The will launch a for students who did not follow a traditional premedical track or who want an additional step to demonstrate readiness for professional school. Coordinated by the (JABSOM) with partners across multiple units, the program, which begins in fall 2026, strengthens academic preparation and creates new pathways into medical and health professions.

Students will take courses in physiology, genetics, biomedical ethics, immunology and statistics, with electives such as neuroscience. A highlight is access to gross anatomy labs—hands-on training typically reserved for medical students—providing rare early exposure to medical-level anatomy.

Building �鶹��ý’s healthcare workforce

“This program reflects the strength of the UH System as a whole,” said Samuel “Sam” Shomaker, JABSOM dean. “It brings together expertise from across our campuses to create an integrated program rooted in biomedical sciences, life sciences and public health. Just as importantly, this is about building �鶹��ý’s workforce. By opening access to advanced scientific training and mentoring, we are broadening the pool of qualified applicants and strengthening the healthcare system that depends on them.”

…we aim to prepare students not only for professional schools but also for lifelong learning in biomedical science.
—Olivier LeSaux

Alex Stokes, program director and originator of the certificate, said the program fills a critical need. “Across �鶹��ý, and especially on the neighbor islands, communities live every day with the reality of too few doctors. Not every student prepares for medical school during their undergraduate years. This certificate provides the extra step some need—whether to strengthen their foundation, gain exposure to courses like gross anatomy, or test themselves against the workload to confirm medicine is the right path.”

Faculty also see the program as a chance to connect science with service.

“The is proud to play a leading role,” said Olivier LeSaux, professor and chair of the department at JABSOM. “By combining rigorous coursework with exposure to diverse disciplines, we aim to prepare students not only for professional schools but also for lifelong learning in biomedical science. This certificate represents an important new pathway for students who want to pursue careers that improve health in �鶹��ý and beyond.”

The effort is coordinated by JABSOM and involves its Departments of Cell and Molecular Biology, and , with contributions from the and the at UH ����ԴDz�.

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Researchers at the University of �鶹��ý at Mānoa (JABSOM) have uncovered a connection between a mother’s weight before pregnancy and autism-like behaviors in her offspring.

Published in , the study marks a significant advance in understanding how early life factors influence brain development.

Led by Professors Alika K. Maunakea and Monika Ward from JABSOM’s and the (YIBR), the research shows that maternal obesity triggers metabolic shifts that cause lasting epigenetic changes in a mother’s eggs. These changes are passed on to the developing embryo and affect genes involved in brain development, including Homer1, a protein important for regulating synaptic signaling, learning, memory and response to neural activity.

In male offspring, researchers identified increased levels of a specific Homer1 gene isoform that is known to interfere with neural connections and is associated with behaviors linked to autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

“This work highlights how a mother’s health prior to pregnancy, not just during gestation, can shape her child’s brain development in profound ways,” said Maunakea. “We were surprised to find that even without direct maternal contact after conception, these epigenetic imprints from the egg carried enough weight to alter behavior.”

Clearer understanding through IVF model

To isolate the effects of pre-pregnancy obesity from those during gestation, the researchers used an in vitro fertilization (IVF) and embryo transfer model. This approach allowed them to study early epigenetic programming more precisely.

Behavioral assessments of adolescent male mice revealed impaired social interactions and repetitive behaviors. These traits, which mirror characteristics of ASD, were linked to altered gene regulation in the brain.

“This discovery exemplifies the core mission of the YIBR,” said Ward. “By leveraging our institute’s expertise in developmental biology, reproductive science and epigenetics, we are beginning to understand how early-life programming can ripple through generations.”

With both obesity and ASD rates increasing worldwide, the findings may lead to early interventions, potentially even before conception. Future research may explore nutritional or pharmacological strategies to reverse or reduce these effects.

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A five-year study at the University of �鶹��ý’s medical school will investigate how a key gene, called Zfy, impacts sperm production and fertility. Funded by a $2.4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health, the research aims to uncover new insights into male reproduction and tackle infertility challenges.

“The Zfy gene is an essential male fertility factor, but how it imposes its important role has not been established,” said lead researcher Monika Ward, professor of anatomy, biochemistry, and physiology at UH ����ԴDz�’s (JABSOM). “If we want to overcome the overarching issue of infertility, we must have a deep understanding of the processes that underlie fertility.”

Ward, who has dedicated nearly 30 years to studying male infertility, believes this research could open new pathways for addressing fertility issues and improving overall health outcomes.

Unlocking the mysteries of Zfy

The Zfy gene was once thought to determine an animal’s sex, but interest faded when that theory was disproved. Decades later, new evidence has linked Zfy to fertility, sparking renewed interest in its function. Ward’s team used mouse models to study how the gene’s absence affects sperm production and fertility.

The study found that mice missing both Zfy1 and Zfy2 genes are completely infertile, producing malformed sperm with poor motility. However, when only one gene is absent, the effects are less severe but still significant.

Researchers will also examine how Zfy interacts with other genes in the testes and whether the ZFY protein directly binds to DNA to regulate fertility-related processes.

Advanced techniques in fertility research

The team has developed specialized mouse models, including those that lack Zfy genes or feature tagged ZFY proteins. They are also using advanced assisted reproduction techniques to propagate infertile mice, enabling the generation of critical tissue samples for molecular analysis.

“The findings will impact our understanding of how mouse Zfy regulates sperm production and will provide vital insights into the role of how the human ZFY is connected to mechanisms underlying human male infertility,” Ward said.

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Robert Mann has helped in the recovery of some of the largest disasters around the world from 9/11 to the tsunami in the Indian Ocean. The professor of anatomy and pathology at the University of �鶹��ý at Mānoa (JABSOM) has now taken on assisting with the recovery efforts on Maui, where the worst wildfire in more than a century has left more than 100 people dead, and 800—1,000 people missing.

“It was unlike anything I really expected,” said Mann, who has worked at JABSOM for the last eight years and has been a lecturer at for more than 10 years.

State officials called on Mann for his vast experience in helping families identify loved ones in some of the world’s largest disasters and tragedies.

“Even with all the mass disasters I’ve done and all, every single one of them is different. The Maui wildfire disaster certainly was different,” he said.

Complicated disaster scene

As a forensic anthropologist, Mann uses bones and bone fragments to help identify remains. The disaster on Maui is proving difficult. According to Maui County, the scope of the disaster scene in Lahaina is 2,170 acres. Mann said the temperatures from the inferno and the gusts from Hurricane Dora created challenges in the recovery and identification effort.

“This is not an airplane crash where you’ve got 20 people that are manifested on the airplane. This is a huge area, and the perimeters are extremely big,” Mann said. “One of the complicating factors would be the high winds. Those winds will move things that were at one point here and then end up being a hundred feet away.”

More on how to help Maui ʻohana and the Maui wildfires.

A team of forensic pathologists, forensic anthropologists, dentists, radiologists, fingerprint technicians, DNA specialists, firefighters, police and FBI agents were all sent to aid in the recovery and identification efforts. While others were sifting through the disaster site looking for remains, Mann was one of three forensic anthropologists at the morgue, working with located remains, trying to make the connections to the identities that loved ones are desperately seeking.

“Forensic pathologists are not trained to identify bone fragments or tell you anything about it,” Mann said. “We will pick the bones up and offer insight. We can tell if something is a right ulna (forearm bone) or a left leg. This can then lead to identifying the age or biological sex of a victim. So although the dentists do the teeth, we do the bones, and the pathologists do the bodies, we work as a team.”

A long process ahead

Because of the sheer size of the disaster scene, Mann knows it may take years for some identities to be known. He says 9/11 victims are still being identified more than 20 years later.

Because this is in our own backyard, we want to do it right, and we’re going to do our best to continue to do the right thing.
—Robert Mann

“Others may need to be identified by DNA. Some of the badly burned remains are not going to yield DNA, but some of them will,” he said.

As the recovery and identification efforts may span years, Mann asks for patience. “I see the process continuing, and it’s not an easy process,” Mann said. “Nobody’s enjoying this, but there’s no other way that I know of to do it. It’s one step at a time, and you’re climbing this very tall ladder where the only way to get to the top, which will be the identification, will be one step at a time.”

Mann has called �鶹��ý home since the 90s, so there’s an added reverence he has when assisting on Maui.

“This is in our own backyard,” he said. “This is home for many of the people who are working this. You run into people at the scene who lost somebody, and it’s a very personal thing for them. It becomes very personal for those of us working with them. Because this is in our own backyard, we want to do it right, and we’re going to do our best to continue to do the right thing.”

Specialized JABSOM lab

Mann’s osteology and forensic anthropology lab at JABSOM is the only one of its kind in the state. It assists in mass disasters like what we’re seeing on Maui, but it also educates doctors in bones and bone disease and trauma.

“�鶹��ý hadn’t had this kind of a lab until now,” Mann said. “So this is �鶹��ý’s lab, and I hope every state in the United States has a forensic lab like this. I think we’re doing our best, and I think we’re getting to be a gold standard for the way skeletal labs are structured.”

—By Matthew Campbell