Photo: Striped dolphins in the wild. Credit: Robin W. BairdVideo Link: https://go.hawaii.edu/p2r Scientists from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoaʻs School of Life Sciences and Health and Stranding Lab (UHHSL) are raising alarms after three striped dolphins stranded on east Oʻahu shorelines within a single week and tested positive for Brucella ceti, a bacterial infection known to transmit …
Hixon in Office, Photo credit: Jeff Kuwabara Professor Mark Hixon, Hsiao Endowed Professor of Marine Biology in the School of Life Sciences at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, has been recognized among the world’s top 20 coral reef scientists by ScholarGPS. This honor is based on his lifetime scientific achievements, including extensive publications, citations, …
We are proud to announce that Dr. Sladjana Prišić, associate professor of microbiology in the School of Life Sciences, has received the prestigious 2025 OVPRS Award for Excellence in Mentoring Undergraduate Research & Creative Work. This award, established by UH Mānoa’s Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program, recognizes faculty who have demonstrated outstanding commitment to mentoring undergraduates …
Undergraduate students, Chloé Houy, Kayla Lum, and Kristyn Miyamoto, under the mentorship of Dr. Sladjana Prišić traveled to Washington, D.C. at the beginning of March as a part of The Council on Undergraduate Research’s Scholars Transforming Through Research Program. They underwent research advocacy training from November 2024 – March 2025 that culminated with an in-person …
Endrei Marcantonio and Jayna Wong presented on April 27th at the annual Hawaii Branch American Society of Microbiology (HI ASM) Spring Meeting and received First and Third Prize for Oral Presentation, respectively. Congratulations, Endrei and Jayna! The event was at the Kakaʻako Medical Campus, i.e., John A. Burns School of Medicine. More information about this …
The 2024 Tester Symposium Logo. Original artwork by Kai Smart. The 48th annual Albert L. Tester Memorial Symposium will be held at Kuykendall Hall (rooms 105A/105B) on from April 10th through April 12th, 2024. This year’s theme, Two-Eyed Seeing, focuses on seeing through one eye with a western science lens and through the other with an indigenous science …
With Dr. Mark Burgmanʻs arrival, we are excited to welcome the new Director of the School of Life Sciences at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa! E komo mai to Dr. Mark Burgman, Professor in Ecology and Conservation Biology.
The School of Life Sciences at the University of Hawai‘i Mānoa is recruiting for an Assistant Professor in Plant Genomics and Herbarium Director. Application review begins November 15, 2023. See more
A new species of Clermontia (Hawaiian lobeliad) was discovered and described recently by Hank Oppenheimer of the Plant Extinction Prevention Program. This is the first newly discovered species in this genus over the last 30+ years (many others in other lobeliad genera). Read more
The 2023 Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program, an initiative hosted by the School of Life Sciences at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, partnered with the Bishop Museum to provide a diverse cohort of undergraduates a unique opportunity to explore biodiversity related research questions. Read more
A national award recognizes the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s Plant Extinction Prevention Program for its contributions to protecting and supporting the Endangered Species Act. The program helps protect threatened and endangered plant species in Hawaiʻi by focusing on efficacy, cost efficiency and innovation. Read More
We are excited to announce several new faculty joining the School of Life Sciences and University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa starting this August. E komo mai to Dr. Andy Rominger, Assistant Professor in Quantitative Biology, and Dr. Michael Norris, Assistant Professor in Microbiology.
Link to video and sound: https://bit.ly/3SKz4Eu A coral reef restoration project off iconic Waikīkī Beach has been recommended for a $9 million grant by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Office of Habitat Conservation. The REEFrame project is a partnership by the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Conservation International, the Hawaiʻi Division of Aquatic Resources, the ocean technology firm Natrx, the ocean engineering …
Mamo Waianuhea “Ka Paʻahana” Runner-up: Artwork, Art and Photo Contest The Art and Photo contest received 63 photographs and 6 pieces of artwork, from 28 participants. Cecile Vimond “Population structure of seahorses revealed through eDNA” Runner-up: Best Rapid-Fire Talk, Presentations This year, there were 68 presenters from 17 different UH departments, including 23 undergraduates.
The 2023 Tester Symposium Logo. Original artwork by Elle Wibisono. The 47th Annual Albert L. Tester Memorial Symposium will be held April 12-14, 2023 in the Campus Center Ballroom. The three-day event will include student presentations, a poster session, and a subsequent soirée. Oral presentations will consist of either 5-minute rapid-fire talks or full-length 12-minute …
Congratulations to Dr. Becky Chong (School of Life Sciences) for being featured in the 2021-2022 Innovation and Impact Showcase. Becky was selected as one of a group of showcased UHM faculty, where she highlighted the first year Biology SEA-PHAGES program, in which students embark on a year-long experience to learn genomics and bioinformatic skills through …
Congratulations to Dr. Sladjana Prisic, who was recently awarded an Innovation Award from the American Lung Association for her work on Tuberculosis (TB) titled “Are Low Zinc Levels Fueling TB Infection?” Read more here.
Dynamic Human-Environment Interactions in Island Ecosystems: The Contribution of Archaeology Professor Patrick Kirch Professor Kirch will draw upon several case studies from Polynesia to illustrate how archaeologists working collaboratively with natural scientists have elucidated the ways in which human societies in the region have interacted with their island ecosystems over time spans of centuries and …
UH News story highlighting Valentina Alvarez, one of our Zoology Graduate Students, having received a fellowship by the American Association of University Women to support her PhD work! Read more here.
The Thomson lab research group published their recent work “The evolutionary network of whiptail lizards reveals predictable outcomes of hybridization” in this week’s issue of Science magazine. Check out the Science Press Release or access the article. (Photo credit: Adam Clause)
UH Mānoa excellence in botany receives national spotlight! University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s excellence in the field of botany was showcased nationally at the Botanical Society of America (BSA) 2022 annual conference in Anchorage, Alaska, July 24–28. Read more here.
This year’s City Nature Challenge begins tomorrow, running from April 29 through May 2! To participate, one simply needs to make natural history observations on O‘ahu (including our surrounding waters and offshore islets) and upload them to the iNaturalist platform during the weekend-long observation period. Following this, you can participate further by helping to identify the observations that have been …
The 46th Annual Albert L. Tester Memorial Symposium will be held April 20 – 22, 2022, both in-person (Ballroom, Campus Center) and on a concurrent virtual platform. The three-day event will include student oral presentations, a poster session, 1-2 keynote addresses, workshops, a photo/art contest, and a subsequent soirée in Paradise Palms. This year’s theme Mauka to …
Check out the March 29, 2022 edition of The Conversation on HPR to hear Drs. Becky Chong and Megan Porter discuss their work on Hawaiian lava tube biodiversity. Listen to the conversation here.
Congratulations to Drs. Becky Chong and Megan Porter, who were recently awarded a grant from the National Science Foundation to study the origin and maintenance of cave adapted biodiversity in hawaiian lava tubes! See UH news release here.
Professor Mark Merlin’s recent book Plants and People of the Marshall Islands (Keinikkan im Ri-Aelōn Kein) has been selected as the recipient of the 2021 Mary W. Klinger Book Award, given annually by the Society for Economic Botany for an outstanding book published in the discipline of Economic/Ethno Botany. Congratulations to Dr. Merlin and co-authors! Keinikkan Im Ri-Aelōn …
“We believe that Fish Flow analyses will promote sustainable fisheries management and marine conservation efforts, and may foster public knowledge, wise seafood choices, and appreciation of social-ecological interconnections involving fisheries,” said Mark Hixon, lead author of the study and professor and Hsiao Endowed Chair of Marine Biology at the UH Mānoa School of Life Sciences. Read more at UH …
Read more about Dr. Amy Moran and Zoology graduate students’ (Aaron Toh and Graham Lobert) research in Antartica’s icy waters here: https://www.hawaii.edu/news/2021/11/30/antarctica-marine-life-research/ Photo: Aaron Toh captures a photo of his dive colleague with a seal near McMurdo Station.
New research from the Wright Lab on functional morphology and ecology of introduced lizards in Hawaii featured on the cover of the journal Functional Ecology. Read the “behind the paper” blog post here: https://functionalecologists.com/2021/11/08/amber-wright-sticky-toes-and-grippy-claws/ Photo of gold dust day gecko by Dr. Laci Barley
SoLS faculty Amber Wright talks about our local all-female gecko species, Lepidodactylus lugubris, in this BBC Discovery episode. From the podcast description, “A virgin birth may be miraculous to us, but for some species it’s a winning evolutionary strategy. Lucy Cooke meets nature’s ultimate self-cloning sisters.” Listen here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3csz9fs
The Board of the Society of Island Biology has published a paper calling attention to ongoing threats to island biodiversity worldwide. Island species have gone extinct at alarming rates in recent centuries, and because islands harbor thousands of globally-endangered species today, island communities have an opportunity to play a major role in conservation of the …
A University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa expert in marine ecology and conservation biology received a major state research and education honor. School of Life Sciences Professor Mark Hixon was named the 2021 Scientist of the Year by the ARCS (Achievement Rewards for College Scientists) Foundation Honolulu Chapter. Find out more from UH News: https://www.hawaii.edu/news/2021/08/26/scientist-of-the-year/
A new beginning for the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa with the completion of the Life Sciences building that will open for instruction in the fall 2020 semester. Located on the Diamond Head end of McCarthy Mall, the three-story, 70,000-square-foot facility with 21 state-of-the-art teaching and research laboratories, was built to serve more than 500 students daily and support …
Photo: Striped dolphins in the wild. Credit: Robin W. BairdVideo Link: https://go.hawaii.edu/p2r Scientists from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoaʻs School of Life Sciences and Health and Stranding Lab (UHHSL) are raising alarms after three striped dolphins stranded on east Oʻahu shorelines within a single week and tested positive for Brucella ceti, a bacterial infection known to transmit …
Hixon in Office, Photo credit: Jeff Kuwabara Professor Mark Hixon, Hsiao Endowed Professor of Marine Biology in the School of Life Sciences at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, has been recognized among the world’s top 20 coral reef scientists by ScholarGPS. This honor is based on his lifetime scientific achievements, including extensive publications, citations, …
Undergraduate students, Chloé Houy, Kayla Lum, and Kristyn Miyamoto, under the mentorship of Dr. Sladjana Prišić traveled to Washington, D.C. at the beginning of March as a part of The Council on Undergraduate Research’s Scholars Transforming Through Research Program. They underwent research advocacy training from November 2024 – March 2025 that culminated with an in-person …
Endrei Marcantonio and Jayna Wong presented on April 27th at the annual Hawaii Branch American Society of Microbiology (HI ASM) Spring Meeting and received First and Third Prize for Oral Presentation, respectively. Congratulations, Endrei and Jayna! The event was at the Kakaʻako Medical Campus, i.e., John A. Burns School of Medicine. More information about this …
The 2024 Tester Symposium Logo. Original artwork by Kai Smart. The 48th annual Albert L. Tester Memorial Symposium will be held at Kuykendall Hall (rooms 105A/105B) on from April 10th through April 12th, 2024. This year’s theme, Two-Eyed Seeing, focuses on seeing through one eye with a western science lens and through the other with an indigenous science …
With Dr. Mark Burgmanʻs arrival, we are excited to welcome the new Director of the School of Life Sciences at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa! E komo mai to Dr. Mark Burgman, Professor in Ecology and Conservation Biology.
The 2023 Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program, an initiative hosted by the School of Life Sciences at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, partnered with the Bishop Museum to provide a diverse cohort of undergraduates a unique opportunity to explore biodiversity related research questions. Read more
A national award recognizes the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s Plant Extinction Prevention Program for its contributions to protecting and supporting the Endangered Species Act. The program helps protect threatened and endangered plant species in Hawaiʻi by focusing on efficacy, cost efficiency and innovation. Read More
The 2023 Tester Symposium Logo. Original artwork by Elle Wibisono. The 47th Annual Albert L. Tester Memorial Symposium will be held April 12-14, 2023 in the Campus Center Ballroom. The three-day event will include student presentations, a poster session, and a subsequent soirée. Oral presentations will consist of either 5-minute rapid-fire talks or full-length 12-minute …
Congratulations to Dr. Sladjana Prisic, who was recently awarded an Innovation Award from the American Lung Association for her work on Tuberculosis (TB) titled “Are Low Zinc Levels Fueling TB Infection?” Read more here.
Dynamic Human-Environment Interactions in Island Ecosystems: The Contribution of Archaeology Professor Patrick Kirch Professor Kirch will draw upon several case studies from Polynesia to illustrate how archaeologists working collaboratively with natural scientists have elucidated the ways in which human societies in the region have interacted with their island ecosystems over time spans of centuries and …
UH News story highlighting Valentina Alvarez, one of our Zoology Graduate Students, having received a fellowship by the American Association of University Women to support her PhD work! Read more here.
The Thomson lab research group published their recent work “The evolutionary network of whiptail lizards reveals predictable outcomes of hybridization” in this week’s issue of Science magazine. Check out the Science Press Release or access the article. (Photo credit: Adam Clause)
The 46th Annual Albert L. Tester Memorial Symposium will be held April 20 – 22, 2022, both in-person (Ballroom, Campus Center) and on a concurrent virtual platform. The three-day event will include student oral presentations, a poster session, 1-2 keynote addresses, workshops, a photo/art contest, and a subsequent soirée in Paradise Palms. This year’s theme Mauka to …
Check out the March 29, 2022 edition of The Conversation on HPR to hear Drs. Becky Chong and Megan Porter discuss their work on Hawaiian lava tube biodiversity. Listen to the conversation here.
Congratulations to Drs. Becky Chong and Megan Porter, who were recently awarded a grant from the National Science Foundation to study the origin and maintenance of cave adapted biodiversity in hawaiian lava tubes! See UH news release here.
“We believe that Fish Flow analyses will promote sustainable fisheries management and marine conservation efforts, and may foster public knowledge, wise seafood choices, and appreciation of social-ecological interconnections involving fisheries,” said Mark Hixon, lead author of the study and professor and Hsiao Endowed Chair of Marine Biology at the UH Mānoa School of Life Sciences. Read more at UH …
Read more about Dr. Amy Moran and Zoology graduate students’ (Aaron Toh and Graham Lobert) research in Antartica’s icy waters here: https://www.hawaii.edu/news/2021/11/30/antarctica-marine-life-research/ Photo: Aaron Toh captures a photo of his dive colleague with a seal near McMurdo Station.
New research from the Wright Lab on functional morphology and ecology of introduced lizards in Hawaii featured on the cover of the journal Functional Ecology. Read the “behind the paper” blog post here: https://functionalecologists.com/2021/11/08/amber-wright-sticky-toes-and-grippy-claws/ Photo of gold dust day gecko by Dr. Laci Barley
SoLS faculty Amber Wright talks about our local all-female gecko species, Lepidodactylus lugubris, in this BBC Discovery episode. From the podcast description, “A virgin birth may be miraculous to us, but for some species it’s a winning evolutionary strategy. Lucy Cooke meets nature’s ultimate self-cloning sisters.” Listen here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3csz9fs
The Board of the Society of Island Biology has published a paper calling attention to ongoing threats to island biodiversity worldwide. Island species have gone extinct at alarming rates in recent centuries, and because islands harbor thousands of globally-endangered species today, island communities have an opportunity to play a major role in conservation of the …
A University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa expert in marine ecology and conservation biology received a major state research and education honor. School of Life Sciences Professor Mark Hixon was named the 2021 Scientist of the Year by the ARCS (Achievement Rewards for College Scientists) Foundation Honolulu Chapter. Find out more from UH News: https://www.hawaii.edu/news/2021/08/26/scientist-of-the-year/
A new beginning for the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa with the completion of the Life Sciences building that will open for instruction in the fall 2020 semester. Located on the Diamond Head end of McCarthy Mall, the three-story, 70,000-square-foot facility with 21 state-of-the-art teaching and research laboratories, was built to serve more than 500 students daily and support …
