March 29, 2024

INFO 10

THE TRUTH IN BLACK AND WHITE

Lindener lands Neurosurgical Residency at  YALE

Future Neurosurgeon Joseph Haynes

By Vanessa Braithwaite-Moore

Former student of Watooka Day Primary School Joseph Haynes, has landed a very esteemed acceptance at YALE’s Neurosurgical Residency, something he says will pivot him to the pinnacle of his career as a neurosurgeon. Haynes is the son of popular naturopath doctor and entrepreneur in Linden, Dr. Joseph Haynes Snr.

Born and bred in the bauxite mining town, the aspiring neurosurgeon attended the Watooka Day Primary School before migrating to Georgetown, Barbados and the U.S.A respectively. With his mother being a midwife and his father a doctor, he said this influenced him to pursue medicine and from the tender age of four, he knew he wanted to specialise in neurosurgery. He was also motivated by the fact that when he left Guyana, there were no local neurosurgeons at the time and there were many patients who suffered from neurological diseases. “I had known very early on that I wanted to pursue neurosurgery….my father says I told him that I wanted to be a neurosurgeon when I was four-years-old, hence why I chose to major in the neurosciences. I also began my research career at Queens College where I was actively part of a behavior neuroscience lab throughout my time in college,” he related to INFO 10.

After completing High School, Haynes said his tertiary career choice was founded on his aspirations. He attended College at City University New York (CUNY) Queens College (in Flushing, New York) and there majored in Neuroscience and Biology. In 2017, he graduated with a Bachelors of Arts in Neuroscience and Biology and will be graduating in May 2022 with his  MD degree from the University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry in Rochester, New York. During his time in medical school, Haynes also authored multiple peer reviewed journal articles in the area of Cerebrovascular and Neurovascular surgery which is a primary interest of his at this time.

With his latest achievement of being accepted at YALE, Haynes said he is extremely happy, honoured and relieved. “Relieved because every single academic pursuit since primary school was geared towards this moment of receiving an acceptance into a neurological surgery residency position in the USA. Extremely happy because I fell in love with the programme at Yale and felt like I connected best with the team there and was praying for the opportunity to train there and ultimately become the best neurosurgeon that I could be.“ His medical residency training in Neurological Surgery at Yale will last for seven years.  After his completion, he plans on giving back to youth development in his home town. “Right now however, I’m just focused on doing right by God, myself, my family, and my country by doing the best that I can in my training programme and landing in a position where I can truly have influence and give back to my home.”

His advice to fellow Guyanese studying abroad is to remain focus, stay through to themselves and remember their roots. “Remain courteous, humble, hardworking, astute, and continue to seek every opportunity for academic advancement,” he said.