PBRC is actively involved in education and training, and the PBRC faculty excel in innovative, individualized research-based training at high school, undergraduate, post-baccalaureate, graduate and post-doctoral levels. This training occurs primarily through:
- Research mentoring of young scholars by PBRC faculty
- Educational training programs directed by PBRC faculty
- Classroom instruction
Research Mentoring
PBRC faculty provide hands-on research experience for students, training large numbers of masters and doctoral students in their labs. Undergraduate students are also provided opportunities for research experience and training by PBRC faculty, with many of them undertaking their own research projects, often leading to publication of their own peer-reviewed papers. Most PBRC faculty are members of the Graduate Faculty of various academic departments in which they chair and/or serve on both masters and doctoral committees.
Educational Training Programs
The research environment in PBRC seamlessly integrates research and educational activities, which has enabled the faculty to use their expertise in hands-on teaching to build formal undergraduate and graduate training programs. These programs target a variety of national educational priorities and provide unique opportunities for many undergraduate and graduate students. They combine the traditional mentor experience in a laboratory setting with additional professional training, usually in a classroom setting.
Classroom Instruction
PBRC faculty are actively involved in classroom teaching activities, including primary responsibility for courses to guest lectures in graduate and undergraduate courses. Graduate seminars focus on biodiversity topics in development, neurobiology, ecology, evolution and conservation. PBRC faculty have also been instrumental in developing and implementing innovative interdisciplinary undergraduate courses in collaboration with colleagues from various academic programs. Hands-on techniques-based courses are taught through the core facilities, notably the Biological Electron Microscope Facility and the Greenwood Molecular Biology Facility.
In these ways, PBRC plays an important role in the active training of UH Mānoa’s undergraduate and postgraduate students, and contributes to a central mission of UH Mānoa of “…fostering creative and critical thinking, and promoting students’ intellectual growth and success as contributing members of society”.