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Featured Story

Pre-Term Birth Research takes Professor and Students to Paris

May 17, 2019 by University Communications & Marketing

Nainoa Ing '21, associate professor Dr. Claire Wright, Dr. Chelsea Saito Reis '12 and Justin Padron
Nainoa Ing ’21, associate professor Dr. Claire Wright, Dr. Chelsea Saito Reis ’12 and Justin Padron

In March, sophomore Nainoa Norman Ing presented the research he’s been doing at Chaminade on the placental membranes at an international conference in Paris, France.

He was the only undergraduate to do so.

Norman Ing, a biochemistry major, made the trip to the annual Society for Reproductive Investigation conference with two other team members at Chaminade’s Placental Membranes Integrity Lab along with the professor who leads it: Dr. Claire Wright.

The laboratory is focused on figuring out how placental membranes works in regular pregnancies, and what goes wrong when it fails—leading to premature births.

In a recent interview, Norman Ing joked that he learned more during the week-long Paris conference than during a semester of courses.

Listening to experts in the field discuss their research is “a little eye-opening,” he said.

“You can hear in the way that they talk that they’ve thought about the subject a lot,” Norman Ing said, during a recent interview at the lab. “There’s a huge amount of time behind what they say. So even if they just ask a simple question, it has deeper meaning.”

The trip also reinvigorated the lab’s team members as they tackle big research questions.

Last year, Wright received a three-year, $438,000 National Institutes of Health grant aimed at funding scientific projects to better understand how placental membranes works in the body.

The placental membranes surrounds the fetus during pregnancy. And in normal pregnancies, it naturally fails after nine months, and a woman’s “water breaks.”

Wright, an associate professor of biology at Chaminade, said problems with placental membranes are among the biggest causes of pre-term births. Studying how the tissue operates normally is a vital first step in understanding what happens when things go wrong.

The research is especially significant in the islands.

Hawaii has among the nation’s highest rates of preterm births, and the rate is even higher among populations with greater health disparities, including Asians and Pacific Islanders.

And the impacts of prematurity can last a lifetime. Preterm babies, or those born earlier than 37 weeks, can face physical and cognitive issues into adulthood.

“So when you’re thinking about this as a health disparity and a social injustice, that’s a really important thing,” Wright said, speaking in her lab on a recent day. “It’s impacting people all the way into their adult life and impacting their quality of life.”

Justin Padron, a graduate student at the University of Hawaii, also works at the lab and presented his research at the Paris conference.

And the newest addition to the team—Dr. Chelsea Saito Reis—also traveled to France. She came on in January as a post-doctoral researcher, and saw the Paris conference as a chance to better understand the cutting-edge projects underway in the field of reproductive studies. Reis completed her undergraduate degree at Chaminade in 2012, before going on to get her doctoral degree at the University of New Mexico.

She said research into placental membranes is of emerging interest, but is still nascent. “For something that’s such a normal process, there is still a lot that is unknown.”

Saito Reis and Norman Ing are the first to admit that the Paris trip wasn’t all work, though. The two said they got their fill of French cuisine and took in as many of the sights that they could.

Saito Reis called it an “adventure.” And by the way, she added, the Mona Lisa is actually quite small in person.

While the group was there, they also saw the Yellow Vest demonstrations—which closed thoroughfares in the heart of the city—and described them as something out of a movie.

It was the architecture of Paris, though, that really spoke to Norman Ing.

“Paris is a city of inspiration,” Norman Ing said. “Staying in such a place has reminded me that life is so much more than the mundane routine. Goals exist which one should strive for.”

Filed Under: Faculty, Featured Story, Natural Sciences & Mathematics, Students Tagged With: Research

Chaminade Celebrates 2019 Graduates at Commencement

May 15, 2019 by University Communications & Marketing

The evening of May 13 was a time of celebration for Chaminade University of Honolulu’s class of 2019 as family, friends, faculty and staff gathered at the Neal S. Blaisdell Arena for Chaminade’s 61st Commencement ceremony.

Following the Oli chant, a traditional Hawaiian welcome and blessing, delivered by Chaminade class of 2014 graduate Kaipo Leopoldino, university president Dr. Lynn Babington welcomed graduates and guests to celebrate the work of faculty, new beginnings and to reflect on changes in the university since its founding in 1955.

In her welcome, Dr. Babington highlighted one of the five Characteristics of a Marianist education that Chaminade, the only Catholic university in the state of Hawaii, emphasizes: educate for adaptation and change. These values and Chaminade’s commitment to service proved to be a consistent theme throughout the evening’s exercises leading up to the graduation of nearly 500 students from 25 undergraduate and six graduate degree programs.

Among the honored guests in attendance were Governor David Ige and his wife Dawn Amano-Ige, who gave the Commencement address.

“You made it,” Amano-Ige said as she began her speech. “You own it. This is your moment. Tonight is your night as we honor you and your achievements.”

Amano-Ige became the first lady of Hawaii in December 2014 when her husband was sworn in as Hawaii’s eighth governor. She has also been an alumna of Chaminade since 1986 when she graduated with her master’s degree in business administration. In her address, Amano-Ige bestowed a few pieces of wisdom on the soon-to-be graduates. She encouraged them to make the most of every opportunity they’re given, to be realistic when starting off in their careers and to take action in moments of uncertainty instead of holding back or withdrawing. The first lady, similarly to Dr. Babington, emphasized how valuable a Chaminade education is because of its values.

“You are so fortunate to be graduating from a place where diversity is celebrated in culture-based learning and where ethical leadership is the focus,” Amano-Ige said. “The rich combination of the two gives you the power to make a difference. When done collectively with your classmates, that power is multiplied to have a great impact on our community.”

Savannah Lyn Relox Delos Santos, the Undergraduate Speaker, delivered an equally impactful speech in which she conveyed the gratitude she feels toward the Chaminade community and her family.

Delos Santos, who earned her bachelor’s degree in business marketing, has spent her years at Chaminade serving as a peer mentor and tutor, student office assistant and president of the Residence Hall Association—all while excelling in her classes, working and volunteering.

She was also an active participant in Campus Ministry, student government and Chaminade’s Hogan Entrepreneurial Program. Her commitment to service and the university’s Marianist values earned her the prestigious Founders’ Award earlier this year. Delos Santos’ dream is to be the second and youngest Native Hawaiian fashion designer to present their work at New York Fashion Week and plans to move to the Philippines after graduation to pursue her professional goals and learn more about her roots.

“Our differential advantages are the Marianist values and the Aloha Spirit,” Delos Santos said. “We are the only university with both and we all live it in our Chaminade community. So embrace it, use it, because we are so blessed.”

Both Amano-Ige and Delos Santos were the first college graduates in their families and shared how education and Chaminade were significant contributors to who they are today.

And finally, after many semesters of hard work and sacrifice, the Chaminade class of 2019 turned its tassels and became alumni, forever part of the Chaminade family.

“Your passion, along with your education and experiences here at Chaminade, will be part of the sometimes messy but beautiful process we call life,” Amano-Ige said. “So tonight be jubilant, be proud, go out and celebrate—safely of course—the joy of your achievement. Tomorrow, your focus shifts to putting your college education to good use for your community, for our Hawaii, for the world and for generations to come.”

Commencement 2019 (short version)
Commencement 2019 (long version)

Filed Under: Campus and Community, Faculty, Featured Story, Institutional, Students

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