{"id":184209,"date":"2023-09-26T11:33:28","date_gmt":"2023-09-26T21:33:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=184209"},"modified":"2023-09-26T16:02:19","modified_gmt":"2023-09-27T02:02:19","slug":"reu-program-bishop-museum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2023\/09\/26\/reu-program-bishop-museum\/","title":{"rendered":"Improving Hawai\u02bbi\u2019s marine biodiversity focus of undergraduate research program"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 4<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>

\"Group<\/p>\n

From marine mollusks to pipipi (an endemic snail), promising undergraduate students from colleges across the country researched diversity through a thriving initiative at the University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at M\u0101noa. The 2023 Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU<\/abbr>) program<\/a>, hosted by the School of Life Sciences<\/a>, welcomed eight students to the 10-week summer program.<\/p>\n

\"Students<\/p>\n

It was the first time the REU<\/abbr> program partnered with the Bishop Museum, and six of the students worked jointly between the two institutions to explore biodiversity related research questions.<\/p>\n

Biodiversity is the variety of life on Earth, including animals, plants and microorganisms. They all work together to maintain balance and support life. Biodiversity supports everything humans need to survive, such as food, water, medicine and more.<\/p>\n

“I really loved my REU<\/abbr> cohort. It was nice having a multiple of us working in the same lab and on similar projects because we could help each other out and commiserate when things didn’t work, as well as celebrating together when we got good results,” said Naomi Vilet, a senior at Montana State University studying science education and music education. “As kanaka ʻ\u014diwi<\/span> (a Native Hawaiian), it was also really meaningful for me to do research in Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> and on pipipi specifically, because of their cultural significance and also because they were a food that my grandma enjoyed eating.”<\/p>\n

Among the biodiversity-related issues that the students tackled include:<\/p>\n

\"Students<\/p>\n