Surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 Variants in Hawaii

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PROJECT SUMMARY The Hawaii Statewide Research and Education Partnership (HiSREP) comprises a network of nearly all of the institutions of higher learning in the state of Hawaii, specifically 4 primarily undergraduate institutions (PUIs), 1 University of Hawaii (UH) college and 4 UH community colleges under the management of the lead R1 institution, the University of Hawaii at Manoa. In the previous grant cycle, INBRE III focused on strengthening the research community and infrastructure at the partner institutions outside of the lead institution. This was accomplished through a tightly coordinated leadership team overseeing an integrated program of support for new laboratory construction under Alterations & Renovation funding, acquisition of new instrumentation, funding for junior investigator research and undergraduate student research experiences paired with outreach and multi-level mentoring. This resulted in substantial expansion of the research base, stronger student engagement leading to a near doubling in student participants, and new initiatives in career advancement. In INBRE IV, HiSREP will continue the development of emerging investigators, but will widen the reach of the network to all levels of biomedical research scientists through a new array of competitive granting mechanisms including teaching-postdoctoral fellowships, pilot projects, new initiatives and team-based collaborative grants through a Developmental Research Project Program (DRPP). Research under HiSREP will be guided by two key themes, Natural Products and Molecular Medicine, which emphasize notable strengths in the biomedical research community in Hawaii. In addition, HiSREP will support a reorganized Bioinformatics Core as a centralized resource across the state to provide education on bioinformatics, aid with research design, technical expertise including development of new informatics tools, data management and analysis. The Bioinformatics Core will promote community synergy for researchers and students through one-on-one, group, workshop, course and online interactions, the latter through a real-time research community portal. The student research program under the PATHway to Biomedical Careers will look to embrace a wider range of undergraduates by emphasizing collaborative group projects through volunteer, intern, scholar and returning researcher opportunities, including partnerships with complementary undergraduate research programs, while maintaining focus on individual career development through skill training, practical mentoring sessions, extended resources and workforce development. In addition, PATHway will develop proactive advanced training for laboratory supervisors to increase research sophistication as well as opportunity statewide, leading to increased capacity. It will also ultimately enhance undergraduate education through incorporation of research activity into the basic science curriculum. Overall, HiSREP will serve as a catalyst for advancement of the research scientist pipeline with the ultimate goal of elevating the ability of the biomedical research community to make new and important discoveries for improving health and well-being in the state of Hawaii.