Research Projects

Colleges / Schools

click on image to view projects for that college/school

John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM)
Thompson School of Social Work and Public Health
College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources
SOEST / Pacific Biomedical Research Center

John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM)

Nontuberculous Mycobacteria (NTM) from Hawai’i Feral Pigs and their Clinical Significance in Human Macrophages

Tropical Medicine; Medical Microbiology & Pharmacology
Mentors: Jennifer Honda, Sandra Chang

Contact Info: hondaj@njhealth.org, sandrac@hawaii.edu

Image Source: KITV4

Evidence-based Therapeutics for Life-threatening Box Jellyfish and Snake Envenomations

Tropical Medicine; Medical Microbiology & Pharmacology
Mentors: Angel Yanagihara

Contact Info: ayanagih@hawaii.edu

Image Source: SOEST

Neuroangiostrongyliasis (rat lungworm disease): A Diagnostic Challenge

Tropical Medicine; Medical Microbiology & Pharmacology
Mentors: Kenton Kramer, Willi Gosnell, Jourdan McMillan

Contact Info: kramer@hawaii.edu, gosnell@hawaii.edu, posnerj@hawaii.edu

Image source: R. Rollins

Possible Reemergence of Mycobacterium Bovis in East Moloka‘i

Tropical Medicine; Medical Microbiology & Pharmacology
Mentor: Willi Gosnell

Contact Info: gosnell@hawaii.edu

Assessing Cross-Reactive Flavivirus Antibodies in Pregnant Women During the Zika Virus Outbreak in Brazil

Tropical Medicine; Medical Microbiology & Pharmacology
Mentor: Wei-Kung Wang

Contact Info: wangwk@hawaii.edu

SARS CoV2 Hawaii Variant: Genetic Characteristics, Phylogenetic Analysis, and Immunogenic Epitopes

Tropical Medicine; Medical Microbiology & Pharmacology
Mentor: Vivek Nerurkar

Contact Info: nerurkar@hawaii.edu

Thompson School of Social Work & Public Health

Oceans & Human Health (focus on maternal and child health)

Office of Public Health Studies
Mentor: Catherine Pirkle

Contact Info: cmpirkle@hawaii.edu

Image source: APHA

Monitoring Hawai‘i Beach Water Quality

Office of Public Health Studies
Mentor: Yuanan (Ron) Lu

Contact Info: yuanan@hawaii.edu

Image source: University of Hawai‘i News


Determinants of Health of Native Hawaiians and Indigenous Peoples

Office of Public Health Studies
Mentor: Mapuana Antonio

Contact Info: antoniom@hawaii.edu

Malama: Rebuilding Indigenous Food Systems in Rural Native Hawaiian Communities Through Backyard Aquaponics

Office of Public Health Studies
Mentor: Jane Chung-Do

Contact Info: chungjae@hawaii.edu

Health Economics and Health Systems

Pacific Health Analytics Collaborative; Center on Aging
Mentor: Victoria Fan

Contact Info: vfan@hawaii.edu

Image source: HiPAM

Epidemiology, Public Health Biology and Pathophysiology

Office of Public Health Studies
Mentor: Thomas Lee

Contact Info:

Image source: UKRI

College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources

Zoonotic Diseases (terrestrial, aquatic); Emerging Pathogens

Human Nutrition, Food and Animal Sciences
Mentor: Jenee Odani

Contact Info: jsodani@hawaii.edu

Image source: CTAHR/HNFAS


Food Safety

Human Nutrition, Food and Animal Sciences
Mentor: Yong Li

Contact Info: liyong@hawaii.edu

Image source: USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS)

Soil Health, Carbon Sequestration

Natural Resources and Environmental Management; Tropical Plant and Soil Sciences
Mentor: Susan Crow, Jonathan Deenik

Contact Info: crows@hawaii.edu

Image Source: Adobe Stock Photos

Pathogen Discovery and Diagnostics

Plant and Environmental Protection Sciences
Mentors: Mohammad Arif, Michael Melzer

Contact Info: arif@hawaii.edu; melzer@hawaii.edu

Seeds of Wellbeing – focus on stress, mental health, and wellbeing of farmers, ranchers, allied agricultural producers in Hawaii

Human Development and Family Studies
Mentor: Thao Le

Contact Info: thaole3@hawaii.edu

Mindfulness-Based Animal Assisted Intervention

Human Development and Family Studies
Mentors: Thao Le, Jenee Odani, Becky Settle

Contact Info: thaole3@hawaii.edu

Image source: ASHAWIRE

Restoring the Loko I‘a Pa‘aiau Fishpond Project

Human Development and Family Studies
Mentor: Thao Le

Contact Info: thaole3@hawaii.edu

Companion Animals

Human Development and Family Studies
Mentor: Loriena Yancura

Human Development and Family Studies
Mentor: Loriena Yancura

Contact Info: loriena@hawaii.edu

Urban Entomology

Plant and Environmental Protection Sciences
Mentor: Jia-Wei Tay

Contact Info: jwtay@hawaii.edu

Image Source: CDC Public Health Image Library

Functional Foods & Diabetes; Nanotechnology for Agriculture and Human Health

Molecular Biosciences and Bioengineering
Mentor: Pratibha V. Nerurkar

Contact Info: pratibha@hawaii.edu

Image Source: Food Marketing Technology, India

Sustainable Agriculture to Improve Animal Production, Animal Nutrition, Human Nutrition

Human Nutrition, Food and Animal Sciences
Mentor: Rajesh Jha and others

Contact Info: rjha@hawaii.edu

Image Source: Rajesh Jha website

Peptide Chemistry, Peptide Toxin Bioengineering, Invertebrate Aquaculture

Molecular Biosciences and Bioengineering
Mentor: John-Paul Bingham

Contact Info: jbingham@hawaii.edu

Image Source:  www.brainfacts.org

Environmental Physiology, Comparative Endocrinology

Human Nutrition, Food and Animal Sciences
Mentor: Andre P. Seale

Contact Info: seale@hawaii.edu

Image Source: Andre P. Seale

Invasive Species Monitoring

Hawai‘i Invasive Species Council
Mentor: Layla Kaufman

Contact Info: leyla.v.kaufman@hawaii.gov

Image Source: W. Haines, UH Manoa, Insect Systematics and Biodiversity Lab

Vector Management

Hawai‘i State Vector Control Branch
Mentor: Grace Simmons

Contact Info: gracelda.simmons@doh.hawaii.gov

Image Source: Jaynee Kim, Bishop Museum

Mosquito Entomology

Hawaii State Dept of Health; EpiCenter for Emerging Infectious Disease Intelligence, UC Davis
Mentor: Lincoln Wells

Contact Info: gracelda.simmons@doh.hawaii.gov

Image Source: CDC Public Health Image Library

Mosquito Entomology

Vector Control Branch, Hilo; Hawa‘ii District Health Office
Mentor: Chris Jacobsen

Contact Info: christopher.jacobsen@doh.hawaii.gov

Image Source: CDC Public Health Image Library

SOEST / Pacific Biomedical Research Center

Mechanism of Action of Toxins and Bioactive Compounds from Venomous Marine Invertebrates

Pacific Biomedical Research Center
Mentor: Angel Yanagihara

Contact Info: ayanagih@hawaii.edu

Image Source: SOEST

Mosquito Microbiome and Disease Transmission

Pacific Biomedical Research Center
Mentor: Matt Medeiros

Contact Info: mcmedeir@hawaii.edu

Image Source: CDC Public Health Image Library

Ecology of Plant-Fungal Symbioses

Pacific Biomedical Research Center
Mentor: Nicole Hynson

Contact Info: nhynson@hawaii.edu

Image Source: Hynson Lab website

Impact of Microorganisms on Ecosystems

Pacific Biomedical Research Center
Mentor: Kiana Frank

Contact Info: klfrank@hawaii.edu

Image Source: Frank Lab website

Evolution of Pheromones

Pacific Biomedical Research Center
Mentor: Joanne Yew

Contact Info: jyew@hawaii.edu

Image Source: Yew Lab website

Microbial Ecology and Disease Ecology

Pacific Biomedical Research Center
Mentor: Andrea Jani

Contact Info: jania@hawaii.edu

Image Source: Carina G.M. Santos, Diseases of Aquatic Organisms

Impact of Humans on Coral Health

Pacific Biomedical Research Center
Mentor: Bob Richmond

Contact Info: richmond@hawaii.edu

Image Source: NOAA Fisheries/Andrew E. Gray

Role of Microbes in Coastal Oceanographic Processes

Oceanography
Mentor: Rosie Alegado

Contact Info: rosie.alegado@hawaii.edu

Image Source: ULANA ʻIKE Center of Excellence

Microbial Ecology of Aquatic Ecosystems (coral reefs, oceanic gyres, alpine lakes)

Oceanography
Mentor: Craig Nelson

Contact Info: craig.nelson@hawaii.edu

Image source: UH News

Biological Oceanography; Ecology and Evolutionary Consequences of Viral Infection

Oceanography
Mentor: Grieg Steward

Contact Info: grieg@hawaii.edu

Image Source: Steward Lab website

Interface Between Water Quality and Environmental Health Microbiology

Water Resources Research Center; Civil and Environmental Engineering
Mentor: Tao Yan

Contact Info: taoyan@hawaii.edu

Image Source: UH News

*All images are owned by the JABSOM Communication Office and obtained on the Flickr page here, unless otherwise stated.