The M4 (Māiki Mānoa Microbiome Meeting) weekly seminar series is set to resume this fall on January 14, 2026! Join us for a new presentation every Wednesday from 12 - 1 PM in POST 126 . Please see the table below for our schedule. This semester, we will also be streaming the seminars through Zoom for those who cannot attend in person. If you would like a Zoom link, please contact mcmedeir@hawaii.edu . View our past seminar recordings Updated: 2/20/26 Date Speaker Affiliation Jan 14 Mahdi Belcaid UHM (ICS) Jan 21 Kevin Olival UHM (CTAHR) Jan 28 Javier Ceja-Navarro Northern Arizona University Feb 4 Rosie Alegado UHM (Oceanography) Feb 11 Katherine McClure USGS - PIERC Feb 18 Cathie Aime Purdue University Feb 25 Canceled -- Mar 4 Craig Nelson UHM (C-MORE) Mar 11 Garrett Roell UHM (MBBE) Mar 18 Spring Break No Seminar Mar 25 Mona Aschenbrenner / Cherise Spotkaeff UHM (Mathematics) / UHM (PBRC) Apr 1 Andrea Jani UHM (PBRC) Apr 8 Iker Yturralde / Mackenzie Jahnke UHM (PBRC) Apr 15 Matthew Knope UHM (SoLS) Apr 22 Jing Yan UHM (TPSS) Apr 29 Minxi Jiang Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory May 6 No Seminar C-MĀIKI Faculty Meeting

The M4 (Māiki Mānoa Microbiome Meeting) weekly seminar series is set to resume this fall on September 10, 2025! Join us for a new presentation every Wednesday from 12 - 1 PM in Webster 103 . Please see the table below for our schedule. This semester, we will also be streaming the seminars through Zoom for those who cannot attend in person. If you would like a Zoom link, please contact mcmedeir@hawaii.edu . View our past seminar recordings Date Speaker Title of Talk Sept 10 Joanne Yew (PBRC) Contribution of the Environmental Microbiome to Phenotypic Diversification Sept 17 Masato Yoshizawa (SoLS) Lean Environment-Adapted Cavefish Evolved to Intake a Benefit from the Gut Microbiota Starch Metabolism for Their Growth Sept 24 Jason Baer (PBRC) Exploring Microbial Pathways of Degradation and Recovery on Coral Reefs Using In Situ Experimental Platforms Oct 1 Jeffrey Lackmann (PBRC) Ecological Spillover of Foliar Fungi from Coffee Field to Forest Oct 8 Makena Coffman (ISR) Challenges and Opportunities of Sea Level Rise Response for Hawai‘i Oct 15 Daisuke Takagi (PBRC/Math) Directed Dispersal of Motile Bacteria in Confined Environments Oct 22 Jiho Yang  (PBRC) Culture-Dependent and -Independent Characterization of Lichen Mycobiome Diversity Oct 29 Hans Wu Singh  (PBRC) A Global Analysis of Legionella Distributions Across Soils: Abiotic Controls of Pathogenicity Nov 5 Carl Min Ki Jeon (CECE) Enhancing Wastewater Surveillance for Respiratory Viruses Nov 12 Peter Sadowski (ICS) AI World Models in Science Nov 19 Tai McClellan Maaz & Giovana Slanzon (TPSS) Measuring the Immeasurable: Relating Soil Health to Disturbance, Management, and Microbiome Nov 26 No Seminar Dec 3 Mahdi Belcaid (ICS) The Other Language Models: Learning the Code of Viral Proteins - CANCELED Dec 10 No Seminar C-MĀIKI Faculty Meeting

Our #mahimicrobe2025 Michael Bruno Award for Excellence in Microbiome Science was a competition open to UH Mānoa graduate students (MS/PhD) and postdoctoral trainees. Awards of up to $10,000 were given to support innovative, microbiome-focused projects that address pressing Hawaiʻi-based problems through research, science communication, and transdisciplinary collaboration. Congratulations to our #MahiMicrobe2025 award recipients! $10,000 - Mamo Waianuhea (PI: Matthew Medeiros) Mamo's project will utilize metagenomic sequencing to investigate how microbiome taxonomic diversity can translate into functional contributions to the mosquito host across various life stages. By understanding the diversity of the mosquito microbiome and its contribution to mosquito health, Mamo aims to improve mosquito control efforts to prevent the spread of avian malaria in native forest birds. Video of Mamo's presentation $8,000 - Sebastian Church (PI: Kiana Frank) Sebastian's project will study loʻi from a molecular ecological lens to understand how microbial community functions are affected by management practices such as fallowing. His project aims to develop qPCR protocols to quantify Phytophthora colocasiae (Phytophthora leaf blight) and Pythium spp. (Pythium rot), which are fungal pathogens that cause severe kalo crop loss. By examining fungal pathogen loading and soil composition in loʻi kalo, Sebastian aims to work with farmers to optimize management strategies. Video of Sebastian's presentation $7,000 - Stephanie Murray (PI: Lenore Pipes) Stephanie's project will compare the microbial communities found on ‘ōhi‘a trees that have survived Rapid ‘Ōhi‘a Death (ROD) with those on neighboring, infected trees. She will utilize amplicon sequencing, and statistical and machine-learning ranking to highlight potential protective microbes. Through microbiome analysis, Stephanie aims to determine if certain microbes may help protect ‘ōhi‘a trees from ROD.

In this perspectives piece we detail the importance of trans-disciplinary research for understanding microbiomes and the ways in which Hawaii provides excellent model study systems for this research. Link to publication

We're now in phase II of reviewing proposals from UH Manoa graduate students for integrating microbes into their research #mahimicrobe2018 Click here for more information!

Five C-MĀIKI researchers (Kiana Frank, Matthew Medeiros, Floyd Reed, Joanne Yew, and Masato Yoshizawa) received a five-year NIH Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) grant to study microbiomes and their impact on human health. Their story has been featured in the Star Advertiser. Read more here: https://www.staradvertiser.com/2019/01/21/hawaii-news/uh-manoa-gets-10-4m-grant-for-microbiome-research/?HSA=5d6d29eecb2e53acde2f0b00007a8e65412a7cfb

Congratulations to three C-MĀIKI members Rosie Alegado, Yuriy Mileyko and Craig Nelson on their Tenure and Promotion! https://www.hawaii.edu/news/2019/06/17/uh-2019-tenure-and-promotion-list/

C-MĀIKI researcher Alika Maunakea and co-investigator Ruben Juarez are featured in the Civil Beat for their work on establishing a link between the gut microbiome, diabetes risk, and the influence of social networks in Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders. Early data from the study shows altered eating habits and lifestyles produced a ripple effect of positive health effects for MA'O Farms interns, their families, and could later even spread to the Waianae community. Read more here: https://www.civilbeat.org/2019/07/changing-old-habits-yields-health-benefits-at-mao-farms-in-waianae/

Check out this great Science article highlighting C-MĀIKI's world class environmental microbiology research! The feature is based on C-MĀIKI member Anthony Amend's talk at the Ecological Society of America's annual meeting. https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2019/08/no-microbiome-island-unprecedented-survey-hawaiian-valley-reveals?utm_campaign=news_daily_2019-08-28&et_rid=17101647&et_cid=2964879

The University of Hawai‘i has joined forces with dozens of microbiome initiatives across the country to form the Microbiome Centers Consortium (MCC). C-MĀIKI is one of 28 research centers in this exciting, collaborative movement to advance the shared understanding of microbiome science! Check out the UH News piece here: http://manoa.hawaii.edu/news/article.php?aId=10389 Image from: http://box5928.temp.domains/~microbm5/

The One Health Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Certificate Program was named one of the winners of the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Provost’s Strategic Investment Competition! 16 cross-unit and cross-disciplinary proposals were selected to receive a total of $750,000 in start-up funding. C-MĀIKI members Margaret McFall-Ngai, Nicole Hynson, Matthew Medeiros, and Nhu Nguyen will be part of a dynamic, cross-disciplinary team of UH faculty from the John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM), the Office of Public Health Studies in the Myron B. Thompson School of Social Work (MBTSSW), the Pacific Biosciences Research Center (PBRC) in the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST) and the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR). Through this program, undergraduate students will explore the interconnected realms of human health, animal/plant health and environmental health, and develop valuable professional and academic skillsets. Check out the article here (click on the "One Health Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Certificate Program" tab): https://www.hawaii.edu/news/2020/02/18/provost-strategic-investment-competition/

Check out Leah's defense of her research "Unearthing the role of ectomycorrhizal fungi in pine invasion on Maui," which was funded by C-MĀIKI. Watch the video here!