George S Hui Ph.D.

Research Professor
Department of Tropical Medicine, Medical Microbiology and Pharmacology
John A. Burns School of Medicine
651 Ilalo Street, BSB 320
Honolulu, Hawaii 96813

Telephone: (808) 692-1609
E-mail: ghui@hawaii.edu

Education

University of Hawaii at Manoa, B.A., 1982 – Microbiology
University of Hawaii at Manoa, Ph.D., 1987 – Tropical Medicine

Research Training and Background

Infectious disease and vaccine immunology

Research Focus

Investigate the use of iron oxide nanoparticles as vaccine delivery platforms for infectious diseases vaccines.  Development of human blood stage malaria vaccines based on a merozoite surface antigen.

Personal Statement

My research is on the development of blood stage malaria vaccines; and studies on the use of different vaccine adjuvants for the malaria vaccines. Specifically, we focus on the design of vaccines based on the Merozoite Surface Protein 1 (MSP1) by defining critical T and B epitopes of the molecule. We also evaluate the use of a variety of immunological adjuvants to enhance vaccine potency and at the same time define the critical pathway for adjuvants’ mode of action. Our approaches also study the use of nanoparticle platforms for antigen delivery.

Beside research, I am also the director of a biomedical sciences research training for high school and college bound students (STEP-UP Program, http://stepup.niddk.nih.gov), supported by NIDDK/NIH. The project recruits minority and disadvantage students from the Pacific Regions, Alaska and Puerto Rico into university/college research laboratories to engage in health related research under the mentorships of university faculty.

Ongoing Projects and Opportunities for Students to Participate:

  • Investigate the biological and immunological mechanisms of action of ultra small iron oxide nanoparticles in enhancing vaccine induced immune responses in in vetro systems and in mouse models.
  • Testing of the immunogenicity of different infectious diseases based vaccines, including malaria, using iron oxide nanoparticles as delivery.
  • Dissecting the immune response induced by a blood stage malaria vaccine based on the Merozoite Surface Antigen 1 of Plasmodium falciparum.

Publications