Research Core

Tropical coastal waters and small islands constitute the specific geographic thematic research focus of the Pacific Research Center for Marine Biomedicine. The unique marine environment and strategic location of the Hawaiian Islands provide an unparalleled setting from which to systematically address the three special emphasis areas. PRCMB takes full advantage of these opportunities in applying a cross-disciplinary approach to the discovery of marine-derived pharmaceutical agents and pharmacological probes, to obtaining new insights into the controls of water-borne diseases, and to elucidating the biological diversity of harmful algal blooms.

Research Project 1: Ciguatera – Dinoflagellate Nutrient Profile and Ecology, Rapid Detection Methods, and Human Health - Go to Project 1: Ciguatera

In the tropics, ciguatera fish poisoning is the primary and most important human-health manifestation of harmful algal blooms. Ciguatera, which is the most commonly reported marine toxin disease in the world, results from the consumption of certain fish having high levels of ciguatoxins, produced by the benthic dinoflagellate, Gambierdiscus toxicus. Despite the widespread occurrence of ciguatera in the Pacific Ocean, western Indian Ocean and Caribbean Sea, the ecology and nutrient profile of the dinoflagellate. G. toxicus, as well as the biochemical pathways involve din the synthesis of the ciguatoxin structural polyether congeners, are poorly understood. Moreover, reliable and ineffective methods of testing for ciguatoxins are not readily available. Our long-term goal is to develop effective prevention and detection strategies for ciguatera, resulting in the improved health and well being of humans living in tropical ecosystems.

Research Project 2: Microbial Pathogens in Tropical Coastal Waters: An Ecosystem Approach to Determine Risk and Prevent Water-Borne Diseases - Go to Project 2: Microbial Pathogens

Infectious diseases caused by water-borne pathogens are one of the most important public health and economic problems facing the tropical Asia-Pacific region. The objectives of this research are to use ecosystem and molecular approaches to elucidate mechanisms by which pathogens and pathogen indicators survive and how the former may acquire virulence sufficient to cause diseases in humans. The central hypothesis is that the tropical coastal ecosystem represents a distinct environment that differs significantly from temperate analogs. As a result, the strategy for water quality assessment and management must be tailored for the tropical environment.

Research Project 3: Pharmaceutical Lead and Pharmacological Probe Discovery - Go to Project 3: Discovery

The main goal of this research is the discovery of new natural products with biological activity from marine microorganisms. In collaboration with the Facilities Core, we will test the hypothesis that new microbes found in the open ocean and in marine biofilms can be brought into culture by application of unrelated to microorganisms known hitherto and that this novel biology will be reflected in the chemical diversity of the compounds they produce. We expect that many of these compounds will have pharmacological relevance.