2006-2007 Program Participants at Coconut Island
"He lawai'a no ke kai papa'u, he pokole ke aho; he lawai'a no ke kai hohonu he loa ke aho"
Translation: A fisherman of shallow seas uses only a short line; a fisherman of the deep sea uses a long line.
Explanation: You will reach only as far as you aim and prepare yourself to reach.
Proverb from: Olelo No'eau, Proverb of Hawai'i, gathered by Mary Kawena Pukui and can be found in 'Olelo No'eau, Bishop Museum Press.
Dr. Healani Chang
Director, Undergraduate and Graduate Research and Training Programs
Pacific Biosciences Research Center
Aloha kakou. I am Dr. Healani Chang, welcome to the website of the Haumana Biomedical Program and the MARC U*STAR Program. We appreciate your interest in our undergraduate and graduate research initiatives. For nearly 30 years the University of Hawaii, Manoa campus, has been a proud sponsor of these two initiatives. Housed in the Pacific Biosciences Research Center, these programs share a common goal: to increase the diversity of workforce in the fields of biosciences, who are prepared for and enter into PhD programs.
We annually recruit students in the early Spring semester and both programs commence on June 1. The backbone of our student programs is the “hands on” lab experience with one of our extramurally funded investigators. The programs also provide a number of enrichment activities to supplement the lab research experience. These include workshops on scientific communication skills, bioethics, test-taking skills to ace the GRE, and careers in biomedical research. Students also participate in an extramural summer research experience on the US mainland.
Our research mentors are selected from a number of science disciplines including analytical chemistry, molecular biology, neurosciences, clinical chemistry, molecular genetics, endocrinology, evolutionary biology, and medical microbiology.
During these unpredictable economic times, we think it is prudent to invest your efforts in advancing your academic training and taking advantage of such organized research programs such as ours.
The benefits realized by our junior scientists includes a monthly salary or a training stipend, a lab supply budget, a travel allowance to present their data results at a national scientific conference, and the opportunity to publish an abstract or journal article. The university benefits from the addition of newly skilled biomedical researchers, travel funds, and extramural resources to replenish lab supplies and purchase small equipment.
If you would like to read more about our research programs, click on the link to view the program description sheet and qualification criteria.
In the last five years alone, our program graduates have gone on to PhD programs at the Indiana University, University of Washington, UC-Santa Cruz, UC-Berkeley, University of Arizona, and UCLA, as well as our institution’s Cell Molecular Biology program. Several of our alumni have invested their efforts in gaining a year’s worth of research training at the National Institutes of Health, prior to taking the graduate record exam (GRE) and applying to PhD programs.
If the experiences our two programs offer parallels your passion for scientific inquiry and advancing your competitive edge, link to our pre-application site and submit a form. Opportunities to advance your scientific preparation and gain new specialized skills are available. Act now and I’m sure you’ll be glad you did.
We wish you the best in all your academic and research pursuits.
Aloha!
For a map to the Program Office, click HERE.