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Research Centers in Minority Institutions (RCMI) Program
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Research Projects

Activity 1 - Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering


John S. Allen, Ph.D.
Department of Mechanical Engineering
School of Engineering 		Targeted High-Frequency Ultrasound Contrast Agent Imaging

This research project addresses the urgent need for diagnostic imaging methods of biological processes at the molecular and cellular levels.

Specific Aim 1 - Measure and model the acoustic scattering characteristics of individual and multiple ultrasound contrast agents at targeted sites.

Specific Aim 2 - Develop ultrasound methods to determine and measure monocyte adhesion and dynamics in artherosclerosis models.

[ more information about John Allen's research ]

Activity 2 - Bioactive Nutrients


Peter R. Hoffmann, Ph.D.
Department of Cell and Molecular Biology
John A. Burns School of Medicine 		Effects of Dietary Selenium on the Development of Asthma

Our long-term research goal is to reduce the human suffering and health disparities from asthma. The objective of this project is to employ a mouse model to determine how levels of dietary selenium (Se) affect the pathology of acute and chronic asthma.

Specific Aim 1 - Determine the affects of dietary Se levels on the development of acute asthma in mice.

Specific Aim 2 - Determine the effects of dietary Se levels on the development of chronic asthma in mice.

[ more information about Peter Hoffmann's research ]

Jun Panee, PhD
Jun Panee, Ph.D.
Department of Cell and Molecular Biology
John A. Burns School of Medicine 		Preclinical Studies on the Anti-breast Cancer Function of Bamboo Extract

This project aims to delineate the cellular and molecular mechanism of the anti-breast cancer function of an ethanol/water extract from bamboo phyllostachys edulis, one of the fastest growing plants with wide distribution, and lay a firm basis for future translational application of this cost-effective nutraceutical.

Specific Aim 1 - To investigate the influence of bamboo extract on the properties of mammary tumors.

Specific Aim 2 - To investigate the influence of bamboo extract on the differentiation of mammary gland and estrogen metabolism in the liver.

Specific Aim 3 - To evaluate the toxicity of bamboo extract in Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats as a dietary supplement.

[ more information about Jun Panee's research ]

Activity 3 - Tropical Infectious Diseases Detection and Prevention


Shannon Bennett, Ph.D.
Department of Tropical Medicine, Medical Microbiology and Pharmacology
John A. Burns School of Medicine 		Molecular Evolutionary Pathogenesis of Dengue Virus Infection

The primary objective of this research is to determine the nature of evolutionary change in emergent dengue viruses associated with increasingly severe epidemics and confirm the impact of these changes in experimental models.

Specific Aim 1 - Determine historic patterns of evolution in dengue viruses co-circulating in Puerto Rico.

Specific Aim 2 - Assess the relative importance of positive selection vs. random genetic drift in the evolution of all four DENV in Puerto Rico, comparing them for population demographics and molecular evolutionary interactions.

Specific Aim 3 - Confirm the phenotypic effects of evolutionarily and epidemiologically significant mutations in DENV from Puerto Rico using tissue and animal models.

[ more information about Shannon Bennett's research ]
The University of Hawaii RCMI Program (G12RR003061) is funded by the Research Centers in Minority Institutions Program, an initiative of the National Center for Research Resources at the National Institutes of Health.