Welcome
The School of Life Sciences is housed within the University’s College of Natural Sciences and conducts research and training across five academic disciplines including Biology, Botany, Marine Biology, Microbiology, and Molecular & Cell Biology. We administer a cohesive set of undergraduate degrees (BA and BS) across these disciplines, along with graduate programs (MS and PhD) in Botany, Microbiology, Marine Biology, and Zoology. The School of Life Sciences promotes the understanding, appreciation and preservation of biological diversity through excellence in research, education, service and outreach.
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About
The life sciences are of fundamental importance in a science or liberal arts education, as they provide students with insight into and a deeper appreciation for the many facets of living systems that underlie our world. Learn More →
Explore Our Programs:
The School of Life Sciences of the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa was formed in the Fall of 2019 by the merger of the Departments of Biology, Botany and Microbiology, and began operations on January 1, 2020. Life Sciences is home to 5 Undergraduate Majors and 4 Graduate Programs:
Undergraduate Majors
- Molecular and Cell Biology (BS)
- Biology (BA, BS)
- Botany (BA, BS)
- Marine Biology (BA, BS)
- Microbiology (BA, BS)
Graduate Programs
- Botany
- Marine Biology (with SOEST)
- Microbiology
- Zoology
Students may also Minor in Biology, Botany and Microbiology, obtain a certificate in the Marine Option Program (MOP), Mathematical Biology, or become certified as a Clinical Microbiologist.
Mission Statement
Our mission is to investigate all living things by promoting learning and discovery through scientific research. Read Full Mission →
Announcements
- Call for Abstracts: 2025 SURE SymposiumThe Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) at the University of …
- Showcase Your Achievements: Submit Projects and Photos for the School of Life Sciences Annual Highlights ReportHelp Us Celebrate the Achievements of the School of Life …
For a full list of news articles, visit our Announcements page.
Latest News
- UH Mānoa School of Life Sciences’ Dr. Michael Norris and Team Play Key Role in Linking Dolphin Strandings to Disease That Can Spread to HumansPhoto: Striped dolphins in the wild. Credit: Robin W. BairdVideo Link: https://go.hawaii.edu/p2r …
- SoLS Professor Mark Hixon Recognized Among World’s Top Coral Reef ScientistsHixon in Office, Photo credit: Jeff Kuwabara Professor Mark Hixon, …
For a full list of all announcements, visit our News page.
Upcoming Seminars and Events
For a full list of all departmental seminars and events, visit our Events & Seminars page.
Microbiology Seminar
Date: Monday, November 17, 2025
Time: 11:30 a.m.
Location: AgSci 204
PE/PPE proteins in Mycobacterium tuberculosis
Date: Monday, November 24, 2025
Time: 11:30 a.m.
Location: AgSci 204
Characterizing Human Microbiomes with Long-Read Amplicon Sequencing
EECB Seminar
Date: Friday, November 14, 2025
Time: 11:30 a.m.
Location: Gilmore 306
Species Variability in Outplant Performance Informs Coastal Dune Restoration
https://hawaii.zoom.us/j/83069145534 (passcode: EECB)
Life Sciences Friday Seminar Series
Fridays 3:30 pm – 4:20 pm at BIL 150
Join via Zoom
| Date | Title | Speaker |
| 8/29/2025 | SoLS Fall Faculty/Student Orientation | Dr. Mark Burgman |
| 9/5/25 In-Person Only | Is There a Fiduciary Duty to Destroy Nature? | Dr. Attila Balogh |
| 9/12/25 In-Person Only | Convergent evolution of psychiatric condition in humans and cavefish–metabolism, neural activities and gut microbiota | Dr. Masato Yoshizawa |
| 9/19/25 In-Person Only | Questionable Research Practices and how to avoid them. | Dr. Mark Burgman |
| 9/26/25 | Coastal biodiversity and resilience under global change | Dr. Jamie McDevitt Irwin |
| 10/3/25 | Hybrid zones or hybrid speculation? Ecological and genomic insights from the parrotfish community of the Tropical Eastern Pacific | Dr. Dave Carlon |
| 10/10/25 In-Person Only | Micronutrients: minute but mighty modulators of microbial physiology and microbiome function | Dr. Allexa D. Burger |
| 10/17/25 | Microbiomes govern food web efficiency | Dr. Anthony Amend |
| 10/24/25 In-Person Only | Microbial and Social Drivers of Phenotypic Diversity in Hawaiian Drosophila | Dr. Joanne Yew |
| 10/31/25 In-Person Only | How Do Natural History Collections Inform the Conservation of Imperiled Pollinators? | Dr. Jonathan Koch |
| 11/7/25 | ||
| 11/14/25 | Phylogenomic insights on evolution of the Hawaiian silversword alliance and relatives (Compositae) | Dr. Bruce Baldwin |
| 11/21/25 | ||
| 11/28/25 | Thanksgiving break 🙂 | |
| 12/5/25 | FIB and MST in American Samoan | Nu Jahat Jabin (Thesis Defense) |