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. Though the University of Toronto played a limited role in preparing Prof. Holness for his distinguished career, he returned to Jamaica to provide much-needed neurosurgical care and teaching.
• However, 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. A very fitting tribute indeed.

• Holness, retired from Dalhousie and the QEII in 2009, and has since been giving back to Jamaica, as he always intended. He has been travelling between Canada and Jamaica and has set up a Neurosurgical service at the Cornwall Regional Hospital in Montego Bay, where he continued to teach and examine medical students and residents.
• Presently, in addition to his role at the BIMS – School of Medicine and Health Professions, Professor Holness gives back to his Alma Mater, in his capacity as Professor and Examiner in Neurosurgery in the DM (UWI) Neurosurgery Program and teaches surgical residents and medical students at the Cornwall Regional Neurosurgery, Royal College of Physicians of Canada.