Latest update August 20th, 2026 12:07 AM
UG to host COVID talk by Pfizer Scientist Friday
Kaieteur News – Guyana-born scientist and University of Guyana alumni, Vidia Surendra Roopchand, who is a Principal Research Scientist at Pfizer, will return to speak virtually to his alma mater, the University of Guyana, where he got his foundational degree in Chemistry in 1990.
Pfizer Scientist, Vidia Surendra Roopchand
According to a UG release, the son of Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara) was integrally involved in the development of the Pfizer-BioNTech Vaccine (BNT162b2) to help fight the Coronavirus pandemic which will soon be rolled out in Guyana. Mr. Roopchand’s talk is entitled “SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) Viral Physiology and Vaccine Development.” The talk will be open to the public online on August 27 from 5pm to 8pm.
Mr. Roopchand is a Principal Scientist for Vaccine Research and Development at top American firm, Pfizer. He has been with the company for 28 years and spent his career supporting the efforts of the research and development team to develop innovative vaccines that prevent diseases and to help treat people globally – including the research to develop the COVID-19 vaccine.
Mr. Roopchand has been contributing to vaccine development for the last 28 years at Pfizer. He was part of the “Kick Polio out of Africa” movement initiated by the late great South African President, Nelson Mandela. His efforts have contributed to the reduction of polio and pneumococcal disease around the world. He was also on the Pfizer team, which made the COVID-19 vaccine.
Originally, from the island of Wakenaam, Mr. Roopchand says that what drives and fuels him is the commitment and impact Pfizer has made to developing countries around the world, especially where children would otherwise not have access to vaccines.
The internationally respected scientist successfully completed a Degree in Chemistry at the University of Guyana in 1990. He then moved to New York, USA, where he did a master’s degree in Immunology at the New York Medical College and another master’s in Chemical Engineering from Columbia University.
He then joined the team at Pfizer and in 2020 was part of the team that made history in the midst of a global pandemic. “I also feel honoured and fortunate that I was able to contribute to the team effort that delivered the first COVID-19 vaccine to the world,” the 53-year-old scientist was quoted by News Americas as saying during an interview last December.
He highlighted that the team that worked on the project “knew that the world was depending on us to deliver this vaccine and this motivated and inspired us to do our very best.”
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