NIHERST: Caribbean Icons in STI

Professor Julian Duncan has lectured at the UWI Department of Life Sciences for over 35 years. He started lecturing in botany in 1963 after obtaining a doctorate in Fungal Cytology and Genetics. During his tenure at the University his areas of research included plant anatomy, flowering plant reproductive biology, and plant tissue culture in which he pioneered research in Trinidad and Tobago.

Professor Duncan played a vital role in educating students and training researchers in the fields of botany and plant tissue culture. To date, he has supervised 2 Ph.D. students and 9 M.Phil. students who have conducted research in this field. These research areas included development of protocols for the rapid propagation of plants of economic importance such as yam bean, carambola, breadfruit, aloes and ornamentals such as Mussaenda sp., Heliconia sp., orchids and Aechmea dichlamydea var trinitensis (a Trinidadian bromeliad), and improvement in bananas for resistance to Panama disease.

Born in St Vincent on 9th December 1933, Julian Duncan grew up in a family of 2 boys and 4 girls. His parents, whom he considers as mentors, were Alphonse and Elaine Duncan. He had a happy childhood. His father was a disciplinarian and he grew up in St Vincent in an era in which there was no television, so he read a lot, listened to the radio, and used his imagination. He and his friends would produce plays that they wrote themselves to raise money for charity. He enjoyed the outdoors and learnt to swim by swimming after 2 toy boats he received as a gift from a shipbuilder.

He attended three primary schools before he went on to pursue a secondary education at the St. Vincent Boys’ Grammar School. At school he was an average student who was not too keen on learning, but he was keen on anything that involved thought. He hated learning languages such as Latin but enjoyed the challenges and thought involved in solving problems in mathematics. He also excelled in geography and English. He admired his English teacher the late Sir Lambert Eustace and also Mr. Lopey, his headmaster. At school he was fond of football and badminton which he played competitively.

After completing his secondary education in 1952, Julian Duncan taught geography in St. Vincent. He wanted to pursue a degree in geography but the University College of the West Indies (UCWI), Jamaica which he entered in 1957, did not offer this at the time. He decided therefore to study botany, chemistry and zoology of which botany was his favourite. He graduated in 1960 with a B. Sc. in Botany and Zoology and had the honour of being the first recipient of the Sir James Irvine Memorial Scholarship tenable at the St Andrews University in Scotland. He obtained his Ph. D. in Fungal Genetics and Cytology from the University of St. Andrews in 1963. His thesis researched nuclear division in fungi for which no precise theory yet existed and he developed a new hypothesis, which was published. Prof. Robinow described his work as “a most interesting, stimulatory and helpful piece of work, I often return to it in my own work and research.”

Despite the potential of his research work abroad, he returned to the Caribbean in 1963 to lecture in botany at the UWI, St. Augustine. Here he started his illustrious career in which he became highly regarded as a lecturer. In his department he served as Head from 1976-1979 and again from 1991-1998. He rose to the rank of Professor (1990) and retired in 1998. In 1999 he was conferred the honorary title of Emeritus Professor.

In 1975 he underwent training in the practices of plant tissue culture at the Freie Universitat in Berlin, Germany while on a Deutsche Akademische Austauschienst Dienst (DAAD) Fellowship. After leaving Germany in December 1975 he went to Britain where he lectured at the University of Reading.

Upon his return to Trinidad in 1976, he introduced a course on plant propagation at the undergraduate level and set up a small laboratory to conduct research in tissue culture. In 1980 on a fellowship from the IAEA he attended an 8-week course at CENA in Piracicaba, Brazil to update his skills in the area of plant tissue culture. On his return, with funding from the National Institute of Higher Education, Science, Research and Technology (NIHERST), he was able to set up a larger and more up-to-date laboratory in which he began a training and development programme in that field.

This facility played a major role in the development of Trinidad and Tobago’s capability in agri-biotechnology, which encompasses work on plant tissue culture techniques and genetic engineering. In 1985, with funding from NIHERST; Caroni (1975) Ltd.; the Ministry of Agriculture, Lands and Marine Resources; and the Development Finance Ltd, he established the region’s first semi-commercial plant biotechnology laboratory. He proceed to establish the UWI Biotechnology Research programme and served as the National Co-ordinator of the OAS Multinational Project in Biotechnology and Food from 1990 to 1996. Prof. Duncan currently represents Trinidad and Tobago on the board of the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB).

His early research work focused on the problems affecting the Caribbean namely the effect of Witches Broom a fungal disease affecting cocoa, the destruction of mites on the Double Chaconia and nematode destruction of the sweet potato plant. He then spearheaded the thrust at the UWI St. Augustine plant biotechnology of food crops and ornamental plants using Plant Tissue Culture initially then more sophisticated techniques.

During his outstanding career, he also supervised students in other areas of botanical research. He attributes the success of his teaching career to his “unique” teaching methods consisting of “meticulously organised lectures” that “encourage students to think.” His informative and interesting lectures and laboratory periods “fulfil their purpose of encouraging students to read more.” He advises his students that to become successful in any field, one must “observe carefully, record accurately and make reasonable conclusions.” For his excellence in teaching and administration, he was awarded the UWI Vice Chancellor’s Award for Excellence, in its inaugural year, 1994. Despite retiring in 1998 he is still actively involved in research with students. For his contribution to plant tissue culture research and development and biotechnology, NIHERST awarded him a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2002.

In his public life he served as a member of the CARIRI, IMA and Asa Wright Nature Centre Boards, and acts as a consultant to NIHERST on biotechnology. Professor Duncan is also heavily involved in work at his local Methodist Church and in his free time, he enjoys woodworking, building all his furniture and making all his Christmas gifts to friends. He enjoys reading, listening to music and playing scrabble. He confesses, “I am a scrabble addict.”

His personal philosophy is, “with God all things are possible.” If given the opportunity he would like to remove the word “can’t” from the dictionary. He suggests that it should be replaced by “ I have not tried.” He advises students that: “The sky is your limit; never think anything is beyond you. Always try and if you trip, falling is not failure.” His vision for young people is one in which “ young people strive to be themselves and not try to adopt negative aspects of other cultures.” He urges the men of our society to “challenge themselves” in light of the progression of women in society.

Professor Duncan is an expert on local botany and the author of a book on local flowers. He has contributed many articles to international, regional and local journals, seminar proceedings and books on local plants and plant tissue culture. He credits his success over the years as a scientist and educator to the support of his wife and children.

This Icon is also featured in the Video Documentary and Kids’ Booklet :

Sources:

Interview with Professor Julian Duncan.

Sci-TechKnoFest 2004, Kids Zone - Julian Duncan

Department of Life Sciences, University of the West Indies News

Selected Publications:

Duncan, E. J. (1964) Ferns and their Cultivation. The Trinidad Horticulture Magazine No. 1: 9-11.

Duncan, E. J., and Todd, A. W. (1972) Structure of the mature Embryo of Theobroma cacao L. Ann. Bot. Vol. 36 (No. 148) 939-945.

Brathwaite, C. D. W., and Duncan, E. J (1974) Development and Histopathology of Rotylenchus reniformis in sweet potato roots. Trop. Agric (Trin.) Vol. 51 (No. 3) 437-441.

Lynch-Brathwaite, B.A., Duncan, E. J., and Seaforth, C. E. (1975) A Survey of Trinidad Ferns for Antibacterial Activity. Planta Medica Vol. 27 (No. 2) 173-177.

Duncan, E. J. (1979) Facts of Interest on Some Trinidad and Tobago Plants. Trinidad Naturalist Vol. 2 (N0. 7): 14-22.

Duncan, E. Julian (1984) Tissue Culture as a Tool in Agriculture. In Wickham, Archibald, Dolly edited

New Technologies in Food Production: Proceedings of an International Seminar on New Technologies in food Production for the Eighties and Beyond – Agro. Tech. ’83. Faculty of Agriculture, U.W.I. St. Augustine pp 232.

Duncan, E. J., Alamu, S., and McDavid, C. R. (1985) Araceae (Edible Aroids). Handbook of Flowering. Vol. I. CRC Press Inc. Boca Raton, Florida. pp 568.

McDavid, C. R., and Duncan, E. J. (1985) Manihot esculenta. In Halevy edited Handbook of Flowering. Vol. III. CRC Press Inc., Boca Raton, Florida. pp 466.

Duncan, E. J. (1988) Germplasm: Manipulation and Conservation. In Reay and Steward edited: Science Applied in the Caribbean. Macmillan Publishers Ltd. London. pp 326

Maximay, S., Duncan, E. J., and Brathwaite, C. W. D. (1992) Internally seed-borne fungi of pigeon pea [Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.] in Trinidad: isolation and occurrence. Trop. Agric. (Trin.) Vol. 69 (No. 3) 260-262.

Duncan, E. Julian (1993) A Guide to Wild Flowers of Trinidad and Tobago. Asa Wright Nature Centre, pp 87 with colour illustrations.

Duncan, E. J. (1993) Contribution of The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine to the Multi-national Project in Biotechnology and Food. Proc. of the Biotechnology Conference: Tissue Culture for Improved Farm Production. Kingston Jamaica (1991) 65-77.

Okey, E. N., Duncan, E. J., Sirju-Charran, G., and Sreenivasan, T. N. (1995). Wound healing in cocoa (Theobroma cacao) stem and its relationship with canker caused by Phytophthora palmivora. International Journal of Pest Management Vol. 41: 224-228

Bhagwat, B., and Duncan, E. J. (1998) Mutation breeding of banana cv Highgate (Musa sp., AAA Group) for tolerance to Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense using chemical mutagens. Scientia horticulturae Vol. 73: 11-22.

Balladin, D. A., Headley, O., Chang-Yen, I., Duncan, E. J., and McGaw, D. R. (1999) Comparison of the histology of (I) fresh, (II) solar- dried and (III) solar- dried/steam-distilled ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) rhizome tissue prior to the extraction of its pungent principles. Renewable Energy 17: 207-211.

Rouse-Miller, Judy and Duncan, Julian (2000) In vitro Propagation of Artocarpus altilis (Park) Fosberg (Breadfruit) from mature Plant Material. In Vitro Plant Vol. 36 (No. 2) March-April, 115-117.

Julian Duncan
- Botanist

Sources:

Photo Gallery

Julian Duncan - Botanist

Sources:

Photo Gallery

Julian Duncan
- Botanist