For the fourth consecutive year, women doctoral candidates from the University of �鶹��ý at Mānoa earned grants recognizing their studies, research and work, all of which have great social importance to the world.

Nearly half of the 2023 from Soroptimist Founder Region Fellowship, Inc. were awarded to UH Mānoa students. Erin McConkey, Joanne Qinaʻau, Randi Rollins and Amy Var each received a $10,000 unrestricted grant to support the completion of their degrees.

“I had the privilege of attending the Soroptimist Conference, an unforgettable and enriching experience,” Rollins, from the , said. “We connected with all the remarkable awardees and personally met the generous sponsors to express our gratitude. The grant not only enabled me to reduce my hours at a part-time job but also afforded me the precious time needed to focus on completing my dissertation. Furthermore, it facilitated my participation in a statistical training in Seattle. These opportunities have been pivotal in nurturing my professional growth, guiding me towards the next step in my career.”

In honor of the Founder Region Fellowship’s 75th anniversary, a celebration was held in Oakland, California, where awardees were recognized for their doctoral work and contributions. Since 1948, 363 grants totaling more than $1.7 million have been awarded. Some of the fields awarded over the years include: clinical psychology, endocrinology, sociology, genetics, immunology, zoology, marine biology, civil engineering, bioengineering, infectious diseases, agricultural policy reform, law, social science and special education.

“I couldn’t be more grateful! The buffer fellowships like this allows for more time and energy to be spent on our research—hopefully this means an even higher quality of work,” Qinaʻau said. “Additionally, the fellowship has contributed to less worry and stress over how to pay bills during a year where dissertation demands are high. Mahalo nui loa to everyone involved who made this happen!”

2024 applications now open

For those interested in applying for the 2024 Founder Region Fellowship, visit the to learn more and on November 2 or November 12. Application deadline is January 15, 2024.

UH Mānoa’s 2023 awardees

• Erin McConkey is an anthropology student in the . McConkey’s dissertation explores the sociomaterial entanglements surrounding the production and use of snake antivenom in Thailand. It critically examines how human and nonhuman relationships transform medico-scientific ideas about the body, medicine and labor. McConkey hopes her work will bring to light avenues for reducing the number of snakebites and improving access to safe and effective treatment.
• Joanne Qinaʻau studies psychology in the College of Social Sciences. Qinaʻau’s dissertation is an offering to ancestors, outlining detriments, supports, states and outcomes of wellbeing for Native Hawaiians who have behavioral health challenges. Highlighting the stress of settler colonialism and the need for ecological pono (morality, righteous, just) and relational pilina (relationships), their work aims to inform intervention design. Preliminary measures can also be adapted for therapeutic or research purposes, while the empowerment materials contribute to kaiāulu using a participatory approach.
• Randi Rollins is a zoology student in the School of Life Sciences. Rollins’ research focused on the ecology of rat lungworm. Parasitic nematodes infect 1.5–3.5 billion people worldwide. Human infection is closely associated with economic status and disproportionately affects economically disadvantaged people, especially in tropical/subtropical and developing countries. Having graduated in August, Rollins started a postdoctoral position at UH on a National Institutes of Health-funded project to discover treatments/preventative compounds for rat lungworm disease.
• Amy Var is a learning design and technology student in the . Var’s dissertation study: Examining Technology Integrated Higher-Order Thinking Practices at Title I Public Middle Schools aims to better understand how teachers use technology to promote higher-order thinking in disadvantaged settings where the literature suggests such practices are lacking and, in doing so, shine a light on innovative, exemplary practices, thereby promoting social justice through digital equity.

As climate change continues, human cases of rat lungworm disease are anticipated to become more widespread globally, especially in places where the parasite that causes the disease is not yet present. , led by University of �鶹��ý at Mānoa researchers, was published to educate medical professionals in the U.S. and around the world as they encounter an increasing number of patients with the disease.

“We published this paper as a means to broaden knowledge and understanding of rat lungworm disease, especially among the medical community but also to help spread the word to the general public,” said Robert Cowie, lead author of the study and research professor at the in the UH Mānoa .

Increased awareness among the medical community will reduce the likelihood of sick people being misdiagnosed in primary care clinics and emergency rooms or simply being given pain medicine and anti-anxiety medication, or of infected individuals waiting weeks to months before receiving an accurate diagnosis.

Rats and slugs or snails are required hosts during various stages of the rat lungworm’s life cycle. Humans become infected after inadvertently or intentionally eating a raw or undercooked, infected slug/snail or other so-called “carrier” hosts in which the parasite cannot develop, such as freshwater prawns, frogs, toads, centipedes, or land crabs. When people are infected, the rat lungworm’s migration into the brain and spinal cord combined with a powerful inflammatory reaction often leads to swelling around the brain and spinal cord (meningitis) and can, in rare instances, lead to paralysis and death or, in other cases, chronic, disabling neurological symptoms.

The study, published in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, summarizes and provides references to literature dealing with diagnosis and treatment including guidance shared in a led by Vernon Ansdell, associate professor at the UH Mānoa and co-author of the new study.

Early diagnosis, treatment are critical

Cowie, Ansdell and their co-authors highlight the challenges posed by the wide array of symptoms rat lungworm disease can induce—headache, fever, nausea, rash, anxiety, migratory pains, tingling of the skin which may become super-sensitive, weakness and more.

“Currently, we believe that diagnosis in acute illness is best achieved with polymerase chain reaction [PCR] tests that detect parasite DNA in cerebrospinal fluid,” said Ansdell. “Though not yet approved for general use, more recent research has resulted in highly sensitive PCR tests that aim to detect very small amounts of rat lungworm DNA not just in spinal fluid, but also in blood, possibly alleviating the need for lumbar puncture for diagnosis.”

Following a diagnosis of rat lungworm disease, many patients require medication for pain relief, and corticosteroids to lessen inflammation, sometimes together with repeat lumbar punctures to reduce intracranial pressure and relieve severe headaches, the authors note in the paper. Additional options for pain relief include ketamine and intravenous lidocaine drugs. A final important therapy is anthelmintics drugs, antiparasitic medicines that kill migrating worms.

“Concerns regarding severe inflammatory reactions with anthelmintics are proving increasingly unwarranted,” said Ansdell. “We do recommend, however, that anthelmintics are given with corticosteroids to limit any possible inflammatory reactions. There’s increasing evidence that early treatment with corticosteroids and anthelmintics is safe and effective. The hope is that early combination therapy may limit the severity of disease and complications such as long term disability.”

Rat lungworm anticipated to spread globally

The parasite is already fairly widespread in �鶹��ý, especially at low to mid elevations where it is warm and wet. As the climate warms, it could spread to other locations. That trend may also occur in the continental U.S., especially among southeastern states, where the parasite is already present, and globally.

“The prevalence of human infection depends especially on eating habits, so as it spreads around the globe, people need to be made aware of how to avoid it, as best as possible,” said Cowie. “We need communities and medical professionals to be prepared with accurate information to avoid, diagnose and treat this disease.”

Additional study co-authors are Claire Panosian Dunavan, professor emeritus of the David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California – Los Angeles, and producer of the documentary ; and Randi L. Rollins, zoology doctoral candidate at UH Mānoa.

Nearly 100,000 pounds of marine debris that was smothering coral reefs and beaches in the Northwestern Hawaiian islands has been removed, thanks to a group that included University of �鶹��ý at Mānoa alumni and students.

Sixteen free divers from the non-profit organization (PMDP) collected 97,295 pounds of marine debris from Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument over a 27-day mission in July. More than 88% of that, or 86,000 pounds, consisted of ghost nets cleared from a single reef. Nine of the 16 team members were either UH Mānoa alumni and/or current students at UH Mānoa and UH Hilo.

“The fact that we are seeing this kind of accumulation in such a single small area is really indicative of the scale of the global marine debris issue,” said Kevin O’Brien, PMDP president and founder, and 2006 UH Mānoa zoology graduate.

A majority of the debris collected will be incinerated to generate electricity to power hundreds of Oʻahu homes, according to PMDP. In addition, some of the recyclable plastics will be set aside for PMDP’s local student-led ocean plastics recycling project.

Dangers of ghost nets

Ghost nets are large, tangled masses of lost or discarded fishing nets made of plastic. They can snag on the shallow coral reefs, smothering and breaking the living coral colonies. These nets also pose a hazard for most marine wildlife, including honu (Hawaiian green sea turtles), many species of seabirds and the endangered Hawaiian monk seal.

The reef where the ghost nets were removed is known as Kamokuokamohoaliʻi (island of the shark god) or Maro Reef. It is one of the most diverse coral reefs in �鶹��ý, harboring 37 coral species. Kamokuokamohoaliʻi lies in the heart of Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, a string of remote and uninhabited islands that make up the last 1,300 miles of the Hawaiian island chain. The shallow portion of the reef (depth of less than 10 feet) that marine debris accumulated on is roughly eight miles long. It supports a vibrant ecosystem, including Hawaiian monk seals, honu, rays, sharks and thousands of reef fish, many of them found only in �鶹��ý.

O’Brien described the amount of ghost nets removed from the reef as equivalent to taking a walk through Central Park and a few surrounding blocks, and finding trash equal to the weight of a commercial airliner.

Locating ghost nets

Divers swim in patterns over the reef to search for the nets. When a net is located, the divers carefully cut the net free from the reef to avoid further damage and haul them by hand into a boat. Nets vary in size, but may weigh upwards of 2,000 pounds each. All removal work is completed using breath-hold diving techniques to keep the team quick and nimble.

Other marine debris

In addition to the 86,000 pounds of ghost nets collected, PMDP also cleaned up an additional 11,000 pounds of nets and plastics from the shorelines of two other locations: Kamole (Laysan Island) and Kapou (Lisianski Island).

An estimated 115,000 pounds of marine debris accumulates annually on Papahānaumokuākea reefs, according to PMDP Executive Director James Morioka, who is a 2012 UH Mānoa graduate in marine biology. PMDP’s next clean-up mission is planned for September, with the goal of removing another 100,000 pounds of debris.

“It’s our goal at PMDP to continue regular clean-up efforts into the future to maintain coral reef health and protect countless animals from entanglement and potential injury or death,” Morioka said.

Other PMDP team members with UH ties:

• Derek LeVault—UH Mānoa, 2006, BA zoology
• Kaʻehukai Grant Goin—UH Mānoa, 2021, BA Hawaiian studies; currently pursuing a MS in tropical conservation biology and environmental sciences at UH Hilo
• Maximiliano Lee—UH Mānoa, 2020, BS marine biology
• Sydney Luitgaarden—UH Mānoa, 2019, BS marine biology
• Louise Currie—UH Mānoa, 2017, BS marine biology
• Nāmele Naipo-Arsiga—UH Mānoa, 2017, BS kinesiology and rehabilitation science
• Charlotte Frank—currently enrolled at UH Mānoa in the Graduate Ocean Policy Certificate program in the College of Social Sciences

Ernst S. Reese, a University of �鶹��ý at Mānoa zoology professor for nearly 40 years, whose coral reef research convinced the �鶹��ý State Legislature to designate Hanauma Bay as a Marine Life Conservation District (MLCD), died on February 21, 2022, at the age of 91. Reese was a faculty member in the Department of Zoology from 1963 until his retirement in 2002.

Early education

Reese earned his undergraduate degree from Princeton University in 1953, which was followed by service in the U.S. Armed Forces as first lieutenant and executive officer of a field artillery battalion in Austria. He then enrolled in the zoology graduate program at the University of California, Los Angeles in 1956. He became interested in innate animal behavior patterns, although animal behavior was still a fledgling discipline of zoology. Reese earned his doctorate in 1960 with a thesis on the shell selection behavior of hermit crabs, which depend on finding a protective shell for survival. He later published a paper in Science furthering this topic of study.

Journey to UH

While attending an international oceanography conference, Reese happened to sit next to the director of the Eniwetok Marine Biological Laboratory in the Marshall Islands, which was managed by UH. Reese received an invitation to visit the atoll under a fellowship to study coconut crabs. This chance encounter not only provided Reese with his first opportunity to study the fauna of a tropical coral reef, but during his visit he also met Al Tester, who was the chairman of UH Mānoa’s Department of Zoology. Tester invited Reese to teach an introductory zoology course at UH ����ԴDz�.

Reese became a fellow of the , and he was eventually offered a split faculty position with a laboratory at the institute on Moku o Loʻe (Coconut Island) and in the Department of Zoology. After creating a home on ����Ա�ʻ�dz�� Bay for his family, Reese’s interests turned to the protection of coral reef environments.

Coral reef research

Prior to 1967, Hanauma Bay was a popular fishing ground and camp, and most types of fishing were allowed. As a result, by the 1960s, fish stocks began to decline. Reese and his graduate students documented the environmental resources at the bay and proposed that Hanauma Bay be set aside as a natural protective area and a living museum. Many fishermen protested this idea for fear of setting a precedent to close other local fishing grounds. However, the data generated by an underwater survey convinced the state legislature to designate the bay as a MLCD.

At UH Mānoa, Reese worked on the social behavior of reef fishes. He became particularly interested in the relationship of food and feeding behavior to behavioral ecology and life history characteristics, the coevolution of corals and reef fishes, orientation behavior of butterflyfishes, and the use of butterflyfishes as indicator-organisms of conditions on coral reefs. He dedicated his later years at UH Mānoa to developing simple observational tools that would allow recreational divers and students to assess the status of coral reefs using behavioral criteria, supporting the concept of student and citizen scientists to bring more awareness to coral reefs as indicators of environmental health. His interests culminated in developing management strategies for the conservation of coral reef ecosystems.

Awards and achievements

Reese was awarded several professional honors and served in several leadership positions in the scientific community. He was president of the Animal Behavior Society in 1975 and the �鶹��ý Academy of Science, 1985–86. He was director of the Mid-Pacific Research Laboratory in the Marshall Islands,1977–1980. Throughout his career, his research was funded by the National Science Foundation, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Smithsonian Institution and special legislative grants from the State of �鶹��ý, in addition to several intramural grants. UH bestowed on him a faculty performance award in 2000 and elected him emeritus professor in 2002.

Advice for students

Throughout his time at UH, Reese valued the quality of education of undergraduate students and helping them find their path in life. His simple advice to aspiring marine biologists was: point yourself in the right direction, be curious—be opportunistic, persevere to achieve your goals, carry a good luck charm and always say “Yes, I can!” His students have found positions as faculty members in �鶹��ý and at mainland universities, colleges and high schools, and at museums and national and state agencies dealing with marine and environmental resources.

Reese is survived by his wife Ilze, and their children, Theresa McFarland (husband Bill) and Hans Reese (wife Michele) and seven grandchildren. He imparted to each his love of nature, and the importance of animals and being a family.

—By Professor Emeritus H. Gert de Couet

Exploring the icy cold depths of the frozen continent of Antarctica could be considered a research career highlight, and a University of �鶹��ý at Mānoa associate professorʻs work has taken her to the chilling sea at the bottom of the world, not just one time, but three.

Amy Moran of the , along with her PhD zoology students, Aaron Toh and Graham Lobert with the , departed for McMurdo Station, Antarctica in October for their second season of a multi-year $458,791 project funded by the National Science Foundation Office of Polar Programs in 2018. They spend their days diving under the ice studying marine animals that live in the Southern Ocean, the coldest ocean in the world. Animals that live there have lived in freezing temperatures (-1.8° C or 28° F) for millions of years.

“We collect a variety of invertebrates including sea spiders and nudibranchs, and work in the laboratory to test the developmental and metabolic effects of small increases in temperature on the least-well-understood early stages of the life cycle; the eggs, embryos and larvae,” said Moran, who led her project team the first time in September 2019—February 2020.

According to Moran, the animals they study have adapted to constant and extreme cold, and many cold-blooded animals have lost the ability to cope with even slightly warmer temperatures. “When the environment gets warmer, they have nowhere colder to go, making them more vulnerable to warming oceans and other factors that go along with global climate change,” she said.

This is Moran’s third grant to work in Antarctica, and second grant funded through UH. Her research interest in the ecology and evolution of marine invertebrates led to her previous discovery with PhD student Caitlin Shishido, that a bizarre group of sea spiders in Antarctica breathe differently than other animals—through their legs.

Diving beneath the ice

The ice around McMurdo Station is between 7–9 feet thick, so the team drills holes in the sea ice to access the ocean below. “Because it is difficult to get a drill out to remote sites, we’ll sometimes find seal holes that we can expand with an ice pick and saw,” Moran explained.

Dives can last up to an hour, but average about 30–35 minutes. Depth is a limiting factor because of their no-decompression diving to minimize risk of decompression sickness. “We generally start feeling cold after around 20 minutes, although some days feel warmer than others (not because the freezing water is any different),” Moran said.

While the “super cold” waters limit their diving time, “it’s a magical experience if you’re properly trained for it!” Toh added. “The diversity of species under the ice is fantastic! Aside from curious seals, there are massive sea spiders, sponges, crinoids and other invertebrates that just amaze you every time you dive.”

Lobert spends most of his time in the lab, and assists Moran and Toh in and out of the water. “I get to work with some truly amazing organisms, and can’t think of a better place to research as there are so many interesting questions that can be asked about the organisms that inhabit these frigid waters,” he shared.

The team works every day, but takes personal time when they need to. McMurdo Station offers the researchers a gym, library, outdoor activities such as skiing, and pizza in the gallery 24 hours a day. “We were even treated to a huge Thanksgiving feast with turkey, pumpkin pie and all the fixings!” Moran said.

Moran is planning her return from the ice in December, while Toh and Lobert are extending their stay till February 2022. The UH team has another year or more of lab work to analyze the samples they’ve collected.

“Every trip to Antarctica is a trip of a lifetime, and we’re all looking forward to coming back some day,” Moran said.

Training with UH Diving Safety Program

Working in Antarctica required months of preparation for the UH team, including training intensively with the , the authoritative source for all student, faculty and staff divers who conduct official UH research or educational activities in the water. Moran and her students received specialized SCUBA diving training including practicing to use a drysuit and refining their drysuit buoyancy skills. It was a “less-than-comfortable” experience that took some getting used to in �鶹��ý, according to Toh.

“The UH Diving Safety Program is amazing and we love working with them,” Moran added. “�鶹��ýhas one of the largest scientific diving programs in the U.S., and we scientists are so grateful to have such a strong and expert group support our work and prepare us for Antarctica.”

This work is an example of UH Mānoa’s goal of (PDF), one of four goals identified in the (PDF), updated in December 2020.

—by Arlene Abiang

To further study the unique physiology and sensory biology of endangered Hawaiian monk seals, marine mammal scientists at the University of California Santa Cruz are partnering with Hawaiian zoological facilities and Sea Life Park on Oʻahu. The aquarium is a University of �鶹��ý at Mānoa research facility.

Specialized research programs and marine mammal facilities available at University of California Santa Cruz’s Long Marine Laboratory have enabled several important studies to be completed with the species since 2009.

The next phase of research will include the return of 19-year-old Hawaiian monk seal KE18 from California to Sea Life Park where he will be featured in educational programming highlighting the endangered status of the species and the value of collaborative conservation research. Meanwhile, Waikīkī Aquarium will temporarily transfer 13-year-old male Hawaiian monk seal KP2 to the research program in California while the monk seal exhibit at the aquarium is updated and renovated.

“The Waikīkī Aquarium is grateful for this opportunity to work closely with the University of California Santa Cruz and its partners to support conservation efforts for Hawaiian monk seals and education about this endangered species,” said Andrew Rossiter, director of the Waikīkī Aquarium. “This will allow us to renovate our monk seal exhibit so we can continue to help in future research and protection efforts.”

KP2 previously spent several years at Long Marine Laboratory participating in cooperative research. His planned sabbatical will allow scientists to support ongoing studies of auditory biology and provide insight into how monk seal metabolism changes throughout development.

These studies support conservation efforts for wild monk seals by providing relevant biological data from non-releasable male monk seals trained to cooperate in scientific sampling. Such information is often difficult or impossible to gather from free-ranging seals. Measurements are obtained by animal care specialists without harm to seals, and research activities are monitored by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee.

Research with non-releasable Hawaiian monk seals is authorized by NOAA Fisheries. The planned research activities involving monk seals KE18 and KP2 are supported by the U.S. Navy’s Office of Naval Research and Living Marine Resources Program. Multiple agencies have participated in planning vaccination and quarantine requirements, including those related to COVID-19, to ensure the health and safety of people and animals.

This partnership is an example of UH ��ā�ԴDz�’s goal of (PDF), one of four goals identified in the (PDF), updated in December 2020.

A University of �鶹��ý at Mānoa expert in marine ecology and conservation biology received a major state research and education honor. Professor Mark Hixon was named the 2021 Scientist of the Year by the .

Hixon is the 39th UH faculty member to receive the award, which recognizes “eminent researchers for a career distinguished by significant research achievement and meaningful mentorship to the next generations of investigators.”

“It’s a great honor to join the ranks of other scientists at UH Mānoa whom I greatly respect,” Hixon said. “I am especially grateful that ARCS Honolulu appreciates the mentoring of graduate students, who are society’s future scientists during an era where science is increasingly under attack.”

Hixon is the Sidney and Erika Hsiao Endowed Chair in Marine Biology and serves as chair of the zoology graduate program. He specializes in marine conservation biology, especially coral reefs, which he has studied in many areas around the world. Hixon’s research addresses the questions of how to enhance the resilience of corals to bleaching, what determines the number of fish in the sea, how many different species naturally coexist on coral reefs, and how marine reserves and artificial reefs help to conserve sea life and enhance fisheries.

Hixon’s online lecture

Hixon will deliver a free online lecture, “How Science Can Help Save �鶹��ý’s Coral Reefs,” hosted by ARCS Honolulu on September 2, 5 p.m. .

“My desire is to enhance the hope of my audience regarding the effects of climate disruption on our coral reefs,” Hixon said. “So much about climate change is beyond local control and seems hopeless, yet here in �鶹��ý there are specific actions we can take to ensure our reefs survive ocean warming and acidification.”

More about Hixon

After completing his graduate work at the University of California, Santa Barbara, Hixon came to UH as a National Science Foundation postdoctoral fellow in the late 1970s, where he began his studies of coral reefs. Hixon then spent 28 years as a professor of marine ecology and conservation biology at Oregon State University, before returning to �鶹��ýas an endowed professor in 2013.

In 2004, Hixon was recognized by the Institute for Scientific Information Citation Index as the
most cited scientific author on coral-reef ecology in the U.S. He is a Fulbright Senior Scholar, Aldo Leopold Fellow and International Coral Reef Society Fellow, and he serves on the editorial boards of multiple scientific journals. He is past chair of the Marine Protected Areas Federal Advisory Committee for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Ocean Sciences Advisory Committee for the National Science Foundation. Hixon has won various awards for teaching, and his public outreach includes TED talks and appearances on the PBS TV show Saving the Oceans.

Hixon’s work is an example of UH Mānoa’s goals of (PDF) and (PDF), two of four goals identified in the (PDF), updated in December 2020.

Graduate students at the are encouraged to apply for the (GSO) Grants & Awards Program, which provides financial support for participation at professional conferences, research travel/materials and professional development experiences. Any graduate student who pays GSO fees is eligible to apply once per semester, to receive up to $2,000 for the funding of research materials, publishing fees, attendance of online conferences and more.

Application deadlines

• April application cycle
• Application due: March 25, 2021
• May application cycle
• Application due: April 22, 2021

Merit Based Awards Program

On an annual basis, GSO recognizes graduate student excellence in Diversity, Mentorship, Research, Service and Outreach, and Teaching through its . This year, GSO is issuing three awards worth $5,000 in each following categories: Diversity, Mentorship, Service and Outreach, and Teaching; and four awards in Research.

Application deadlines

• Application due: March 8, 2021
• Letters of recommendation due: March 15, 2021

Past recipients

Hannah Liebreich was one of the 2019–20 recipients of the Rachel Wade Merit Based Award for service and outreach. Her PhD dissertation in UH ��ā�ԴDz�’s explored the impact of policies aimed at addressing gender-based violence on college campuses, which she successfully defended in fall 2020. For service, Liebreich has volunteered with the American Association of University Women and helped run grassroots campaigns for the �鶹��ý State Legislature, in addition to serving in GSO.

“The Merit Based Award program helped me in my graduate studies in that it quite literally allowed me to finish,” said Liebreich. “My dissertation defense was postponed due to COVID-19, so I used the award to help supplement various costs associated with being a graduate student for an additional semester. Without this money, I’m not sure how I could have managed.”

Randi Rollins, a zoology graduate student in UH ��ā�ԴDz�’s , was a 2019–20 Merit Based Awards recipient for her work in research, which is focused on angiostrongyliasis (rat-lungworm disease), a debilitating and occasionally deadly tropical disease caused by ingestion of a parasitic roundworm, Angiostrongylus cantonensis. Through this award, GSO is supporting Rollins’ work that aims to better understand interactions between the environment, parasites and their hosts.

“The financial award as recipient of the Merit Based Award allowed me to stress about finances a little bit less and focus more on my research projects,” said Rollins. “The award also serves as an incentive to continue to do my best, and as a reminder that my research not only contributes to the scientific community, but it also impacts the people of �鶹��ý.”

Nathalie Rita, a PhD candidate in the Department of Sociology at UH Mānoa, is currently serving as the chair of the Merit Based Award program, a position she decided to pursue after being a recipient of the award. Rita’s favorite part of the job is getting to read about all of the amazing work being done by graduate students at UH Mānoa.

“I encourage other students to apply for the Merit Based Awards program because it is uniquely designed to recognize the diverse types of graduate student success on campus and beyond, and it does not have any citizenship or residency restrictions,” said Rita.

This program is an example of UH ��ā�ԴDz�’s goal of , one of four goals identified in the , updated in December 2020.

For more information, see for application instructions and frequently asked questions.

Scientists have wondered for decades why marine animals that live in the polar oceans and the deep sea can reach giant sizes there, but nowhere else. zoology PhD student Caitlin Shishido, with UH researcher Amy Moran and colleagues at the University of Montana, went to Antarctica to test the prevailing theory–the ‘oxygen-temperature hypothesis’-that animals living in extreme cold can grow to giant sizes because their metabolisms are very slow. The animals they studied were sea spiders, marine relatives of land spiders that breathe through their legs.

The study, published in the April 10 issue of , was performed at McMurdo Station, Antarctica, and at UH. “The idea is, it’s a lot of work for animals to capture oxygen and bring it all the way to their cells,” said Shishido. “It’s a much bigger job for large animals than for small ones. If cold temperatures make you need less oxygen, you can grow to a larger size.”

To test whether giant spiders were more affected by warming than small ones, the researchers exercised the spiders to exhaustion by flipping them upside-down and counting the number of times they were able to right themselves at a range of temperatures, from their normal -1.8°C all the way up to 9°C. Counter to predictions, giant animals kept up with smaller ones at every temperature.

“We were amazed that not only could the giant animals survive at much higher temperatures than they usually see, but they dealt with warm temperatures just like the smaller ones,” Shishido said. “That’s not supposed to happen; larger animals should exhaust their oxygen supply and run out of gas much sooner than small ones.” This should be especially true for sea spiders, which are ‘skin breathers’—they have no gills or lungs to help get oxygen, but have to rely on diffusion across the surfaces of their legs.

• Related UH News: Giant sea spiders use their legs as gills and their guts as hearts, July 10, 2017

How do giant sea spiders appear to get around the laws of physics? This was a mystery, until Shishido and Aaron Toh, a UH undergraduate student, used microscopes to look closely at their legs. The legs of sea spiders are covered with pores, and the researchers found that as the sea spiders grow, their exoskeletons become more and more porous. “The exoskeletons of the really big ones look almost like Swiss cheese,” said Shishido.

The researchers cautioned that these were short-term experiments and the long-term effects of warming on giant animals are not yet understood. However, it appears that, thanks to their holey exoskeletons, these giant polar animals may not be as vulnerable to warming oceans as previously thought.

This work was funded by grants from the at the .

Giant sea spiders use their legs as gills and their guts as hearts, 7/10/17

As a child growing up on �鶹��ý Island, Narrissa Spies thought the classroom and beach were two separate and distinct places. Today, this 35-year-old graduate student in at the knows that protecting coral reefs is both her future job and life’s passion.

“I grew up in a house that didn’t have electricity, so for us going to the beach during the day was an amazing way to escape,” said Spies. “I didn’t realize as a child that I could do those types of things as a career, that I could investigate sea creatures, turn over rocks, as my job.”

Thanks to a $45,000 fellowship from the Kohala Center, a Waimea-based nonprofit, Spies is spending the 2017–18 academic year finishing her doctorate on how coral are able to withstand multiple stressors resulting from human activities.

, her faculty advisor and director of the , says Spies is more than a brilliant scientist: She is a cultural practitioner who will inspire future ocean researchers.

“For many scientists, the coin of the realm is the peer-reviewed publication. They say, ‘Okay, my job is done, I’ve published the paper,‘” said Richmond. “For Narrissa and her generation, that is no longer sufficient. ‘We’ve done the science, we’ve published the paper and now we have to put that knowledge to work.’ And that’s what distinguishes her from a lot of other people.”

Spies grew up in Hilo and Kawaihae, where her childhood aspiration was to become a medical researcher. She began her studies at , graduating from with a bachelor of arts in and , and a .

Today, you’ll find Spies at the Kewalo Marine Lab, near Kakaʻako Waterfront Park, where she is on schedule to earn a doctorate in zoology in Spring 2018. She continues her research after receiving yet another honor—a grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to engage high school students in the natural sciences as a career path.

By demonstrating her high level of success, this role model will increase the number of Native Hawaiian professionals with a cultural affinity for protecting fragile natural resources.

“I feel it’s important to educate students in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) because these are our resources in �鶹��ý,” said Spies. “And who better to care for these resources than people who grew up here, and can understand how important they are to our local community.”

Six University of �鶹��ý at Mānoa doctoral candidates, in programs ranging from astronomy to social welfare have been selected to receive the esteemed Dissertation Fellowship for the 2016–2017 academic year. This is the largest number University of �鶹��ý at Mānoa applicants that were awarded fellowships, beating out the University of California, Berkeley and other California universities.

Honorees Laurie Chu, Marlee Elston, Leanne Kealoha Fox, Yukie Lloyd, Tammy Kahoʻolemana Martin, Jessica Maxfield will be honored at the annual Founder Region conference on April 29, 2016 at the Waikīkī Beach Marriott.

“We received terrific applications from UH Mānoa and the proof of that was in the results of who received awards. All the women we met were impressive and will be a credit to their families, colleagues and departments,” shared Lorene Hopkins, director of district VI for the Founder Region of Soroptimist International.

The are awarded each year to outstanding women doctoral candidates at universities within the region of North Coast and East Bay Counties in California, �鶹��ý, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. Founded in 1921, the Founder Region of Soroptimist International is committed to work to promote social justice, equity and the empowerment of women through economic independence and greater participation in decision making at all levels in the community.

Each awardee will receive $10,000 of unrestricted funds to cover expenses during their dissertation writing process. “Support from this dissertation fellowship is invaluable in helping me complete my doctoral research with less financial burden, allowing me to reduce my work hours to focus writing my dissertation and complete my degree on time,” said Fox. “To be empowered with this resource by an inspiring collective of women motivates me to reach my full potential!”

, dean of , emphasized, “We are excited to build strong relationships with community organizations such as the Founder Region of Soroptimist International which recognizes and celebrates the stellar research of our graduate students. The will continue to reach out to our graduate students to alert them of such noteworthy opportunities.”

Founder Region Fellowship honorees

Laurie Chu, College of Natural Sciences, (astronomy)
Chu studies environments where stars are born. Stars form in dense clouds of gas and dust called molecular clouds and they begin as quiescent clouds and then collapse to form a star. Chu wants to learn about the structure of the gas and dust within these clouds to see how they change over time because these are the building blocks of the planetary systems. Her results will be imperative for the upcoming observations of molecular clouds with the next big space-based telescope mission—the James Webb Space Telescope.

Marlee Elston, (cell and molecular biology)
Elston is working to gain a greater understanding of the impacts of maternal obesity, specifically the associated abnormally high levels of glucose transport to the fetus during pregnancy. Her research also strives to develop a safe way of conducting gene therapy to the placenta, the critical interface between the maternal and fetal blood streams. The former UH Mānoa undergraduate alumna hopes to translate her background in molecular biology into projects that can lead to a wide reaching impact on human health.

Leanne Kealoha Fox, (biomedical science, clinical research)
Fox is revitalizing Native Hawaiian health through Kūkulu Ola, an inventory of researched customs, rituals and practices related to Hawaiian maʻi (sickness, illness, aliment, disease). The project aims to connect ancestral practices of medicine to address health disparities. The mother of two year old son, Laʻiku, her greatest source of inspiration, Fox strives to have Kūkulu Ola recognized for its potential to eliminate health disparities in the spirit of social justice.

Yukie Lloyd, (tropical medicine)
Lloyd studies immunity to malaria in pregnant women. The Japan native was awarded the prestigious Crown Prince Akihito Scholarship, which allowed her to pursue doctoral studies at UH Mānoa.

Tammy Kahoʻolemana Martin, (social welfare)
Martin is exploring the pathways to post-traumatic growth and healing of formerly incarcerated Native Hawaiian women who have overcome significant trauma in their lives. Martin hopes her research will lead to innovative, culturally-grounded and gender-specific interventions for Native Hawaiian female trauma survivors. Recently nominated to a leadership position with the �鶹��ý Chapter of the Pacific Women’s Indigenous Network, Martin brings more than 14 years of practitioner’s knowledge to her research.

Jessica Maxfield, (zoology)
Maxfield aims to understand how numerous fish species exhibit the ability to change their sex (known as hermaphroditism) allowing them to produce both sperm and eggs during their lifetime. The scientific community has long been fascinated by the hermaphroditism process in fishes, however, little is known about the genetic processes involved, a gap of knowledge that Maxfield endeavors to fill. The broad impact of her research means understanding the development and maintenance of sexual flexibility in fishes, which may have broader implications for human reproductive health.

The took part in a collaborative research project showing there are two evolutionarily distinct groups of Hawaiian hoary bats, with one group a more ancient arrival.

The use of sophisticated DNA sequencing has determined that �鶹��ý’s state land mammal, the Hawaiian hoary bat, migrated to the islands from the Pacific coast of North America in two separate waves more than 9,000 years apart.

“Because the Hawaiian hoary bat is the only living native land mammal in �鶹��ý and is on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s endangered species list we want to know everything possible about its genetic history, relationships to other bats, and if there are unique subpopulations on different Hawaiian islands,” says Amy Russell, associate professor of biology at and lead author of the study.

This feat represents the longest overwater flight followed with the founding of a new population for any bat, of which there are 1,300 species. The new study estimates that these migrations from mainland North America happened around 800 years ago and 10,000 years ago.

Providing insight into �鶹��ý’s only native terrestrial mammal

Until recently, little was known about the genetics or ecology of �鶹��ý’s only native terrestrial mammal, and while many questions still remain this study provides insight previously not possible using just morphology or fossil data.

“We used tiny bits of wing tissue and powerful DNA sequencing and analytical tools to estimate both the time and place of origin for this unique and cryptic mammal,” says Kevin Olival, senior research scientist at and study co-author.

DNA sampling of Hawaiian hoary bats for conservation genetics studies began in 2004 and is ongoing.

“Future genetic studies will also help us to better understand local population structure and the potential for bat migration between islands of the archipelago,” says Corinna Pinzari, a researcher with the at the .

Frank Bonaccorso, a wildlife ecologist from the , and colleague Liam McGuire now at Texas Tech University had previously modeled the path that hoary bats might have taken in a successful colonization flight scenario, and found that the shortest possible flight distance from San Francisco to Maui, approximately 3,600 kilometers, is highly feasible with normal tailwind assistance from the prevalent trade winds.

“Our present findings will be useful for the re-evaluation of the bat’s conservation status,” explains Bonaccorso, a co-author on the study, “because we demonstrate that there are two evolutionarily distinct groups of Hawaiian hoary bats with one group a more ancient arrival.”

The journal article, was published on June 17 by the journal .

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A novel proposal by zoology graduate student John Burns has earned him a coveted spot as a finalist in the .

The award is given for a new or ongoing project anywhere in the world with a capacity to improve lives or protect the world’s natural and cultural heritage and is targeted to innovators under 30 years of age. Burns is one of 22 finalists chosen from a pool of over 1,800 applicants in 129 countries and is the only finalist from the United States.

His idea is to develop waterproof electronic tablets to promote community-based monitoring and conservation of coral reef ecosystems in �鶹��ý, where the coastal populations depend on marine resources.

Unlike some monitoring tools that are expensive and difficult to customize, Burns’ tablet includes software that easily aggregates user-collected information, including photos, and saves it to a secure online database. The same tools can then perform automated data summaries, trend mapping and graphical display of the data.

The winners of the Rolex Awards for Enterprise will be announced in June 2014. Five Young Laureates of the Rolex Awards will receive a monetary award of more than $56,000 to support their projects.

• , the research publication of UH Mānoa.

More about John Burns

A resident of Pāpaʻikou on �鶹��ý Island, Burns earned his master’s degree in at and is currently a PhD candidate in the zoology program, , College of Natural Sciences at UH Mānoa. He works in the at the , part of the .

Burns has been featured in UH News a few times, for his work on coral reef monitoring.

• January, 16, 2012
• November 9, 2012
• August 31, 2012

University of �鶹��ý at Mānoa Professor Sheila Conant has won the . The award honors extraordinary scientific contributions to the conservation, restoration and preservation of birds and their habitats. Conant has studied �鶹��ý’s native and endangered species for nearly 50 years.

“I love plants and animals, and knew early on that I wanted to study native organisms,” said Conant, who grew up in Mānoa and prefers to describe herself as a naturalist first and a biologist second.

Conant’s recent research and scientific papers have focused on geographic variation in morphology, genetics, and behaviors of three endangered birds in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, and how birds were used in pre-contact Hawaiian material culture.

“Sheila has an inquiring mind,” said Betsy Gagné of the State of �鶹��ý’s Natural Area Reserve System Commission, a longtime professional colleague and friend. “She sets a high standard of excellence that’s unassailable. But for me, it’s her sense of humor and her own productivity that sets her apart.”

Gagné cites Conant’s quirky devotion to SPAM as an example of her welcome humor. The popular canned meat product is Conant’s nickname of choice for a conservation approach advocating ’science, policy and management’–and has prompted a legion of inside jokes and SPAM-related gift paraphernalia from her devoted students.

In addition to her academic research, Conant has written numerous management plans that have been used to inform the actions and policy decisions. Notably, she helped establish the scientific basis for the USFWS Nihoa Millerbird Translocation Project, which brought a second population of the rare bird to Laysan Island to guard against its possible extinction.

Conant had the opportunity to participate in the second translocation expedition during which 26 birds were captured on Nihoa and moved to Laysan in 2012. The project is widely considered a conservation success story. “It is incredibly rewarding to go out and see that the things that you wrote could actually be done,” she said.

Despite various success stories, Conant’s conservation efforts remain an uphill battle. �鶹��ý has suffered more extinctions than any other geographic area its size. And in a career that has spanned more than four decades, Conant has lost a number of species she counted as friends.

UH Mānoa professor David Duffy recalled a story about Conant’s 1975 research trip to the remote Alakaʻi Swamp on Kauaʻi. She wrote about the expedition only after Hurricane Iniki ripped through the islands in 1992. Scientists revisiting the same areas they had surveyed in the seventies found no trace of the native Kauaʻi ʻŌʻū, Kāmaʻo, or the island population of ʻŌʻū birds. “Sheila wrote a very moving paper about the experience,” Duffy said. “She never thought she would be among the last to see them alive.”

But of all the hazards facing �鶹��ý’s native organisms Conant identifies predation or competition by non-native weeds and animal pests as the largest threat to �鶹��ý’s agriculture, watershed and native species. She believes political action must go hand in hand with research, management and monitoring and has carefully and consistently asserted the importance of strong science and engagement to support conservation activities.

“Sheila has an amazing way of bringing complex topics down to a personal level,” says colleague Cliff Morden, an associate professor in the UH Mānoa . “It doesn’t matter if she is talking with other faculty, administrators, students, or people she meets in the field. She has a way to relate to them and to make everybody feel like a friend she’s known for ages.”

Read the .

—By Talia Ogliore

Native birds at on �鶹��ý Island are in unprecedented trouble, and competition from an introduced bird species is likely to blame, according to veteran bird researchers.

Field studies by Professors Leonard Freed (zoology) and Rebecca Cann (cell and molecular biology) have documented lengthened and altered molts and declining survival rates in native birds since 2000.

The endangered �鶹��ý creeper (Oreomystis mana) has experienced the widest prevalence of lengthened molt.

The researchers’ findings, which appear in a report published January 18 in the journal PLoS ONE, mirror the results of laboratory studies that have looked at the impact of starving birds under experimental conditions.

Native birds are taking longer to molt

The researchers found that both young and adult birds take up to twice as long to replace their feathers, an annual process known as molt. Young birds normally complete their juvenile molt in five months, beginning before June and ending in October.

Now it takes the birds as late as March of the following year to finish that molt. Adults are also taking that much longer to replace their feathers.

In addition, more adults are beginning their molt early, during months when they normally breed. Birds generally avoid this overlap in their life history because both activities require extra energy.

The endangered �鶹��ý creeper had the greatest molting changes, Freed and Cann write. All Hawaiian honeycreepers had significant changes. In the most prolonged case, a �鶹��ý ʻamakihi finished its juvenile molt from the previous year in March only to begin its adult molt in May.

Usually birds simultaneously molt the same primary flight feathers on both wings to maintain maneuverability. By 2002, all species had asymmetric molt of these feathers—the first time asymmetric molt was documented throughout a community of birds. In laboratory situations, starvation of birds to 60 percent of normal diet leads to the changes in molt that Freed and Cann observed in nature.

Japanese white-eye to blame

In the field, native birds died at a greater rate during the months of extended molt during 2000–04, and survival rates declined each year compared to a control set of years in the 1990s.

The data confirm that Japanese white-eye (Zosterops japonicus) birds are effectively competing with most species of native birds, Freed and Cann write.

Japanese white-eye birds were intentionally introduced to �鶹��ý in 1929 to control insects. No trend in native bird survival was observed during the 1990s control years, when fewer white-eyes were present. Changes in molt during 2000–06 were associated in every detail with the increase in white-eyes.

The white-eye overlaps foraging areas with native species and spends much time gleaning insects and other prey on the same ubiquitous ʻōhiʻa lehua foliage used by most native species.

The latest findings complement a by the authors, which showed that all species of native birds have stunted growth and lower survival.

Freed and Cann suggest that no section of the refuge is safe from the competitive effects of the introduced bird, especially the lower closed forest section of the refuge, which had the greatest non-normal molt in 2006.

.

Recently announced research developments at the University of �鶹��ý include two papers on findings related to work involving viruses and bacteria—good, innocuous and bad.

Yuanan Lu, UH Mānoa professor of epidemiology and environmental health, reports on the successful use of sensitive and effective new protocols for detecting viruses in recreational water. Yu and his colleagues were able to detect human noroviruses, a leading cause of non-bacterial gastroenteritis, in ocean waters. The laboratory protocols could lead to more reliable monitoring of recreational waters. Current water testing relies on detection of fecal indicator bacteria, which haven’t been linked to disease and may be present in the natural environment.

The findings appear in the November 15 issue of Water Research. Read the or the .

Yun Kang, a UH Mānoa postdoctoral researcher in the , contributed to a significant breakthrough in development of a novel technology to investigate global gene-expression in a single bacterium. This technology will aid studies of prokaryotes (microbial cells lacking a nucleus), which are important in analyzing the function of beneficial human microbes, targeting bacterial pathogens, developing novel vaccines for bacterial infections and understanding microbes that live in extreme environments.

Kang worked with Associate Professors Tung T. Hoang and Stuart P. Donachie and colleagues at the J. Craig Venter Institute in Maryland. Their results were reported in the June issue of Genome Research. Read the or the .

A provisional patent has been filed for the new technology.