Faculty

Biography: Dr. Le Saux obtained an engineering degree in Biotechnologies from the Université d’Aix-Marseille I in France. He continued on with graduate studies in microbiology at a CNRS/INSA laboratory in the city of Lyon, France and graduated with a Ph.D. in 1997. Moving half a world away, he joined as a post-doctoral fellow the laboratory of Dr. Charles Boyd at the University of Hawaiʻi (UH) in Honolulu, HI. The Boyd’s lab focused on the extracellular matrix and more specifically on elastic fibers, lysyl oxidases and associated diseases, including supravalvular aortic stenosis, cutix laxa and pseudoxanthoma elasticum (PXE). Dr. Le Saux’s work on PXE led to the discovery of the causative gene (ABCC6) in late 1999. This discovery was published in Nature Genetics. Early in his career at UH, he became a Junior Investigator of the first (cardiovascular) COBRE grant in Hawaiʻi. He benefited from the support and mentorship from this award, which helped him secure a tenure-track position at the UH John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM) and later obtain independent funding. In 2014, he contributed to the awarding of the COBRE Diabetes grant and the development of Diabetes Research Center at UH. His role on the COBRE Diabetes grant has been the mentoring of junior investigators (JI) and the development and management of the Resource Core that included animal phenotyping and genomics services as well as education and training.

Research: The Le Saux laboratory works towards understanding the molecular events regulating ectopic (abnormal) calcification in soft tissues. For this purpose, he continues to work primarily on PXE but also other heritable disorders with overlapping calcification phenotypes, including generalized arterial calcification of infancy (GACI). These diseases, through their respective animal models, are pertinent models to learn more about pathophysiological processes leading to abnormal mineralization in a variety of common disorders such as atherosclerosis, diabetes and kidney diseases. The study of the multiple physiological roles of ABCC6 is of particular interest to Dr. Le Saux: what tissue and cells contribute to inhibition of calcification, how ABCC6 regulated atherosclerosis, diabetes-related calcification and cardiac functions through the expression of genes related to nucleotide and phosphate metabolism. He also uses genetically modified mouse models to evaluate therapeutic solutions to ameliorate pathologic calcification through pharmacologic treatments with support from pharmaceutical partners. He participates in a pilot clinical trial for PXE patients in collaboration with Drs. Martin and Leftheriotis of the University Hospital of Angers and Nice, France.

• Courses taught:
  • CMB 621 (lecturer)

Biography: Dr. Bellinger obtained a Ph.D. in Biochemistry with a focus on neuroscience from the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia. He spent two years performing research at the RIKEN Brain Science Institute in Wakoshi, Saitama, Japan. After a year at the University of New Mexico working with Dr. Michael Wilson investigating presynaptic physiology, Dr. Bellinger traveled to an even smaller island to work for Dr. Ian Cooke investigating the physiology of vesicular peptide release at the Pacific Biosciences Research Institute at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Dr. Bellinger joined the laboratory of Dr. Marla Berry as a post-doctoral fellow at the John A. Burns School of Medicine at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.  Here he began researching the role of the selenoprotein family in neurological and neurodegenerative disorders. Dr. Bellinger has served as a junior investigator on RCMI, INBRE and DIDARP center grants.

Research: Our current research focuses on the different roles of members of the selenoprotein family in brain physiology and neurological disorders. Selenoproteins are proteins that contain the strong antioxidant element selenium in the form of selenocysteine, 21st amino acid. We have reported changes in these proteins in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease and investigated their possible roles in these disorders. We are currently examining the roles of selenoproteins in regulating neurophysiology.

• Laboratory Website(opens in a new tab)
• Publications

Biography: Dr. Mariana Gerschenson is a tenured Professor in the Department of Cell and Molecular Biology at the University of Hawaiʻi 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.

Dr. Gerschenson 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 Hawaiʻi.

Research: Dr. Gerschenson is the Director of the Diabetes Research Center at the University of Hawaiʻi 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).

• Diabetes Research Center Website(opens in a new tab)
• Publications

Biography: Dr. Haymer is a Professor at the John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM). He graduated with a Ph.D. in Biology from the Purdue University in 1982. After a post-doctoral fellow experience at the NIH, he joined the Department of Genetics and Molecular Biology at the University of Hawaiʻi in 1985 and served as Chair between 1999-2005. In 2016, David Haymer received a Fulbright Award recognizing his expertise in DNA-based methods for identifying species. He traveled to Thailand to teach and do research in DNA based methods for making species identifications, sometimes known as DNA barcoding, with faculty members at Naresuan University. He also conducted workshops on scientific writing and presentations in English. Indeed today, scientists around the world realize that they must be able to communicate effectively in English. Even for people comfortable with using English, the effective use of it for scientific presentations is a skill that must be acquired. Dr. Haymer has conducted several science-writing workshops in several countries in the Asia-Pacific region.

Research: Dr. Haymer’s research is in Genetics and Evolutionary Biology. He has focused on the vast numbers of different insects in Hawaiʻi, many of which are extremely difficult to identify using traditional methods. His use of DNA tools to make species identifications holds great potential for both broad studies of this vast biodiversity resource and for narrow applications such as discriminating between very closely related insect species, including mosquitoes and other insect pests, which may be carriers of diseases like dengue and zika viruses. Dr. Haymer’s work is of interest beyond Hawaiʻi. Many countries in the Asia-Pacific region now share many of the beneficial and the damaging species found in Hawaiʻi because of trade and our similar geographic and environmental features. The same DNA tools used for identifications can also be used to track the movements of these species from one location to another.

Dr. Haymer also consults for forensic investigations involving DNA testing.  He is the DNA consultant for the Hawaiʻi Chapter of the Innocence Project, part of a national program to identify and correct wrongful convictions.

Teaching: David Haymer believes that he can best serve as a guide in the learning process by providing students with a solid foundation, a framework of basic knowledge that they can build on. Dr. Haymer also strives to help students learn to do critical thinking about new information they might discover on their own. Dr. Haymer taught all of the undergraduate core courses in the cell and molecular biology track for biology majors. He also created a new course, Communication in the Biological Sciences, to help students develop their oral and written communication skills as future scientists.

• Laboratory Website(opens in a new tab)
• Publications (opens in a new tab)(PubMed Search)

Biography: Dr. Peter Hoffmann became interested in the sciences as an undergraduate at the University of Iowa, where he received his B.A. in Biochemistry. After a short period working in Industry, he joined the U.S. Peace Corp as a volunteer science teacher in Fiji. This was followed by a MSPH degree in Public Health from UH Mānoa, and subsequently he received his PhD training in immunology research from the University of Colorado. After working at RCUH for two years, he relocated to the University of Hawaiʻi John A. Burns School of Medicine in 2004. At this time he joined the research laboratory of Dr. Marla Berry to study the role of selenoproteins in the immune system. After several years, Dr. Hoffmann established his own research program focused on the regulation of immunity and also mechanisms controlling various types of cancer.

From 2010 to present, Dr. Hoffmann has been employed by the Cell and Molecular Biology Department on the Asst./Assoc./Full Professor tenure-track and his laboratory has maintained an NIH-funded research program with a strong track record of publication. Importantly, trainees have included students at the high school, undergraduate, graduate, and medical school levels as well as post-doctoral researchers. The research interests of the Hoffmann laboratory continue to diversify as collaborations are developed with other researchers at JABSOM, UH Cancer Center, and outside of the UH system. His teaching has included courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels. He also has been involved in the leadership administering the IDeA Network for Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE) program across the state of Hawaiʻi.

Research: Our research interests include, but are not limited to, the role of selenium and selenoproteins in immunity; calpains/calpastatin in regulating inflammation.

• Publications

Biography: Dr. James obtained chemistry and biochemistry degrees, along with a minor in mathematics, from Saint Michael’s College (Vermont) in 2004. He continued with graduate studies in Biochemistry, with a focus in Biophysics, at the University of Vermont under Dr. Anne Mason and graduated with a Ph.D. in 2009. Dr. James joined the laboratory of Dr. David M. Jameson as a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa in Honolulu, HI shortly after graduation. The Jameson’s lab focused on development and application of advanced fluorescence methodologies to characterize protein dynamics both in vitro and in live cells. His early postdoctoral work focused on his fluorescence expertise wherein he was involved with developing more robust analysis of complex protein lifetime analysis. His lab focused on the development of a time-resolved method for analyzing fluorescence lifetimes, known as the phasors, and demonstrated the effectiveness of this method to characterize protein lifetimes. This project led to multiple first-author publications utilizing these methods and a 2-year grant from the Michael J. Fox Foundation (2014). In 2018, Dr. James became a junior investigator of the COBRE Diabetes grant and was promoted to a tenure eligible Assistant Professor position.

Research: The James laboratory focuses on utilizing advanced fluorescence-based microscopy approaches to study changes in protein-protein and protein-lipid interactions during vesicle formation in living cells, specifically focusing on Diabetes and Parkinson’s disease. We are currently examining the cellular dynamics and interactions of the PD-associated protein LRRK2 and how these interactions might cause neuronal death. We carry out both in vitro and live cell experiments to determine the modes of LRRK2 association involved with kinase activation and target interaction(s), along with treatment with kinase inhibitors. Since 2014, the James lab has cemented several long-standing collaborations within the PD field including Dr. Matt Goldberg (UAB), Dr. Greg Petsko (Cornell), and Dr. Joseph Albanesi (UTSW).

Teaching:

• CMB 621 (Lecturer)
• ZOOL442 (Co-course Director)
• CMB654G (Lecturer)

Biography: David Jameson received a BS in Chemistry from Ohio State University and a PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Illinois. His thesis advisor was Gregorio Weber, considered to be the father of modern fluorescence spectroscopy. He carried out postdoctoral research first at the Universidad de Paris-Sud working with Synchrotron Radiation and then returned to Gregorio Weber’s laboratory to continue postdoctoral research. He next joined the Pharmacology Department at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center as an Assistant Professor after which he joined the Biochemistry and Biophysics Department at the University of Hawaiʻi. He is presently a Professor in the Department of Cell and Molecular Biology in the John A. Burns School of Medicine. His research has always involved the application of fluorescence methodologies to study protein-protein and protein-ligand interactions both in vitro and in live cells.

Research: My research primarily concerns Biophysical studies on protein-protein and protein-ligand interactions and protein dynamics, both in vitro and in live cells. The specific proteins we currently study, using sophisticated fluorescence spectroscopy/microscopy, include dynamin and Arc/Arg3.1. I am the author of the book “Introduction to Fluorescence(opens in a new tab)” and am currently working on the second edition. I am on the Editorial Boards of Analytical Biochemistry, Methods and Applications of Fluorescence and the International Journal of Molecular Science. Along with my long-term colleague, Dr. Enrico Gratton at University of California, Irvine, I organize the International Weber Symposia which are held approximately every 3 year. I regularly give lectures on Protein Structure and Biosynthesis in the graduate CMB621 course.

• Laboratory Website(opens in a new tab)
• Publication(opens in a new tab) (PubMed search)

Biography: Dr. Jesse B. Owens is an Assistant Professor at the University of Hawaiʻi specializing in genome engineering vectors. Dr. Owens has published proof-of-concept technologies demonstrating transposase targeting to the human genome. Recently, Dr. Owens has focused on using laboratory evolution to improve the efficiency of large serine integrases. Dr. Owens splits his lab into two methods for improving gene editing vectors: rational design and directed evolution. Using enzyme structure as a guide, molecular engineering efforts are underway in his lab to improve the specificity and efficiency of targetable transposases. Additionally, his team uses evolution to discover unknown beneficial mutations and novel mechanisms. His laboratory is currently funded by the National Institutes of Health and a Biotech startup called Komo Biosciences. Dr. Owens received his bachelor’s in molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology at the University of California – Santa Cruz. Dr. Owens received his Ph.D. in Cell and Molecular Biology from the University of Hawaii in 2014. He is now a faculty of the Cell and Molecular Biology Department. His recent success in generating record-breaking hyperactive integrases was the inspiration for founding Komo Biosciences. Dr. Owens, along with his team, are excited to transform cell-based manufacturing of biologics using this novel technology.

Research: Our lab is investigating new tools for improved genome editing. Specifically, we are focused on developing insertional vectors such as transposons and recombinases to enable safer and more efficient gene delivery to diverse tissues. TALEN and CRISPR nucleases are excellent at intentionally mutating sequences. They can also be used to deliver DNA insertions into dividing cells but are inefficient at delivering DNA into non-dividing cells. This is because the host repair proteins required for homology directed repair are only present during cell division. Because most of the cells of the body are non-dividing, nucleases are not the choice technology for gene addition to the tissues. Instead, the most common gene delivery approaches are virus-based. These approaches are often highly efficient but can cause unwanted immune responses. Also, many virus-based approaches can only deliver small cargos. For example, AAV is limited to 4.7kb and lentivirus is limited to 11kb. Non-viral strategies have been developed to overcome many of the limitations of virus-based vectors. Specifically, transposon-based approaches consist of a transposase enzyme and a transposon DNA element. Within the transposon, the gene-of-interest is flanked by terminal repeat elements (TREs). The transposase enzyme recognizes the TREs, cuts out the transposon, and permanently inserts it into the genome. The piggyBac transposon system is highly efficient, non-immunogenic, and capable of delivering extremely large (>100kb) inserts permanently into the genome. Normally, piggyBac is capable of inserting at millions of potential genomic sites. However, a concern with uncontrolled integration by both transposons and viruses is that an important gene such as a tumor suppressor or oncogene could be disrupted. Also, insertions that land in methylated areas of the genome may cause silencing the gene-of-interest. Ideally, insertions would occur at a known location. Our lab fused DNA binding proteins to piggyBac in order to tether the transposase near specific sequences in the genome. We demonstrated that re-locating piggyBac is this way caused the transposase to insert at these sequences. Building on this proof-of-concept, we attempted to direct our gene of interest to a single intended site.We generated a custom TALE DNA binding protein designed to bind a single sequence within the CCR5 safe harbor locus. By tethering our TALE to either the transposon or the transposase we demonstrated gene delivery to CCR5 in human cell lines.

We used this approach to isolate clones containing a single insertion at the CCR5 sequence. Our recent publication utilized the genome targeting properties of CRISPR Cas9. A drawback with TALE-based approaches is that a new protein needs to be designed for each new target sequence. This difficulty has prevented many labs from using TALEs. On the other hand, CRISPR–based approaches only require a small guide RNA to be designed for each new target. This RNA can be purchased or made in the lab in just three days at minimal cost. We fused the piggyBac transposase to a ‘dead’ version of Cas9 (dCas9) that binds the genome but does not induce double-strand breaks. We demonstrated that guide RNAs designed to bind CCR5 were capable of delivering our piggyBac-dCas9 fusion protein to the genome in human cell lines and recovered targeted insertions of our transgene. We also isolated clones that contained a single, targeted insertion. This work represents the first proof of concept that RNA can be used to target transposition to the human genome. For a review of targeting transposons to the genome, see our book chapter. Our current focus is to further improve this technology to generate a system capable of inserting specifically at a desired sequence and nowhere else.

We are also interested in tissue-specific delivery approaches for our insertional vectors. A benefit to using non-viral, DNA-based vectors is that these approaches are amenable to advanced tissue delivery approaches such as ultrasound targeted microbubble destruction (UTMD). During UTMD, a DNA vector encoding a gene of interest is complexed with microbubbles. The bubbles are injected intravenously and travel throughout the body. Low energy ultrasound is directed at the target tissue resulting in cavitation of the bubbles and release of the vector into the surrounding cells. We have used UTMD to deliver piggyBac to stably into the liver and are now investigating methods for brain delivery of therapeutic genes.

Finally, we have just begun a new project with the new Center for Translational Research on Aging with the Kuakini Medical center. We are developing new mouse models to study improvements to longevity and lifespan.

• Laboratory website(opens in a new tab)
• Publications

Biography: Jun Panee obtained her PhD degree in Biomedical Nutrition from Lund University, Sweden in 2002, and she has since then been a member of the Cell and Molecular Biology Department of the University of Hawaiʻi. Currently she is an Associate Researcher, responsible for teaching four courses that the Department offers to graduate students.

Research: Dr. Jun Panee’s research interest focuses on ethical issues in the broad field of biomedical sciences, particularly on the topics of data reproducibility, conflict of interest, and animal experimentation. She is currently contracted with Springer/Nature to produce a textbook on “Ethics in Biomedical Research” based on her teaching experience in this field since 2011.

Teaching: Dr. Panee teaches four graduate-level courses, including:

• Ethics in Biomedical Research
  CMB626, 2 credit hours, offered both Spring and Fall semesters
• Literature Analysis and Scientific Writing
  CMB652, 2 credit hours, offered in Spring semester
• Cell & Molecular Biology (I)
  CMB621, 4 credit hours, offered in Fall semester
• Seminars in Biomedical Sciences
  CMB611, 1 credit hour, offered in both Spring andFall semesters

• Publications

Biography: I received my bachelor’s degree in Psychobiology from UCLA (2000) and my PhD in Cell & Molecular Biology from the University of Hawaiʻi (2009). My PhD studies were conducted in the laboratory of Lorey Takahashi investigating the role of central amygdala corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) in contextual fear memory.

Research: My research investigates the neuroprotective role of selenoproteins, with an emphasis on their relationship to oxidative stress and maintenance of excitatory/inhibitory balance. The overarching goals of this research are three-fold: 1) to define the developmental epochs, brain regions, and neuronal cell types most vulnerable to selenium (Se) deficiency, 2) to illuminate the cell-type specific relationship between Se-dependent antioxidant activity and maturation of GABAergic inhibitory circuits, and 3) to facilitate development of targeted nutritional intervention strategies to mitigate neuropsychiatric disease. To accomplish these goals, my research program employs an interdisciplinary approach, utilizing mouse genetic models, dietary/pharmacological interventions, primary cell culture, immunohistology, and quantitative imaging.

Teaching: In addition to mentoring students in the laboratory, I provide annual guest lectures on Learning & Memory for CMB 622, and have served as the course instructor for PSYCH 230 (Introduction to Psychobiology) and ZOO 442 (Introduction to Neuroscience)

• Publications

Biography: Dr. Schunke grew up in southern California and earned her undergraduate degree from University of California at Davis in Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior in 2005.  She pursued graduate studies at Rutgers University in the lab of Drs. Merrill and Denhardt studying oxidant injury in the mammalian myocardium.  During her graduate work she established a relationship with multiple clinician researchers at Johns Hopkins Hospital studying heart failure (David Kass, MD) and pancreatic cancer (Joseph Herman, MD) which led her to pursue a post-doctoral fellowship in the lab of Nauder Faraday, MD.  While there she developed a novel murine model of atherothrombotic stroke to study anti-thrombotic therapies, with particular interest in non-platelet targets.  She then moved to University of Hawaii to study HIF-1a, the master regulator of oxygen homeostasis, in the context of myocardial infarction and stroke.  She was awarded a Career Development Award from the American Heart Association and accepted a position at George Washington University in the Biomedical Engineering department where she integrated her hypoxia work with a multidisciplinary group interested in cardiac autonomic dysfunction in the setting of myocardial infarction and sleep apnea.  She returned to University of Hawaii in 2020 as an Assistant Professor to continue her AHA and CTSA funded research projects as well as a new focus on autonomic dysfunction in diabetes.

Research:  The Schunke Laboratory focuses on molecular, transcriptional, and epigenetic targets of myocardial and neurovascular disease to expand understanding of the mechanisms of ischemic, hypoxic, cardiometabolic and autonomic dysfunction. We use mouse and rat models of disease, as well as immortalized cell lines, primary tissue culture, and human inducible pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) to characterize temporal pathology states, discover disease mechanisms, and determine therapeutic targets to prevent and treat disease progression. Our laboratory utilizes a variety of techniques such as In vivo echocardiography, implantable telemetry for ECG and blood pressure measurement, Ex-vivo and In-vitro functional and molecular assays, as well as next-generation sequencing technology for gene expression and chromatin biology analysis.

Courses Taught:

CMB 621 (lecturer)
CMB 622 (lecturer)
CMB 654G
MDED 552
MDED 554

Publications
NIH Biosketch
Diabetes Research Center
Center for Cardiovascular Research (CCR)

Biography: Dr. Stokes started their career at the Imperial Cancer Research Fund, London UK, working on novel imaging technology, under Nobel prize winner Dr. Paul Nurse. After this they were recruited to Harvard Medical School, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, where their interest in calcium imaging and molecular physiology started, producing high impact articles. After Harvard, Dr. Stokes was recruited to help start a new research institute at the Queens Medical Center, Honolulu where their research centered on ion channels, with emphasis on the TRPV1, TRPV2 and TRPA1 ion channels. Since 2007, Dr. Stokes has been faculty at JABSOM, UH, where they were able to move from in vitro biology to in vivo disease modeling. This yielded not only good papers, but patents, and a startup company. More recently, Dr. Stokes has moved to use in vitro, and in silico research, as well as undertaking collaborative team science projects. In 2021 Dr. Stokes was awarded an NSF-BSCER grant to study data science, and they are involved in half a dozen other funded Data Science efforts in the state of Hawaiʻi, including Data Science NSF-SSTEM programs; NSF-Cyber Infrastructure Training; NSF-INCLUDES in collaboration with TACC; AFRL/DOD funding in computational biophysical material science and visualization, and the Hawaiʻi NSF-EPSCOR program. Dr. Stokes participates in various University committees, and the UUH Faculty Senate, and have provided service to the University, as well as on external committees, locally, nationally, and internationally. Including federal study secCons at NIH and NSF.

As an intersex gender minority faculty member, Dr.Stokes has a particular interest in inclusion and equity for the LGBTQI+ community. Dr.Stokes is an advocate for inclusive practices for the marginalized and underrepresented, and their status is also a reminder that for some populations being acknowledged to even exist is a necessary and yet untaken first step towards inclusion. In the words of Amanda Gorman, “this is the hill we climb.”

Research: Dr. Stokes undertakes research in three major areas: 1. The biochemical, physiological and biophysical analysis of ion channels, their signaling, their regulation, and their involvement in various pathological diseases. Concentrating of the TRPV1 and TRPA1 ion channels. 2. Data Science research relating to health and biological data analytics, molecular modeling, and therapeutics discovery. 3. Data Science training, workforce development and educational research. Dr. Stokes is involved in a number of Data Science efforts in the state of Hawaiʻi, including Data Science NSF-SSTEM programs; NSF-Cyber Infrastructure Training; NSF-INCLUDES in collaboration with TACC, which provides summer Data Science training experiences; AFRL/DOD funding in computational biophysical material science and visualization, and the NSF-EPSCOR grant.

Teaching: As well as teaching comparative physiology, special topics, and supervising graduate students, Dr. Stokes is also preparing a new graduate certificate in “Health and PreMedical Sciences” within the CMB Graduate Program aimed at pre-med students who wish to study while applying for medical school.

Course taught:

• ZOO 432, comparative physiology.
• CMB/MBBE 699, 700
• MBBE 691, Special Topics

Website in a new t
Publications

Biography: My scientific experience includes more than two decades of research in behavioral neuroscience and cell and molecular biology. I completed my doctoral and postdoctoral studies in the laboratory of Dr. Joachim Spiess at Max-Planck Institute for Experimental Medicine in Goettingen, Germany. Subsequently, our laboratory was funded by an NIH program grant in 2005 and moved to the Department of Cell and Molecular at John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM) in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi. The goal of that grant was to establish a new neuroscience laboratory and program for neuroscience education. As an Associate Researcher at JABSOM, I continue to be actively involved in pursuing those goals as a researcher and educator.

Research: My initial work used mouse models to elucidate the role of corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) and its receptors in memory formation, anxiety, and depression. The findings were published in several journals, including Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and Molecular Psychiatry. As an extension of CRF studies, my current research focuses on c-Jun- N-terminal kinase (JNK) signaling in memory and synaptic processes. JNK projects are greatly facilitated by collaboration with Dr. Roger Davis, an HHMI Investigator from the University of Massachusetts Medical School. These studies have obtained NIH funding and several awards from local state and private agencies and are published in the Journal of Neuroscience.

Teaching: My teaching activities with graduate biology and medical students includes the following courses:

1. CMB 705- Special Topics in Neurosciences, Course Director for Spring Semester
2. CMB 606 – Introduction in Neuroscience, Course Director and Lecturer
3. MDED 556L – MD6 Musculoskeletal, Brain, and Behavior for Medical Students, Principal Tutor

• Publications (PubMed Search)

Biography: Dr. Nichols is the Director of the Graduate Neuroscience Specialization of the CMB graduate Program and the Principal Investigator and Director of INBRE IV(opens in a new tab).

• A.B. Psychology, 1975, Stanford University
• Ph.D Neuroscience, 1982, Stanford University
• Postdoctoral Fellowships, Yale University and Rockefeller University
• Research Associate, Rockefeller University

Research: Our laboratory has focused on the diverse regulation by the neuropeptide beta amyloid of synaptic biochemistry and physiology; dendritic spine dynamics; contextual memory; glial biology and microglial function in synaptic pruning; neurotoxicity, neuroinflammation and glial toxicity in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathogenesis. We have been investigating the potential of a non-toxic, neuroprotective and glioprotective beta amyloid fragment as AD therapeutic.

Teaching: As a Scientist-Educator, I have been directing and teaching an upper-division Neuroscience course for undergraduates; have been participating in Graduate Neuroscience and Neuroscience Topics courses in the Graduate Neuroscience Specialization; and have taught Autonomic, Cardiac and Neuropharmacology to medical students over the last 30 years. In addition, I direct the Hawaiʻi Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE)(opens in a new tab), a NIH-supported, statewide program that fosters biomedical career development, including research opportunities for college students, component to our “research training is education”.

• Laboratory Website(opens in a new tab)
• Publications

My research is focused on gene pathway analysis in diverse human contexts, including innate immunity, cancer, stem cells, and tissue-specific diseases. Generally, I design causal AI systems that fit statistical and machine learning models and extract mechanistic insights for the life sciences. I also develop methods for sample normalization, case-control study design, and feature engineering. I'm interested in using clinical and molecular datasets to investigate disease biomarkers and mechanisms.

Google Scholar

https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=5YDEp54AAAAJ&hl=en

Linkedin

https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshuaburkhart/

ORCiD

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9279-1556

Github

https://github.com/joshuaburkhart

Interests: Focusing on developing next-generation antibody discovery pipelines that integrate large-scale immune receptor repertoire sequencing with advanced bioinformatics and artificial intelligence. Our work includes the development and engineering of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) through both hybridoma technology and recombinant expression systems, enabling tailored therapeutics for diverse applications. We explore the genetic diversity of antibodies across populations to accelerate therapeutic development while reducing reliance on animal models. I am especially passionate about building tools and resources that make cutting-edge immunogenomics research more accessible to the scientific community.

www.linkedin.com/in/brien-haun

www.researchgate.net/profile/Brien-Haun

I am primarily interested in studying cardiometabolic diseases, particularly those related to nutrition. This includes over-nutrition such as the high consumption of fructose or a high-fat diet, as well as nutrient deficiencies including selenium.

Publications