship is enough to cover that cost in full. He said that after finishing the two-year course, he hopes to enter Jamaica's healthcare system and help improve it, noting that there are not many medical physicists in the country at present.

During the interview, another scholarship recipient studying physiotherapy abroad said Lee's achievement was meaningful and described healthcare work as service to people, including helping to reduce or eliminate injuries while supporting improvements in the sector.

Nelson said his long-term goal remains clear: "I really hope to help people with cancer because I've seen how it affected people. I've seen what they have to go through."