Mariana Gerschenson, Ph.D.
Professor
Area of Expertise ~ Mitochondria, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Disease, Infectious Diseases
Email: gerschen@hawaii.edu
Phone: +1 808-692-1518
Biography: Dr. Mariana Gerschenson is a tenured Professor in the Department of Cell and Molecular Biology at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa’s John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM). She earned her Ph.D. in Experimental Pathology from the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, supported by a fellowship from the American Association of University Women (AAUW), and completed a National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded postdoctoral fellowship at Emory University. She has also conducted research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
As both a basic and clinical scientist, Dr. Gerschenson leads a translational research program focused on the immunological and mitochondrial mechanisms underlying HIV-associated maternal, fetal, and pediatric insulin resistance (prediabetes), as well as its complications, including cardiovascular disease. Her broader research interests include long COVID, HIV-associated lipoatrophy, and neurodegenerative conditions such as peripheral neuropathy and dementia.
Dr. Gerschenson brings extensive leadership experience in both federal and academic settings. From 2000 to 2002, she served as a Program Officer at the NIH, overseeing grant portfolios in pharmacogenetics and AIDS. Since 2007, she has held several significant academic leadership roles, including Chair of the Graduate Program, President of the JABSOM Faculty Senate, Acting Department Chair, Director of Research Operations and Graduate Education, and Associate Dean for Research.
She is deeply committed to mentorship and education, advising undergraduate and graduate students and junior faculty, while contributing significantly to the academic and research missions of JABSOM and the University of Hawai‘i.
Research: Dr. Gerschenson is the Director of the Diabetes Research Center at the University of Hawai‘i and serves as the Principal Investigator (PI) for the NIH-funded Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) award (2P20GM113134), "COBRE-Diabetes."
A national and international leader in her field, Dr. Gerschenson has spent the past 30 years investigating cardiovascular and metabolic complications of HIV in both pediatric and adult populations. Her translational research focuses on the mitochondrial, inflammatory, and epigenetic underpinnings of HIV-associated pediatric cardiovascular disease.
She currently leads a longitudinal study examining the cardiovascular health of perinatally HIV-infected adolescents and young adults to determine whether chronic inflammation and/or mitochondrial dysfunction are associated with changes in echocardiographic parameters and epigenetic biomarkers over time (R01 HL137558, R21 AI170252).