Assistant Professor
ckdye@hawaii.edu | (808) 956-8884 | Biomed D-104F
Epidemiology
Native Hawaiian & Indigenous Health
Academic Degrees
- PhD (Molecular Biosciences and Bioengineering), University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa
- BA (Biology), University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa
Courses Taught
Dr. Christian Ka‘ikekūponoaloha Dye’s research establishes a distinct niche within socioenvironmental immunoepigenetics to investigate how structural, social, and environmental factors interact to alter biological mechanisms and drive cardiometabolic disease disparities in Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, and Indigenous populations. His work bridges social epigenetics, environmental molecular epidemiology, and immunoepigenetics within Indigenous health research frameworks built upon community based participatory research. By leveraging high dimensional multiomics frameworks, next generation sequencing, and computational approaches, his laboratory examines epigenetic and immune specific molecular pathways through which lived socioenvironmental experiences and toxicant exposures become biologically embedded. This research utilizes data from diverse population cohorts to identify biomarkers and translate benchtop molecular science into precision public health approaches and targeted community informed interventions.
Selected Publications
Dye, C. K., Kupsco, A., Jackson, G. L., Glabonjat, R. A., Hakim, A., Castro‑Martinez, A., Laurent, L. C., Umans, J. G., Goessler, W., Cole, S. A., Baccarelli, A. A., Navas‑Acien, A., & Wu, H. (2025). Extracellular vesicle microRNAs as an epigenetic biosignature of arsenic‑associated diabetes in the Strong Heart Study. Environmental Research, 123573.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2025.123573
Dye, C. K., Alschuler, D. M., Wu, H., Duarte, C., Monk, C., Belsky, D. W., & Scorza, P. (2024). Maternal Adverse Childhood Experiences and Biological Aging During Pregnancy and in Newborns. JAMA Network Open, 7(8), e2427063. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.27063
Dye, C. K., Wu, H., VanNoy, B., Calluori, S., Marfori, C. Q., Baccarelli, A. A., & Zota, A. R. (2024). Psychosocial Stress and MicroRNA Expression Profiles in Myometrial Tissue of Women Undergoing Surgical Treatment for Uterine Fibroids. Reproductive Sciences, 31, 2374–2385. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43032-024-01482-2
Dye, C. K., Domingo-Relloso, A., Kupsco, A., Tinkelman, N. E., Spratlen, M. J., Bozack, A. K., Tellez-Plaza, M., Goessler, W., Haack, K., Umans, J. G., Baccarelli, A. A., Cole, S. A., & Navas-Acien, A. (2023). Maternal DNA methylation signatures of arsenic exposure is associated with adult offspring insulin resistance in the Strong Heart Study. Environmental International, 173, 107774. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2023.107774
Dye, C. K., Corley, M. J., Ing, C., Lum-Jones, A., Li, D., Mau, M. K. L. M., & Maunakea, A. A. (2022). Shifts in the immunoepigenomic landscape of monocytes in response to a diabetes-specific social support intervention: a pilot study among Native Hawaiian adults with diabetes. Clinical Epigenetics, 14(1), 91. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13148-022-01307-6
