Chaminade University of Honolulu

Natural Sciences & Mathematics

Medical School Honors Chaminade Graduate Jacquelynn Pratt with ‘Diversity Excellence Award’

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Jacquelynn PrattChaminade University alumna Jacquelynn Pratt has received the “Diversity Excellence Award” from A.T. Still University’s College of Osteopathic Medicine in Kirksville, Missouri, where she graduated this spring. The annual award recognizes her commitment to diversity and inclusion in graduate healthcare education.

Born and raised on Oahu, Pratt majored in Biology and English at Chaminade. She earned both bachelor’s degrees in May 2006, while receiving the “Outstanding English Graduate” award.

Pratt participated in numerous research programs at Chaminade in the fields of psychology, cancer biology, ecology and epidemiology. She was also highly involved with campus clubs and organizations, including the Delta Epsilon Sigma and Sigma Tau Delta honor societies.

After graduating from Chaminade, Pratt worked with the Ministry of Health on the Cook Islands to computerize patient data and thereby more accurately calculate the incidence and prevalence of cancer among the native Maori population.

She later returned to Chaminade and served as the Assistant to the Associate Provost in the Office of Health Professions Advising and Undergraduate Research.

Vidinha and Baldauf First Alumni to Graduate from Medical Schools Through Articulation Agreement

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Chauntelle (Maduli) Vidinha and Ashley Baldauf recently became the first Chaminade University alumni to graduate from medical school through an articulation agreement with A.T. Still University (ATSU). These women, both born on Oahu, studied osteopathic medicine and plan to practice in Hawaii after completing their residencies.

Chauntelle Maduli Vidinha
Chauntelle Vidinha (B.S. Biology ’11)

The articulation agreement, negotiated by Chaminade’s Office of Health Professions Advising and Undergraduate Research (OHPAUR), permits early admission to ATSU for qualified students. Chaminade also maintains articulation agreements with seven other mainland universities.

Chaminade President Bernard Ploeger, SM., said Vidinha and Baldauf are “a source of pride for our campus ‘ohana.”

“I’m delighted that these compassionate, hardworking young women will share their medical talents with Hawaii residents, especially those living in underserved communities,” Bro. Ploeger said.

Vidinha, who enrolled at ATSU’s Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine in Missouri, graduated from Chaminade in 2011 with a bachelor’s degree in Biology. She competed on the Silversword volleyball team for three years, and participated in biomedical research programs at Baylor College of Medicine in Texas and the University of California, San Diego.

Ashley Baldauf
Ashley Baldauf (B.S. Forensic Science ’12) with family

Vidinha will complete her residency in family medicine at Kingman Regional Medical Center in Arizona.

Baldauf majored in Forensic Sciences and minored in Chemistry at Chaminade, earning a bachelor’s degree in 2012. She began her medical studies in 2013 at ATSU’s School of Osteopathic Medicine in Mesa, Arizona, then was allowed to spend the following three years studying and working at the Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center on Oahu.

Baldauf will serve her residency in family medicine through a University of Hawaii program in Mililani.

In addition to two ATSU school campuses, Chaminade maintains articulation agreements with Boston University School of Medicine, George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Pacific University, Samuel Merritt University, Tufts University School of Dental Medicine, University of Dayton and Western University School of Health Sciences.

Time Management is Key, Undergraduate Says, to Balancing Pre-Med Studies, Soccer and Social Life

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Incoming senior Megan McClanahan is one of Chaminade University’s “super achievers.” Along with excelling in her pre-medical studies, she competes on the Silversword women’s soccer team, immerses herself in campus issues through the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and still has time for social activities.

Megan McClanahan playing soccer

How does she strike a balance among these diverse interests? McClanahan says time management enables her to “not only balance soccer and academics, but to also enjoy a social life.”

“Soccer practice helps me fire up my brain early in the morning so I can perform better in morning classes,” she says. “I usually do homework in the afternoons and evenings. I am a big believer in study groups, and I have found a great group of friends to study with. The last thing I do to balance my life is to get enough sleep. I shoot for at least eight hours a night.”

That formula obviously works for McClanahan, who plans to earn her undergraduate biology degree next year from the School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics. Then this future surgeon will enroll at The George Washington University School of Medicine & Health Sciences through an articulation agreement negotiated by Chaminade.

“I have known for a very long time I want to be a doctor,” McClanahan says. “During my freshman year, I became aware of the articulation agreement Chaminade has with George Washington. My sophomore year I did more research about GW and viewed it as the next place I want to stop on my journey through life.”

Megan McClanahan studying

With guidance from Chaminade’s Undergraduate Research & Pre-Professional Programs, McClanahan was accepted for an interview at George Washington “and fell in love with the Washington, D.C., area and the campus while I was there.”

“As a part of the agreement, I am finishing my time at Chaminade pursuing a humanities minor of Hawaiian and Pacific Island Studies,” McClanahan says. “I am grateful for the opportunities presented to me at Chaminade, and I am eager to begin my next steps to becoming a doctor.”

McClanahan, who hails from the Omaha suburb of Papillion, Nebraska, was initially attracted to Chaminade as a high school junior when she participated in a National History Day contest. On the last day of the competition in the nation’s capital, McClanahan won a Chaminade merit scholarship. Then she discovered the Silversword soccer team.

“I spent the next year trying to find a way to get the coaches and athletic department at Chaminade to notice me,” McClanahan says. “Once I was able to fulfill my lifelong dream of playing college soccer, I had a decision to make.

“Should I be fearless and decide to spend the next four years in Hawaii, a place I have never been? Or should I play it safe and stay closer to home? Needless to say, I took a leap of faith and have never looked back with regret.”

$1 Million Awarded to Chaminade in Recognition of National Excellence in Science Programs

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Chaminade joins select group of 24 universities nationwide recognized for inclusivity and quality in STEM programs

NSM Student in LabChaminade University of Honolulu today announced a grant of $1 million from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) as an awardee in the 2017-22 ‘Inclusive Excellence’ program. Chaminade was selected as one of 24 awardees from a pool of over 500 universities who applied for the prestigious recognition as a Howard Hughes Undergraduate Institution. The program will fund culture-based STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) education programs, Hawai‘i-centered research, and activities that link science to family and community for Hawaiian and Pacific Islander students.

Dr. Helen Turner
Dr. Helen Turner

“Chaminade has been building excellence in STEM for a decade with support from agencies such as National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Science Foundation (NSF) and Kamehameha Schools, and this award recognizes the tremendous progress we have made in preparing the next generation of Hawai‘i and Pacific scientists” says Dr. Helen Turner, Chaminade’s Dean of Natural Sciences and Principal Investigator of the HHMI Program. “This award takes us to the next level of national recognition for the curriculum and cutting-edge teaching methods our faculty have developed. The HHMI program confronts the challenge of connecting STEM education with culture, family and community – which are critical for our local students to be successful and to build a strong Hawai‘i for the future.”

“Finding a way to include all students, from all backgrounds, in STEM is critical for building future generations of American scientists”, says David Asai, HHMI Senior Director for Science Education. “HHMI recognizes that science excellence depends on having a community of scientists that is rich in diversity of people and perspectives. This national experiment expects that the selected universities will produce useful models to address inclusivity in STEM.”

ABOUT THE HOWARD HUGHES MEDICAL INSTITUTE
The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) is the largest private, nonprofit supporter of science education in the United States. The Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) has created an Inclusive Excellence Commission whose role will be to evaluate the outcomes of this national experiment, and to disseminate to the broader community what is being learned.

Chaminade University Celebrates 2017 Spring Commencement

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Hundreds of exuberant graduates celebrated their achievements with their families, friends, faculty, staff and colleagues at Chaminade University’s 59th Commencement. Approximately 429 students graduated this spring semester with nearly 335 participating in the May 15 ceremony held at Neal Blaisdell Arena.

The program featured as its keynote speaker Shelley J. Wilson, the president and chief executive officer of Wilson Homecare and vice chair and secretary of Chaminade University’s Board of Regents. In 1996, Wilson founded Wilson Homecare, one of Hawaii’s largest private-duty home health care agencies. Wilson Homecare provides in-home health care services island-wide. Also in 2013, Wilson Senior Living Kailua, a state-licensed Adult Residential Care Home opened in the Aikahi neighborhood.

Wilson inspired the audience with her story.  She found her passion during one of the most difficult times of her life.  Returning to civilian life as a wounded warrior, Wilson had to deal with the challenges of recovery in the home.  Her experiences gave her empathy for in-home-care patients. In response to those hard times, she founded Wilson Homecare.  She encouraged the soon-to-be graduates to find a cause and to dedicate themselves to that cause with a passion as a way to find purpose and meaning.

Commencement student speakers were Taylor Seth Stutsman, the undergraduate representative, and Rezettakahealani Eric Mulitalo, the post-graduate representative.

Stutsman graduated with his B.S. in Forensics Sciences, Cum Laude.  That night his family came from five different states to cheer for him. He moved to Hawaii from Pennsylvania and appreciated the diversity of Chaminade. “Hawaii has taught me more about acceptance and tolerance than I could have imagined,” he said, appreciative of the multi-cultural experiences made available to him at Chaminade.

Mulitalo graduated that night with her M.S. in Criminal Justice Administration. Raised in Western Samoa, she graduated with a bachelor’s degree from the University of Wellington, New Zealand. “You do not have to know what you are going to do with the rest of your life yet,” she reassured the graduating students. She advised them to remember what the Scottish scholar William Barclay had said. “’There are two great days in a person’s life –the day we are born, and the day we discover why,’” she quoted. “Watch your choices, follow your dreams and love what you do.”

Microbes are Hot Topic in Forensic Science; Book by Chaminade’s Dr. David Carter Tells All About It

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After more than a century of absence from forensic science investigations, microbes are once again in the spotlight. And a new book by Associate Professor David Carter, director of Chaminade University’s Forensic Sciences Program, explains why.

Dr. David Carter

“Forensic Microbiology,” edited by Dr. Carter and co-authored with two Chaminade graduate students, tells all about those tiny bugs. Specifically, the book details how microbes help scientists determine when a person died, how they died and where they were before they died.

“Using microbes is the hottest, trendiest, sexiest area of forensic science right now,” Dr. Carter says. “This is the thing everybody wants to know about because it’s new.”

Actually, the use of microbes in forensic science is both old and new. The new part involves cutting-edge technology that enables scientists to extract DNA evidence from microbes and sequence the material with a genetic analyzer.

The old part of using microbiology to solve crimes is really old. So old, in fact, that the practice far predates “CSI” TV shows and the invention of television itself.

“There were folks using microbes in the 19th Century as evidence,” Dr. Carter says, “and then people forgot about them for a hundred years. Now people are coming back to microbes and going: ‘Huh. Maybe this is worthwhile.’”

Although Dr. Carter emphasizes that microbes won’t replace more mundane forms of evidence – such as fingerprints, cell phone records, etc. – these tiny organisms do have “one huge advantage.”

“Microbes are present everywhere a human goes,” Dr. Carter says, “because they are always on you, they are always in you. And not all forms of evidence do that.”

Forensic Microbiology Book

Dr. Carter’s book, which he describes as “the first of its kind,” provides a much-need resource for university students and forensic science professionals, including investigators, microbiologists and pathologists. Among those contributing to the book were leading scientists from America, the United Kingdom, France, Australia and other countries.

Helping Dr. Carter write the 424-page book was Emily Junkins, who graduated from Chaminade in 2016 with a master’s degree in forensic science. She’s currently pursuing a doctorate degree in microbiology at the University of Oklahoma.

“Being a co-author for two chapters in this book, and chapters in other books or manuscripts, has had a major impact on me pursuing a Ph.D.,” according to Junkins, who credits her Chaminade education with providing valuable opportunities for in-depth research.

“I would not be the scientist I am now without these opportunities,” says Junkins, who plans a career in academia as a professor and principal investigator focused on microbial biology.

Also serving as a book co-author was Whitney Kodama, who’s graduating from Chaminade this spring with a master’s degree in forensic science.

“I think this experience helped me gain a better understanding of the scope of my research project as well as insight into a field of forensics that I was not aware of before entering the program,” Kodama says.

“I also think this experience has helped the quality of my scientific writing,” adds Kodama, who recently accepted an investigator position with the City and County of Honolulu Department of the Medical Examiner.

“I learned that stepping out of your comfort zone and doing something that seems intimidating/difficult at first can only benefit you in the future,” Kodama says. “One can grow from these experiences, and I feel that has happened to me.”

Editing “Forensic Microbiology” with Dr. Carter were Dr. Jeffery K. Tomberlin from Texas A&M University’s Department of Entomology, Dr. M. Eric Benbow from Michigan State University’s Department of Entomology, and Dr. Jessica L. Metcalf from Colorado State University’s Department of Animal Sciences.

All royalties from book sales support student research projects of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

Chaminade University’s Division of Natural Science and Mathematics is accepting applications for its bachelor’s degree program in forensic sciences. This degree provides students with a wide range of graduate school and career options in the fields of law, medicine, veterinary medicine, dentistry and pharmacy.