Department of Tropical Medicine, Medical Microbiology & Pharmacology

Mukesh Kumar, B.V.Sc., M.S., Ph.D. was awarded doctorate degree and Madhuri Namekar, M.Sc., M.S. was awarded master’s degree on May 11, 2013 at the UHM 102^nd Annual Commencement Exercises. Dr. Kumar’s dissertation thesis focused on “Diabetes as a risk factor for West Nile virus-associated encephalitis and Ms. Namekar’s dissertation thesis focused on “Development, optimization and validation of microsphere based Luminex assays for identification of West Nile virus and dengue virus infections”.

Photo:  Madhuri Namekar, Vivek R Nerurkar (Thesis Advisor), Mukesh Kumar

Kelsey Roe, a second year Ph.D student at the Department of Tropical Medicine, Medical Microbiology and pharmacology, JABSOM has received the Ellen M. Koenig Award in Medicine for work on West Nile virus (WNV) neuropathogenesis. Roe was selected as the `Achievement Rewards for College Scientists (ARCS) scholar of the medicine’ and along with 11 ARCS scholars from other UH departments, was honored at the recent ARC-Honolulu chapter banquet. ARCS is a nonprofit, volunteer organization that supports meeting the national need for scientists and engineers by providing awards to academically outstanding students who are U.S. citizens. The award carries a $5,000 prize.

Roe is a PhD student in Dr. Saguna Verma’s laboratory and in her recently published work in the Journal of General Virology, she proposed that WNV initially enters the CNS without altering the integrity of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and later virus replication in the brain initiates BBB disruption, allowing unrestricted entry of leukocytes and a second wave of WNV into the CNS. This is the first study of its kind and challenges the paradigm that BBB disruption is the primary route of WNV-CNS entry. She has presented this work in several scientific meetings and has received `Second prize’ for the oral presentation at the annual meeting of American Society of Microbiology-Hawaii chapter. Her interests, besides research, are hiking, playing flute and beading.

New Research laboratory, Biomedical Research Program Established at College of Micronesia

PACIFIC STEP-UP PROGRAM FOCUSES ON REDUCING HEALTH DISPARITIES BY EXPANDING RESEARCH AND TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES

STEP-UP students introduced to the new laboratory.

With help from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s John A. Burns School of Medicine, the College of Micronesia has opened a new biomedical research laboratory in the agriculture building on the college’s national campus at Palikir, Pohnpei, in the Federated States of Micronesia.

Charles Martin, Ph.D., Luminex Sr. Manager of Market Development, will present a two hour  “Custom Multiplex Assay Design Workshop” from 9:30-11:30 am on May 8, 2013 in MEB 304.

Please RSVP Casey Chinn at 512-850-8084, cchin@luminexcorp.com, if you wish to attend.

LAST CALL FOR ABSTRACTS Deadline – March 15th
Biomedical Sciences & Health Disparities Symposium
April 8-9, 2013
John A. Burns School of Medicine
Medical Education Building Lobby Area

Poster presentations, Robert T. Wong, MD Endowed Lecture, Miyawaki Trainee in Neuroscience Award

April 8th 2 sessions. 9:00-11:30am and 12:30-3:00pm
Graduate Students, Post-Doctoral Fellows, Research Associates, Undergraduates

April 9th 9:00-11:30am
Faculty, Resident Physicians, Medical Students, Post-Doctoral Fellows, Researchers

For more information contact:
Lyn Hamamura, Program Administrator
phone (808) 692-1514, e-mail: lynh@hawaii.edu

Mukesh Kumar, Tropical Medicine PhD candidate, presents his dissertation Diabetes as a Risk Factor for West Nile Virus-Associated Encephalitis

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Mukesh Kumar, Tropical Medicine PhD candidate, will present his dissertation Diabetes as a Risk Factor for West Nile Virus-Associated Encephalitis on Thursday, February 21, 2013 at 2 p.m.

The talk will be held in room 302 in the Medical Education Building at the John A. Burns School of Medicine.

The Hawaii Chapter of the American Society for Microbiology will hold their Spring meeting on Saturday, April 20, 2013 at the Tree Tops restaurant in Manoa. The keynote address will be given by Andrew Schuerger Ph.D. The title of his talk is “Growth and Ultrastructure of Bacteria under Simulated Martian Conditions at 7 mbar: Implications for the Robotic and Human Exploration of Mars”.

The Annual Biomedical Sciences & Health Disparities Symposium will be held at the John A. Burns School of Medicine on April 8 & 9.  The two-day symposium will spotlight poster abstracts from undergraduates through faculty.  Guest speaker will be O. John Semmes PhD, Professor and Director of the Leroy T. Canoles, Jr. Cancer Research Center at Eastern Virginia Medical School.

Abstracts must be received by March 15, 2013.  For further information contact Lyn Hamamura at 692-1514 or e-mail lynh@hawaii.edu