Jarrel De Matas is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Bioethics and Health Humanities at the University of Texas Medical Branch. He earned his BA and MA from the University of the West Indies, St Augustine, and his PhD from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. His work explores how stories shape health, ethics, and public trust in medicine. His first academic book (Routledge, 2025) is titled Caribbean Futurism and Beyond: Conversations with Writers of Folklore, Fantasy, Science, and Speculative Fiction. Jarrel is also a columnist for the Daily Express in Trinidad and Tobago and the Galveston County Daily News.