Toll-Free : 1.877.888.BIMS(2467)  Phone : +1.876.619.BIMS / +1.876.370.9284 / +1.876.370.9291

Dr Guna Sekhar Muppuri
Dr. Guna Sekhar Muppuri OD
MBBS., MCCFP

Founder and President of BIMS(SOM-HP)

Dr Guna S. Muppuri was born and brought up in the southern Indian town of Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh. He graduated with MBBS in 1991 from Sri Venkateswara Medical College, Tirupati A.P India, and later interned from the University Hospital of the West Indies in 1992.

Bioprist Group is a fully owned family enterprise of Dr. Muppuri that holds almost 80 per cent of the listed company Indies Pharma Jamaica Ltd and 100 per cent of the several subsidiaries under the Bioprist Group, including BIMS SOM-HP.

He worked as a family physician in the public and private sectors of Jamaica for more than 20 years, prior to venturing into the generic pharmaceutical business. At the age of 35, in 2005 he became the principal founder and CEO of Indies Pharma Jamaica Limited, thus beginning Dr. Muppuri’s long and fruitful association with the field of pharmaceutical business. The company has established itself as a leader in the field of branded generic pharmaceuticals and is currently listed on the Junior market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange.

As a medical practitioner, he was faced with the harsh reality of the difficulties surrounding the average Jamaican’s ability to afford prescription medications. Making medicines available and affordable became his prime concern.

First initiative taken as CEO of Indies Pharma Jamaica Limited was to bring down the monthly cost of Clopidogrel – the prophylactic medication for stroke disorder (registered as the leading cause of deaths in Jamaica since 1999). The target was to make the cost for a month’s supply come down to J$1,500 versus the cost of the branded drug at J$8,250. Dr. Muppuri’s aim was to provide an uninterrupted supply of this medication to Jamaicans through the National Health Fund at a low cost. The same drug was made available under the National Health Fund benefits for J$125 for a month’s supply, down from J$1,500 per month for the branded formulation.

Second important initiative taken by him was in 2007 to free the people of unjustified patent standoff involving Amlodipine, medication for severe hypertension. Once the drug was free of the patent, it was supplied by Indies Pharma through the National Health Fund at a very low cost.

Third important initiative he has taken is to establish Medical Tourism in Jamaica by developing 65 acres in Montego Bay to create the state-of-the-art Medical City with USJCC 300 Bedded Hospital.

BIMS (SOM-HP) is now the new addition to the never-ending list of his serial entrepreneurial journey, fulfilling his dream of establishing a novel and a state-of-the-art nearshore School of Medicine with the technology driven teaching at the pinnacle of training the future medical professionals, to be recognized as one of the best cohort of medical professionals in the world. 

In 2015, Dr. Muppuri ventured into the BPO (business process outsourcing) field leading to the establishment of Bioprist Knowledge Parks based on the motto’ Empowering Economies’. This project is being pursued in several phases and is responsible for creating 1,400 jobs in the BPO industry.

He later acquired the multi-million-dollar former Jockey International Industrial complexes in Hanover and St James in Jamaica and transformed them into world-class BPO facilities and Innovation centers and continued to add more specific built offices space – Special Economic Zone Developments.

Dr. Muppuri has given back to the society what he has received from it with the belief that developing communities is more than providing employment.

A few notable ones are:

  • Pledged two acres of land at Grand Ridge Med City in Montego Bay for setting up an autism clinic, a school for physically challenged children and an orphanage.
  • Established “BIOPRIST SCHOLASTIC FUND” with J$11.4Million to offer scholarships to the students enrolled at BIMS- SOM-HP.

Others in the past are:

* In 2015 he developed a summer exchange program for Jamaican children and the United States medical universities thereby providing exposure to Jamaican children to global developments in healthcare education.

*Supporting the 30-bed spinal care center to be built at Sir John Golding Rehabilitation Centre in Mona, Kingston.

*Distribution of asthma inhalers among the public.

*Donations to the National Health Fund.

*Scholarships to 18 medical and pharmacy students.

*Donations to the Hope Clinic-Good Shepherd Foundation.

The ambitions and trajectory of the Bioprist Group under Dr Guna Muppuri have led to him being christened “The Repurposing Specialist”. He is the recipient of several prestigious awards which include the following:

  • 2021 – Anthony N Sabga Caribbean Award for Excellence in Entrepreneurship.
  • Caribbean Honor of Excellence by the Trinidadian ANSAMAL Foundation; Received from His Excellency Sir Patrick Allen, Governor General of Jamaica; The award included a gift of TT$500K (J$12Mil), which was pledged by Dr. Muppuri towards the corpus fund to assist the students enrolled at BIMS SOM-HP.
  • OD – ORDER of DISTINCTION, National Honor was conferred to Dr. Muppuri in 2021 by the Government of Jamaica for his contribution to the field of Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals.
  • 2019 – Recipient of the Government of India’s prestigious Presidential Honor, Indian Diaspora Award – Pravasi Bharatiya Samman, from the President of India. His Excellency Hon. Shri Ramnath Kovind.  
  • 2019 – Award for New Investment, Business Development and Expansion from the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce & Industry. Jamaica.
  • 2019 – American Chamber of Commerce Business & Civic Leadership Award.
  • 2018 – Excellence in Corporate Social Responsibility by the American Chamber of Commerce in Jamaica.
  • 2012 – Listed among the top four in the list of young entrepreneurs in “The Entrepreneurial Challenge Contest 2012” hosted by Scotia Bank and  nationwide.
  • 2011 – National Quality Award for Excellence in Business by the Bureau of Standards, Jamaica.
  • 2009 – Nation Builder Award by the NCB Foundation-Jamaica for Innovation in Business
  • 2009 – Century International Quality ERA Award in Geneva (Switzerland) by the Business Initiative Directions from Madrid (Spain) in recognition of Total Quality Management
  • 2008 – National Quality Award for Excellence in Business received from the Prime Minister of Jamaica/Bureau of Standards and Ministry of Industry  & Commerce, Jamaica
  • 2008 – First Good Physician of the Year Award by the Medical Association of Jamaica


Dr Guna Sekhar Muppuri receiving the Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas Award from the President of India, Hon. Ram Nath Kovind. Also present are (late) Sushma Swaraj, then Indian Minister for External Affairs, and Dr Guna’s mother Prabhavati Muppuri.





Dr Guna Sekhar Muppuri being interviewed on Television Jamaica on January 27, 2019.

 

Dr. Cheryl Anne-Marie Bennett
PhD; MBA

Member of the Board of Trustees
Consultant Advisor to the President on Academic Affairs

Dr. Bennett, PhD., MBA,  has successfully developed and implemented academic courses, programs and examinations to meet the specific needs of the students and match and exceed the quality standards of the respective Accrediting bodies. Wide ranging experience as an Academic Administrator at senior levels at tertiary institutions.

A university graduate (PhD, MBA) of the University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica (PhD) and The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad (MBA). She has also completed a Post-doctoral Fellowship within the Departments of Reproductive Endocrinology and Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy at the Cornell University, School of Medicine in the United States.

She has successfully developed and implemented academic courses, programs and examinations to meet the specific needs of the students and match and exceed the quality standards of the respective Accrediting bodies.

Dr. Bennett has several publications in peer-reviewed scientific and medical journals. She has deep-seated interest in quality academic development, especially in the areas of Health and Tertiary education on a global scale. She has wide ranging experience as an Academic Administrator at senior levels and has worked at the following several tertiary institutions:

  • THE UNIVERSITY OF THE WEST INDIES, MONA, JAMAICA(1983 – 1986), (Sept – Nov. 1989), (August 2011 – December 2014), (August 2017 – 2021)
  • THE UNIVERSITY OF THE WEST INDIES ST AUGUSTINE(1989 – 2005), (2008 – 2011), (January 2015 – May 2017)
  • CIPRIANI COLLEGE OF LABOUR & CO-OPERATIVE STUDIES(2015 -2017)
  • THE UNIVERSITY OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO(2005 – 2008)


During her association with the above institutions, she served in both academic and administrative positions such as but not limited to:

  • Lecturer in the Department of Physiology and Basic Medical Sciences
  • Administrator – Medical Sciences Program – Western Jamaica Campus, The University of the West Indies.
  • University Examiner
  • Course Convenor
  • Member of the Curriculum Committee
  • Internal and External Examiner
  • Associate Dean – Student Services, Marketing & Public Relations.
  • Assistant Provost –Quality Assurance and Accreditation – The University of Trinidad and Tobago 2007 – 2008.

Dr.Bennett has considerable expertise and skills in:

  • Academic Course development and delivery in multiple formats
  • Leadership & Strategic Management
  • Human Resources Management
  • Quality Assurance & Management
  • Communications, Marketing/Public Relations
  • Project Management

She has provided Community and National Service over many years on several Boards, Societies and Foundations

  • Member of the Board of the Good Shepherd Foundation, Montego Bay, Jamaica
  • Board Member, National Gas Company of Trinidad & Tobago (NGC)
  • Board Member, National Helicopters Services Limited, Trinidad & Tobago
  • Board Member, La Brea Industrial Development Company (L,ABIDCO) Trinidad & Tobago
  • Commissioner, National Commission for UNESCO, Trinidad & Tobago
  • Member, Management Committee of National Institute of Higher Education Research Science and Technology (NIHERST), Trinidad & Tobago
  • Volunteer, Cancer Society of Trinidad and Tobago
  • Board Member, Family Planning Association of Trinidad & Tobago.
Professor. Renn Osmond Holness OJ
The Hon. Prof. Renn Osmond Holness OJ
MBBS (Hons-UWI), FRCSC (Neurosurgery), DSc (UWI), DABNS (USA)

Member of the Board of Trustees

Emeritus Professor - Clinical Neuroanatomy & Neurosciences (Neurosurgery) Distinguished Visiting Professor for Medical Ethics (Hon)

The Hon. Prof. Renn Holness, born and raised in Jamaica is one of those rarest accomplished and outstanding eminent academicians to come across. He became an all-rounder in 2016 when he received his Jamaica’s fifth highest Civilian Honor, the Order of Jamaica (OJ), for outstanding contribution in the field of Medicine, in particular Neurosurgery.

  • 1968: He was a gifted track and field athlete while at school and he attended medical school at the University of the West Indies (UWI), and graduated MBBS in 1968. He was a recipient of the Gold Medal in his Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) with Distinctions in Obstetrics & Gynecology, Pathology & Microbiology as well as Honors in Medicine and Surgery. 
  • 1972-1976: He did his Neurosurgery Residency at Dalhousie University in Canada from 1972 to 1976.
  • 1976-1977: Did his Clinical Fellowships at the University of Toronto at the Hospital for Sick Children and St Michael’s Hospital (1976, 1977) and successfully completed his RCPSC examinations during that time.
  • He returned to Halifax, Canada in 1977 to take up a position in Neurosurgery at Dalhousie University and the Queen Elizabeth II Hospital (QEII).
  • 1987-2000: He served in the rank of Full Professor at The Dalhousie University and was Head of the Division of Neurosurgery from 1987 to 2000.
  • 1992-1996: Professor Holness was secretary and then President of the Canadian Neurological Society, (1992- 1996) and
  • 1997-2000: Chairman of the Examining Board in Neurosurgery, RCPSC – Royal College of Physicians & Surgeons of Canada from 1997 to 2000.  
  • 2000: He served as the Dean of the University of the West Indies Campus in Nassau, Bahamas and helped to establish and recruit for Neurosurgery there.
  • 2010: He was awarded a “Honorary Doctorate in Science – DSc by his alma mater, UWI.
  • 2016: On June 21, 2016, he received The Charles Drake Medal, the lifetime achievement award of the Canadian Neurosurgical Society, presented at the Annual Congress of the CNSF – Canadian Neurological Sciences Federation meeting in Quebec City.

Holness, retired from Dalhousie and the QEII in 2009, and has since been giving back to Jamaica, as he always intended. He had been travelling between Canada and Jamaica (external examiner in Surgery 2010) and eventually moved back to Jamaica to establish a Neurosurgical service at the Cornwall Regional Hospital in Montego Bay in February 2010 where he continued to teach and examine medical students and residents until early 2021. During his tenure at Cornwall Regional Hospital, he was associate lecturer, Dept of Surgery University, West Indies, an examiner in neurosurgery and mentor to trainees; he arranged externships in neurosurgery for many of the residents. Assisting Professor Ivor Crandon ,he helped to revise the final neurosurgery examination (DM),

Presently, in addition to his role at the BIMS – School of Medicine and Health Professions, Professor Holness is active in Consulting Private neurosurgical practice  with appointments at Hospiten,,Montego Bay Hospital, G West  and Andrews memorial Hospital(Kingston). He attends out-patients’ clinics at Hargreaves Memorial Hospital, Mandeville and Plantation .St. Ann

Jean
Prof. Jean Pierre Louboutin
MD (Neurology) PhD (Physiology)
Honorary Dean of Basic Sciences (incoming) & Visiting Professor of Medical Anatomy

Popularly addressed as Prof. JP, is a French Neurologist and a US Resident, comes with more than 35 years of experience in Research with around 100 publications, with an average impact factor of 4.5, 4800 citations and an H-index of 42. He is still collaborating with the Gene Therapy Program at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA. His MD dissertation was focused on Multiple Sclerosis, and he also have a PhD in Physiology on the regeneration of the skeletal muscle.

 

Prof. Louboutin is currently on an extension as the Head of the Department of Basic Medical Sciences, as well as Professor and Head of the Division of Anatomy, at UWI, Mona Campus. The Department of Basic Medical Sciences comprises 120 Staff Members, including 50 Academic Staff Members. He has more than 10 years of experience of Teaching in Anatomy, Histology, and Embryology at Mona for different Health Professionals (MBBS, DDS, Physical Therapy, Basic Medical Sciences, and PharmD Programmes).

 

He was mainly involved with the teaching of Basic and Clinical Neurosciences/Neurology in France while he was also familiar with teaching at the graduate level, as well as the postdoctoral level by supervising students in Laboratories. As Assistant-Professor of Neurology in France, he was also overseeing Residents in different Hospitals.


He is very familiar with teaching Gross Anatomy, Histology and Embryology. Beside a personal collection of histological slides, he also have more than 700 digital photographs of these slides.

 

Prof. Louboutin enjoys Neurosciences and currently teaching NeuroAnatomy to MBBS, Physical Therapy and BMedSci students. At this time, he is also the Co-ordinator of twelve Courses, among them: Musculoskeletal System  and Neuroscience System courses for MBBS and Introduction to Histology and Embryology for PharmD and Basic Medical Sciences students. Prof. JP pioneered in emphasizing and developing initiatives that would increase the interaction with the students in many courses: flipped classrooms during Labs/Tutorials, Case-Based Learning, and Problem-Oriented Learning.


Part of his Research being focused on gene/cell therapy in the brain, and because of his Clinical background as a Neurologist, he is naturally familiar with Neuroscience. A good amount of his research being dedicated to the Physiopathological and Pathological events occurring during gene/cell therapy makes him also familiar with Pathology at the basic level in general as well as in different organs. What is fascinating with gene therapy is that you need to know not only the pathology of a particular disease in order to improve it, but also the modifications that might occur due to the treatment (i.e., immune response).

 

Prof. JP enjoyed working with one of his mentors, Prof. David Strayer at the Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, who was the co-author and edited several versions of the “Rubin’s Pathology” textbook. He spent more than 8 years working in his Laboratory.

On the administrative side, besides being the Head of the largest Department on the Mona Campus at the University of West Indies, he was recently involved in the Quality Assurance Review of the Department. He is also a Member of the School of Dentistry Academic Quality Assurance Committee. Similarly, he participated to the meetings occurring before and during a recent accreditation visit by CAAM-HP for the MBBS Program in Mona.

Jagannadh
Prof. Jagannadha R. Peela
MD, PhD; FAACC; NRCC-CC (USA).
Provost & Interim Dean

Prof. & HOD of Biochemistry (Molecular Biology & Medical Genetics) Board Certified member of The National Registry of Certified Chemists, United States.

  • PhD in Human Genetics from Andhra University, Visakhapatnam in 2022.
  • MD in Biochemistry from Andhra Medical College, Visakhapatnam, NTR University of Health Sciences, in 2000.
  • MBBS in Medicine from Andhra Medical College, Visakhapatnam, Andhra University, in 1987.

• Consultant – Biochemistry. 6 January 2022 till date – Sept. 2023

  • Associate Professor: Department of Biochemistry and Medical Genetics, School of Medicine, St Matthews University, Cayman Islands (24 October 2016 to 07 January 2022)
  • Assistant Professor, Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Quest International University Perak, Ipoh, Malaysia. (31 May 2012 to 10 October 2016)
Mark
Prof. Mark Gorden Martens
M.D., FACOG, DipABLM
Executive Dean (Incoming)
mmartens@bimsmed.org

Prof. Martens is a renowned educator, researcher, and clinician in the areas of Infectious Diseases in Women, Menopause, Osteoporosis, and Minimally Invasive Surgery for over 25 years. Also, the Program Director, OBGYN Residency & Medical Director for Academics at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Mohawk Valley Health System in Utica, New York.
His scholarly activities include over 150 peer-review articles, book chapters, and is a reviewer or
editorial board member of several peer review journals.  To date he has 156 Publications, 15,062
Reads and 3,524 Citations.

Prof. Martens was the past President of the International Infectious Disease Society for Obstetrics and Gynecology. He graduated from Kenyon College in Ohio and attended graduate school in microbiology at Northwestern University in Chicago.  He attended George Washington University School of Medicine and completed his residency in OB/GYN at Hartford Hospital in Connecticut, and a Fellowship in OB/GYN Infectious Diseases at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas. 

Dr. Martens was tenured Professor of OB/GYN and Vice-Chair for Research at the University of Oklahoma.

  • Senior Vice President – Academic Affairs, Chief Academic Officer, Designated Institutional Official at Tower Health in Pennsylvania. 
  • Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology & Associate Dean for Graduate Medical Education and the Regional Dean for Drexel University College of Medicine at Tower Health, Drexel University College of Medicine in Pennsylvania. 
  • Chair of the Department of OB/GYN at Jersey Shore University Medical Center.
  • Clinical Professor and Vice-Chair at Rutgers, Robert Wood Johnson School of Medicine in New Jersey, and was the Founding Chair and Professor of OB/GYN at Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine at Seton Hall, Nutley, New Jersey.

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