C-MAIKI
Center for MICROBIOME Analysis
through Island Knowledge & Investigation
the
INSTITUTE
Rosie Alegado
Associate Professor, Department of Oceanography
Director, UH Sea Grant Center for Integrated Knowledge Systems
Daniel K. Inouye Center for Microbial Oceanography: Research and Education
Principal Investigator, SOEST Maile Mentoring Bridge Program
Business and Finance Director and Founder, JABSOM Tropical Medicine Clinical Laboratory
Phone: (808) 956-0565
Fax: (808) 956-9225
E-mail: rosie.alegado@hawaii.edu
Web: http://alegadolab.org
MY RESEARCH
My group uses model systems and field experiments to investigate how ecology informs evolution in microbes. Our microbial work encompasses the following themes: (1) the influence of microbes on animal origins, development and homeostasis; (2) drivers of microbial diversity and community structure in response to seasonal and stochastic events within tropical estuaries. These microbial interactions may have large-scale consequences for ecosystem resilience. Together with the non-profit Kuaʻāina Ulu ʻAuamo and Hawaiʻi Sea Grant, I co-developed kūlana noiʻi, a process for researchers to build and sustain equitable partnerships with community.
C-MĀIKI SYNERGY
My background in evolutionary microbiology and coastal microbial ecology helps place host-associated microbial processes across spatial and ecological scales.
IMPACT TO HAWAII
I am committed to training scholars to draw upon multiple knowledge systems in order to address key problems and to empower communities to understand and protect their resources. As a student of Papakū Makawalu and kaulana mahina, I incorporate these practices as part of an Indigenist research methodology. My work contextualizes the function of bicultural restoration in increasing the resilience of coastal ecosystems in response to climate change.