Four decades removed from his impoverished beginnings in a Guyanese agricultural village, Dr. Brian Seymour vividly recalls his childhood clash with severe allergies.
Today, much of the Edwards Waters College biology professor’s work revolves around his desire to improve the health of others from poor communities.
Indeed, Seymour says, it’s his personal health challenges as a youngster that drove him to study biology and pursue work in research, which ultimately led to a career in higher education.
“Throughout all of my studies, I was very inquisitive — very curious — because of how I suffered from allergies as a kid,” said Seymour, who directs the college’s Center for the Prevention of Health Disparities. “And fortunately for me, I landed a job where I was able to do research and learn more about allergens.”
Last week, HBCU Digest named Seymour as the 2015 Historically Black College or University Male Faculty Member of the Year.
The honor was based on Seymour’s study that found major variations in allergic antibodies among economically challenged African-Americans in Jacksonville.
Seymour said he hopes the award will help his ongoing efforts to advance public health in Jacksonville — and have Edward Waters students be a part of it.
“This honor is proof that the work I am doing here is important to the people of the community,” he said. “I hope that it will have an impact when I apply for funding, and that pharmaceutical companies and others will see that Edward Waters is now research (driven) and provide the grant assistance we need for research.”
Seymour’s work in the fields of allergy and asthma has been published in Science and Nature Journal, and is featured in the immunology textbook he uses at Edward Waters.
As a California biotechnical firm researcher, Seymour’s study on the effects of secondhand smoke on animal models of allergic asthma influenced legislation banning in public places in the state.
Seymour said with adequate funding, the Center for Prevention of Health Disparities has a similar opportunity to be “a difference-maker.”
“I don’t want to just study allergy and asthma. I want to look at cancer, I want to look at obesity and I want to look at diabetes,” he said.
Seymour said as a graduate school student in Illinois he concluded from personal research — and a visit to a physician — that he was allergic to cockroaches.
The World Health Organization estimates that environmental factors often are a root cause of death, disease and disability — exposures that can be averted; cockroaches were prevalent in the banana and mango groves in Seymour’s hometown
“A lot of my allergies went away living a middle-class life,” he said.
Seymour, who has been at Edward Waters for four years and formerly served as biology chair, said it’s his hope that his personal experiences and inspiration will help steer students toward careers in research and medicine.
A former Edward Waters student recently completed a two-year study at a U.S.-based medical school in Antigua, and two other students are planning to enroll at the school, Seymour said.
“The interest is increasing, which is very motivating for me,” he said. “This is a wonderful community for us to study and understand health issues, and for the students to have a first-hand role in it.”
Also last week, Edward Waters’ Department of Business Administration was selected by HBCU Digest as “Best Business Program.” The school had four other nominations.