Department of Tropical Medicine, Medical Microbiology, and Pharmacology

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John A. Burns School of Medicine
651 Ilalo Street
Honolulu, HI 96813
Tel: (808) 692-1600
Email: sandrac@hawaii.edu
Web: manoa.hawaii.edu/tropicalmedicine/

Faculty

*W. A. Boisvert, PhD (Interim Chair)—cardiovascular disease
*S. P. Chang, PhD (Graduate Chair)—immunology, molecular biology, molecular approaches to vaccine development, one health
*S. Verma, PhD (Graduate Co-Chair)—pathogenesis of flaviviruses and 3D models to study viral infections
*W. L. Gosnell, PhD—host parasite interactions, malaria, immunology
*G. S. N. Hui, PhD—parasitology, immunology, cell biology
*P. H. Kaufusi, PhD—pathogenesis of West Nile virus
*A. T. Lehrer, PhD—filoviruses, flaviviruses, molecular biology, protein chemistry and vaccines
*I. MacPherson, PhD—HIV/AIDS molecular biology and biochemistry*
*J. K. P. McMillan, PhD—immunology, vaccine development, one health
*V. R. Nerurkar, PhD—pathogenesis of infectious diseases, delineating cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying microbe-host interaction
*J. Park, PhD—regulation of the development and progression of fibrosis; fibroblast-dependent regulation of inflammation; innate immunity and neutrophil biology
*A. Sy, DrPH—community-based research, Asian & Pacific Islander communities
*W-K. Wang, MD, ScD—pathogenesis of arboviral and zoonotic viruses, flavivirus diagnostics and vaccines
*A. A. Yanagihara, PhD—biochemistry of cubozoan venom

Professor Emeritus

V. Hinshaw, PhD—influenza virus epidemiology; pathogenicity, immunology and vaccines
F. D. Miller, PhD—epidemiology of infectious diseases
*B. Shiramizu, MD—pathology of HIV-associated disorders
L. Tam, PhD—medical microbiology
K. Yamaga—Streptococcus pyogenes and immunology
R. Yanagihara, MD, MPH—pediatric infectious diseases, emerging infectious diseases, community involvement, Puipuia le Ola

Regular Graduate Faculty

*K. Kramer, PhD—parasitology, epidemiology, leptospirosis, HIV serodiagnosis

Cooperating Graduate Faculty

J. M. Berestecky, PhD—enteric bacteria
J. J. Chen, PhD—biostatistics
Y. Deng, PhD—bioinformatics, biomedical informatics, computational biology; data science
B. Hernandez, PhD—human papilloma virus, hepatitis virus, viral carcinogenesis, epidemiology
T. T. Hoang, PhD—pathogenesis of Pseudomonas aeruginosa
V. S. Khadka, PhD—bioinformatics
Y. Lu, PhD—gene therapy for HIV-1 infection, gene transfer approaches for neuroAIDS, immunodiagnosis of herpesvirus infection of green turtles, aquaculture virology
M. E. Melish, MD—staphylococcal infection and toxins, clinical infectious disease, Kawasaki syndrome
C. Pirkle, PhD—epidemiology and public health, maternal and child health, food security/safety, and life-course epidemiology
S. Prisic, PhD—molecular pathogenesis of myobacterium tuberculosis
R. Yanagihara, MD—transdisciplinary investigations of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases, use of infectious agents as biological markers to trace ancient and recent movements of human populations

Adjunct Faculty

*M. A. Agsalda, PhD—HIV/AIDS and associated co-morbidities
V. E. Ansdell, MD—tropical and infectious diseases and clinical microbiology
*S. N. Bennett, PhD—molecular evolution and epidemiology of emerging infectious diseases
J. R. Campbell, PhD—global health infectious diseases and military medicine
A. A. Effler (Imrie), PhD—dengue immunology and epidemiology
B. R. Ellis, PhD—arbovirus and virus-vector interrelationships
A. F. Garcia, PhD—infectious diseases and characterizing monoclonal antibodies
D. J. Grab, PhD—parasitology, arbovirology and diagnostics
J. M. Berestecky, PhD—Immunology, immunochemistry, Ebola virus
*J. Honda, PhD—nontuberculous mycobacteria
M. Honda, PhD—HIV/AIDS research
M. Inouye, PhD—bacterial genetics
J. F. Kelley, PhD—pathogenesis of flaviviruses
J. Kim, MD—HIV vaccine development
M. Le Pape, PhD—health management Information Systems and informatics
L. Ndhlovu, MD, PhD—HIV/AIDS and associated co-morbidities
I. N. Sah Bandar, MD—HIV/AIDS, molecular epidemiology
M. A. Washington, PhD—global health infectious diseases and military medicine
C. F. Yamauchi, PhD—global health infectious diseases and military medicine

Affiliate Graduate Faculty

*S. A. Honda, PhD—pathology, diagnostic imaging, pharmacogenomics, genetic/molecular research, cancer research, comparative effectiveness and care delivery
*K. Kallianpur (Tata), PhD—brain imaging and HIV-related neuropsychological impairments
*E. Kamau, PhD, LTC, MS—new diagnostics, infection prevention, antimicrobial stewardship, malaria, drug resistance, sexually transmitted diseases
*M. Kumar, PhD—arboviruses, zoonotic viruses; delineating cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying virus-host interaction
*M. Lieberman, PhD—infectious disease; immunology
*K. L. Palmer, PhD—global public health and tropical diseases
*C. Shikuma, MD—infectious diseases, AIDS
A. To, PhD - recombinant subunit viral vaccine development
*A. C. Y. Tseng, PhD—SARS-CoV-2 genomic surveillance and antibody responses, flaviviruses, molecular biology

* Graduate Faculty

The Academic Program

Tropical medicine was originally defined as the study of diseases that occur more commonly in the tropical regions of the world. However, in today’s era of globalization and modern transportation, diseases that were once confined to the tropics have spread geographically and play a significant role in the global resurgence of infectious diseases. As such, research in tropical medicine and medical microbiology has greatly increased in importance in the past 20 years. Tropical medicine faculty conduct studies on infectious organisms and the diseases they cause, including dengue, Ebola, West Nile, AIDS, hepatitis, viral and bacterial encephalitis, malaria, tuberculosis, SARS-CoV-2, and Kawasaki disease. The faculty employs a multidisciplinary approach, including immunology, pathogenesis, ecology, epidemiology, diagnosis, prevention, control, treatment, socio-ecological systems, human ecology, microbial and vector ecology, environmental change, and participatory action research to answer fundamental questions associated with these diseases. These studies can be laboratory-based, field-based, clinic-based, or include a combination of all three. The field of tropical medicine requires knowledge of virology, bacteriology, parasitology, entomology, immunology, cell and molecular biology, bioinformatics, epidemiology, ecology, behavioral science, and clinical medicine.

Pharmacology is a medical science concerned with the effects of drugs and chemicals on living organisms. The subject embraces knowledge of the chemistry, actions, absorption, fate, excretion, and uses of drugs. Traditionally, the greatest interests in drugs have been with the health professions. Today, however, knowledge of pharmacology and the allied field of toxicology are relevant to all segments of society.

Undergraduate and Graduate Study

The department offers courses for undergraduate, medical, and graduate students. Faculty participate in the MD program by providing tutorial and elective courses in medical microbiology, clinical immunology, molecular biology, pharmacology, clinical aspects of tropical medicine and pharmacology, and One Health. Electives for medical students are team taught and coordinated with unit objectives throughout the problem-based learning curriculum. In addition, the department plays an important role in the Basic Science Foundation course and participates in the Pathology Residency Program by offering rotations in selected aspects of medical virology, parasitology, and bacteriology. The department also offers a One Health curriculum for medical students interested in pursuing the Dean’s Certificate of Distinction in One Health and participates in the interdisciplinary Undergraduate Certificate in One Health.

Faculty

Department faculty conduct active research in the following areas:

• virology and epidemiology of dengue, West Nile, and other flaviviruses
• diagnostic assays for flaviviruses and SARS-CoV-2
• vaccines against filoviruses including Ebola, Sudan, and Marburg
• hantavirus virology and epidemiology
• lentiviruses and polyomaviruses
• pathobiology and immunology of HIV and other retroviruses
• HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder and other chronic illnesses associated with HIV/AIDS
• molecular epidemiology and evolution of viruses
• malaria immunology and vaccine development
• zoonotic diseases including toxoplasmosis and leptospirosis
• pathogenesis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Nontuberculous Mcobacteria, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa
• emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases

Collaboration with infectious disease clinicians and international research institutes further expand research opportunities in the areas of HIV/AIDS and associated comorbidities, viral hemorrhagic fevers including Ebola, Marburg, Lassa, dengue, hantavirus, and arboviruses such as West Nile virus, Zika virus, Japanese encephalitis virus, and diseases such as malaria, asthma, leptospirosis, toxoplasmosis, rat lungworm disease, and Kawasaki disease. Research projects take place within the research laboratories in the department and at field sites in Africa, Asia, and the Pacific.

A major goal of the department is to provide Asian and Pacific countries the expertise needed to expand laboratory and epidemiologic capacity in tropical infectious diseases research. The department also has active research programs with several community hospitals and collaborates closely with the State of Hawaiʻi Department of Health, providing expertise in rat lungworm disease, molecular diagnosis of infectious diseases, and vaccination education.

Programs

• Biomedical Sciences (Tropical Medicine), MS

• Biomedical Sciences (Tropical Medicine), PhD

• Biomedical Sciences (Tropical Medicine), Certificate

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