In this talk, Dr. Gao will give an overview of Biological Directorate at National Science Foundation and the research funding opportunities on computational biology and bioinformatics across different directorates. She will also introduce the project evaluation process, recent changes of the programs, and some new programs.
Jean X. Gao, PhD Program Director in the Division of Biological Infrastructure (DBI) at the National Science Foundation Professor, Dept Computational Science & Engineering University of Texas at Arlingtom
Zoom Information Date and Time: April 22, 2021 12:00-1:00 pm HS
The Annual Biomedical Sciences & Health Disparities Symposium
attracts some of the top health science research and ideas from
throughout academia in Hawaii.
Medical Students, Residents, Medical
Fellows, Graduate Students, Post-Doctoral Fellows and Undergraduates are
invited to present their work. Research Associates and Faculty are
encouraged to attend. The Symposium will virtual this year. Both
presenters and non-presenter attendees must register to obtain the Zoom
links.
Abstract submissions will be due March 1. The abstract portal will be open on February 1, 2021.
Jonna Ocampo, former INBRE student researcher at Leeward Community College in 2014-2015, will be pursuing her M.D. at the Ross University School of Medicine beginning this summer. Her experience working on the synthesis and biological evaluation of chalconoid antimicrobials with Dr. Bradley Ashburn and Dr. Helmut Kae inspired her to earn a Master’s degree in Medical Sciences with a concentration in Molecular Medicine at the University of South Florida.
Jonna
has been awarded numerous honors such as the NASA Florida Space Grant
Consortium Fellowship for her work on Transposon Expression Changes Induced by
Simulated Microgravity and has presented at national and international
conferences including the United Nations Expert Meeting on Human Space
Technology in Vienna, Austria and 4th Mexican Congress of Medicine and Space
Health, in Mexico City, Mexico.
Her former INBRE supervisor Bradley Ashburn says, “I have had the great pleasure to keep in contact with Jonna over the years and witness her growth into a high-achieving biomedical researcher. She works relentlessly to further the boundaries of science (literally speaking, she has performed experiments in microgravity space flights). Jonna embodies the spirit and success of the Hawaii INBRE program and will continue to make an impact as she pursues her dream to be a physician.”
Congratulations to Ashley Fukuchi for being a recipient of this year’s 2020-2021 AFPE Gateway award!!
The American Foundation for Pharmaceutical Education (AFPE) is a non-profit organization that provides scholarships and grants to aspiring researchers and academics to be able to conduct novel research in the pharmaceutical sciences arena that will impact the future of healthcare and patient outcomes. “The primary goal of the Gateway to Research Scholarship program is to help students understand the importance of research by enabling them to apply that knowledge to improve their clinical goals” (source: http://afpepharm.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/2019-Gateway-Description.pdf). Ashley was selected from a highly selective pool of applicants.
Ashley has received INBRE SRE stipends support for conducting research in Leng Chee Chang’s laboratory in the past.
Mentor: Leng Chee Chang, PhD, MS, The Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy, UH Hilo, Hawaii
Research Title: Evaluation of natural products-derived from medicinal plants as potential antimicrobial agents against non-tuberculosis mycobacteria
In recent years, the number of nontuberculous
mycobacterial pulmonary disease cases have increased globally, surpassing
tuberculosis in some countries. Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) is common in
the environment found in water and soil. People can come into contact with NTM
bacteria through simple, daily activities, such as showering or gardening.
Exposure to this aerosolized bacteriacan leads to NTM entering the lungs. In
some people, the bacteria infects the airways and lung tissue leading to
increased risk of getting NTM lung disease (NTMLD). Hawai‘i has been identified
as the state with the highest prevalence of NTMLD when compared with the
national average, and NTM is found to be common in the Hawaii environment.
Epidemiological studies show Mycobacterium chimaera, a slow-growing
NTM and member of the Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC), predominates
in the Hawaiian environment and is the most frequently isolated NTM from lung
samples among Hawai‘i NTM patients. NTM is often associated with biofilm formation,
contributing to antibiotic resistance. Treatment for NTMLD is challenging
because treatment times are lengthy, a combination of drugs are needed, and
relapses following therapy are common resulting in substantial morbidity and
mortality. In addition, FDA-approved drugs that specifically treat NTMLD does
not exist at the current time. Thus, there is a need for novel treatment
approaches for NTM.
This project posits that phytochemicals
obtained from Hawaiian medicinal plants could represent novel treatment
approaches. Traditional medicine has a long history of treating human diseases,
including respiratory and lung infections. For example, active ingredients
extracted from the medicinal plant, ‘uhaloa, is used to treat sore throat,
asthma, and cough. Morinda citrifolia (fermented noni ) has been used
in traditional medicine for treating asthma, cough, tuberculosis, and
infectious diseases. This application proposes to examine traditional medicinal
sources as antimycobacterial agents to control NTM. We hypothesize that
natural products from Hawaiian medicinal plants may show antimicrobial activity
against Hawai‘ian derived NTM isolates.
The project goal is 1) Test the anti-NTM
activity of several medicinal plant extracts against M. chimaera. 2)
To identify major antimicrobial compounds from one most promising crude extract
that might be found in aim 1. This study will lead to the identification of
promising leads. Extracts and possibly compounds will be subjected to further
mechanisms of action in vitro studies.
Research Topic Areas:
Antimicrobial and antioxidant activity of natural products against community-acquired Staphylococcus aureus, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), and bacteria infections.
Antimycobacterial activity of Hawaiian Medicinal Plants and marine algae against Nontuberculous Mycobacteria such as Mycobacterium chimaera isolated from Hawaii.
Phytochemical evaluation of tropical plants/crops for bioactive components as potential functional foods.
Evaluation of natural products as anticancer agents (NF-kB as Molecular Targets). To isolate and identify natural products-derived from medicinal plants and marine algae with potential anticancer activity.
Hawaii INBRE welcomes Alaska INBRE to the University of Hawaii, John A. Burns School of Medicine. The Alaska External Advisory Committee met in Hawaii on February 11, 2020 for their biannual meeting. The Hawaii INBRE Executive Committee and Core Directors hosted an informal breakfast for the Alaska group to discuss and share overall programmatic aims and activities. Both programs look forward to collaborative discussions to support biomedical research opportunities for undergraduate students, junior investigators, and the indigenous communities.
Faculty, staff, students and public officials celebrated the grand opening of the new building for the Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo. Watch the Opening Ceremony highlights here.
The Top 4 INBRE IV Poster Presenters from the 2019 Biomedical Sciences & Health Disparities Symposium held on April 26, 2019 at the University of Hawaii, John A. Burns School of Medicine, attend the NIH IDeA Western Regional Conference on October 7-9, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada, to showcase their scientific posters on October 7-9, 2019. More photos of the event are available on Flickr.
INBRE IV Faculty, Staff and Students
INBRE Student from UH Hilo, Yaeko Tagami
INBRE Student from UH Hilo, Maria Steadmon
INBRE Student from Windward Community College, Nandini Bickel
INBRE Student from Chaminade University, Terezie Cernosek
INBRE Evaluation Collaboration poster
Poster presenter, Hawaii INBRE Sr. Advisor, Dr. David Easa
On May 21-22, 2019, the EPSCoR/IDeA Foundation, National Association of IDeA Principal Investigators (NAIPI), and Van Scoyoc Associates hosted nine students for the second “Take Your IDeA Science to Capitol Hill” day. Ms. Destiny Mabalot, INBRE Undergraduate Student from the University of Hawaii at West Oahu, was selected as the Hawaii INBRE student ambassador. The purpose of the visit was to provide students the opportunity to illustrate the importance of their IDeA INBRE experiences and thank their senators and representatives for supporting the EPSCoR/IDeA programs. For more details, read the EPSCoR/IDeA Fall 2019 Newsletter here.
The INBRE Program Meeting and Biomedical Sciences & Health Disparities Symposium on April 26, 2019, was a great success with students expanding upon their academic activities. We had many faculty comments about the impressive quality of research and the manner of professional presentation – INBRE students you did yourself proud!
The scores are in for the Top 4 INBRE Undergraduate Student Poster Presentations. These students are invited to attend and participate in the NIH IDeA Western Regional Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, on October 6 – 9, 2019. Registration, airfare, and lodging expenses will be covered by the INBRE program. The Top 4 scores are:
Terezie Cernosek, Chaminade University
Yaeko Tagami, University of Hawaii at Hilo
Nandini Bickel, Windward Community College
Maria Steadmon, University of Hawaii at Hilo
Well done and congratulations to all participants! We look forward to having you in the Student Research Experience program next semester or seeing you at graduation! Much success to you all.
INBRE Students, Faculty and Staff
Abstract booklet
INBRE Badges
Breakfast from Da Kitchen
INBRE PI, Dr. Robert Nichols
Dr. Jerris Hedges, Dean, UH JABSOM
Panel Speakers: Dr. Hoffmann and Dr. Margaret Baker
Panel Speaker: Dr. Michelle Tallquist
INBRE Day attendees
Chrstian Dye, INBRE Panel Speaker (as Grad Assistant)
Panel Speakers
Box lunches prepared by Da Kitchen
Undergraduate Poster Session
Undergraduate Poster Session
Undergraduate Poster Session
Undergraduate Poster Session
A few INBRE students from Dr. Axel Leher’s lab
Ryan Bradley Domingo and Dr. Jon-Paul Bingham
Eduardo Manzano and Destiny Mabalot
Clarissa Wood and Vernon Warnock
Marilyn Yamamoto
Ashley Yuen and Michele Pangelinan
Undergraduate Poster Session
Dr. Ingo Koomoa-Lange and Madeleine Shackleford
Joshua Lawcock
Dr. Megan Ross and Arion Northrop
Brennan Buccat
Stephanie Aczon
Susan Park and Mikaela Gray
Yaeko Tagami
Natalia Jimenez
Anthony Torio and Damien Cruz
Anthony Torio, Ellen Hauschild, Dr. Robert Nichols, Damien Cruz
Dr. Olivia George, Destiny Mabalot (INBRE Representative for Capitol Hill visit), and Dr. Robert Nichols
Dr. Robert Nichols, Xiaoting Liu, and Dr. Kabi Neupane
Undergraduate Poster Session
Dr. Jon-Paul Bingham, Diana Le (INBRE Logo Contest Winner), and Dr. Robert Nichols
Alex McLaury
Dr. Leng Chee Chang and Noelle Oscarson
Maria Steadmon, Melia Takakusagi, Kathleen Shon, Arash Vahidi
Vernon Warnock and Dr. Leng Chee Chang
Kari Kim, Dr. Leng Chee Chang, and Jessica Paje
Students, faculty and staff from UH Hilo
Kevin Pham
Justin Paz
Lexus Porter
Tranace Rojales
Keanu Rochette Yu-Tsuen
Peter Fee
Therese Anagaran
Undergraduate Poster Session
Undergraduate Poster Session
Undergraduate Poster Session
Jessica Mattos, Brent Shigano, Draven Aquino, and Kara Riggsbee
Neil Tsukayama
UH JABSOM
UH Cancer Center
Jolene Siu
Admiring the ocean view from the UH Cancer Center
Ocean view from UH Cancer Center 6th floor
Dr. Maarit Tiirikainen, Genomics lab at UH Cancer Center
Dr. Peter Hoffmann, INBRE Program Coordinator, at UHCC Genomics Lab