{"id":194988,"date":"2024-04-03T18:17:11","date_gmt":"2024-04-04T04:17:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=194988"},"modified":"2024-04-09T12:37:24","modified_gmt":"2024-04-09T22:37:24","slug":"from-lab-coat-to-malo-jabsom-scientist-competes-at-merrie-monarch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2024\/04\/03\/from-lab-coat-to-malo-jabsom-scientist-competes-at-merrie-monarch\/","title":{"rendered":"From lab coat to malo, JABSOM<\/abbr> scientist competes at Merrie Monarch"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
\"Knutson
Knutson at the 2023 Merrie Monarch Festival.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/p>\n

Update: Ka L\u0101 ʻŌnohi<\/span> Mai O Haʻehaʻe<\/span> placed No. 1 in the Overall Wahine and Wahine ʻAuana<\/span> divisions, third place in the Wahine Kahiko, and fourth place in the K\u0101ne ʻAuana<\/span> and Kahiko divisions.<\/p>\n

<\/em><\/p>\n

A University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at M\u0101noa medical school scientist is preparing to perform for the fourth time at the 61st annual Merrie Monarch Festival. Andrew Kekūpaʻa<\/span> Knutson is a postdoctoral fellow in the Center for Cardiovascular Research at the John A. Burns School of Medicine<\/a> (JABSOM<\/abbr>) and a member of Ka L\u0101 ʻŌnohi<\/span> Mai O Haʻehaʻe<\/span>, under the direction of Kumu Hula Tracie and Keawe Lopes. Keawe is also a Hawaiian language professor at UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa. Knutson along with the h\u0101lau\u2019s k\u0101ne line will be competing for the third year in a row.<\/p>\n

\"Knutson
Andrew Knutson<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

“As hula people, we say that ‘hula is life,’ and we really take that to heart,” said Knutson, who has been dancing since he was eight years old. “It permeates and touches every part of our lives, whether it be our families, how we interact with our environment, or even at work.”<\/p>\n

Knutson first took the Merrie Monarch stage in 2002 with Kumu Hula Leimomi Ho and Kealiʻikaʻapunihonua<\/span> Keʻena<\/span> Aʻo<\/span> Hula, when he was 14 years old. It would be 20 years before he would compete on that level again. <\/p>\n

He attended college on the U.S.<\/abbr> continent and pursued his passion for science when he returned. However, his love for hula never waned.<\/p>\n

“Hula connects me to my history, my land, my culture, my k\u016bpuna,” Knutson said. “In science, I’m studying biology, which is the study of life. So, hula is another aspect of studying life. It gives you a different perspective.”<\/p>\n

Related UH<\/abbr> News stories:<\/p>\n