2026-2027 Officers
President: Juwon Park, PhD
University of Hawaii at Manoa, JABSOM - Dept. of Tropical Medicine
Bio and picture coming soon!
President-Elect: Grieg Steward, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Oceanography, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Dr. Steward has served on the faculty at the University of Hawaiʻi since 2002. He earned a Ph.D. from the University of California, San Diego, through Scripps Institution of Oceanography and conducted postdoctoral research at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute and the University of California, Santa Cruz. His research spans biological oceanography, marine microbiology, and environmental virology, with particular focus on viruses of marine microorganisms and viral communities in extreme environments ranging from hypersaline lakes to subseafloor oceanic crust. He has also contributed to understanding coastal water quality, including investigations of the ecology of pathogenic Vibrio species in Hawaiian waters. Dr. Steward serves on advisory subcommittees on algae and viruses for the Hawaiʻi Department of Agriculture. He has received multiple teaching awards and has mentored dozens of undergraduates and graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers. He looks forward to working with HI-ASM to support our local community of microbial scientists and to promote the field of microbiology in the state.
Link to Department Profile
University of Hawaii at Manoa, JABSOM - Dept. of Tropical Medicine
Bio and picture coming soon!
Secretary: Eileen Nakano, Ph.D.
Treasurer: Albert To, Ph.D.
University of Hawaii at Manoa, JABSOM - Dept. of Tropical Medicine
Bio and picture coming soon!
Branch Councilor: Marek Kirs, Ph.D.
Dr. Marek Kirs is an associate researcher at the Water Resources Research Center, University of Hawaii at Manoa, and he serves as a cooperating graduate faculty at the School of Life Sciences and at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering within the same university. His academic and research areas of expertise are diverse and include water microbiology, microbial ecology, public health, and taxonomy and systematics. His current research is predominantly centered on microbial water quality and related public health issues with a major focus on microbial source tracking studies and health risk assessment in Hawaii.
The major goals of his studies are to 1) contribute to surface- and groundwater quality management efforts in Hawaii and 2) assist in the development of meaningful and protective recreational water quality standards for the state. Dr. Kirs earned his Ph.D. in Biological Sciences from the University of Rhode Island. He earned an M.S. with distinction in Taxonomy and Biodiversity from the University of Edinburgh/Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Scotland and a B.S. in Biological Sciences from the University of Tartu in Estonia. He is a recipient of Fulbright and British Council scholarships.
Lab website: https://www2.hawaii.edu/~kirs/index.htm
2023-2024 Student Chapter Officers
President: Isabelle Yazel Eiser
Isabelle (or Izzy) received her BSN in 2017 for Ball State University. She then went on to receive a second undergraduate degree in Biochemistry from Hawaii Pacific University in 2021 where she also studied the bacterial pathogen Vibrio vulnificus in the Nigro laboratory. Isabelle is currently a 2nd year Masters student in the Department of Tropical Medicine at the University of Hawaii studying viral recombinant protein production using insect cell expression systems in the Lehrer laboratory . In her free time, she enjoys hiking with her dogs and husband, knitting, and completing 1000 piece puzzles.
Secretary:
Raechel is a fourth year PhD student in the Department of Tropical Medicine and she is studying the pathophysiology of jellyfish envenomation.
Treasurer: Yu-Ching Dai
Yu-Ching, or Winnie, is a 2nd PhD student from Taiwan in the Department of Tropical Medicine, at JABSOM. She got her master's degree in Microbiology and Immunology from School of Medicine, National Taiwan University. After that, she stayed in the Virology field as a research assistant, studying EBV viral proteins functions as well as the mechanism on EBV-associated nasopharyngeal carcinoma development. She is currently working with Dr. Wang, studying immune response against Dengue virus and its pathology. In addition to doing research, she likes cooking, baking, and sometimes hiking.
Past-President: Rosie Alegado, Ph.D.
UH Manoa Department of Oceanography
Director, Microbial Ecology & Evolution in Hawaiʻi Laboratory
Director, Ulana ʻIke Sea Grant Center of Excellence
Instagram: @mee_hawaii_lab Picture coming soon!
Past-President: David O. Carter, Ph.D.
Director and Professor of Forensic Sciences at Chaminade University of Honolulu.
Dr. Carter has been interested in death investigation since 1999 and has been attending crime scenes since 2000. Since that time he has consulted with several investigative agencies around the world. His research in the Laboratory of Forensic Taphonomy focuses on the microbial communities associated with corpse decomposition and the estimation of postmortem interval. Dr. Carter is interested in the process of decomposition along with the structure and function of the postmortem human microbiome. Dr. Carter holds funding from the National Institute of Justice serves as a grant reviewer for the National Institute of Justice, the National Science Foundation, and a number of private endowments. He has recently published in high profile journals including Science and eLife, and serves at the national level in the FS community.
Past-President: Marek Kirs, Ph.D.
UH Manoa Water Resources Research Center
Dr. Marek Kirs is an associate researcher at the Water Resources Research Center, University of Hawaii at Manoa, and he serves as a cooperating graduate faculty at the School of Life Sciences and at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering within the same university. His academic and research areas of expertise are diverse and include water microbiology, microbial ecology, public health, and taxonomy and systematics. His current research is predominantly centered on microbial water quality and related public health issues with a major focus on microbial source tracking studies and health risk assessment in Hawaii.
Lab website: https://www2.hawaii.edu/~kirs/index.htm
Past-President: Michael Norris, Ph.D.
UH Manoa School of Life Sciences
Past Presidents
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Year President Affiliation
2025-2026 Michael Norris UH School of Life Sciences
2024-2025 Rosie Alegado UH SOEST
2023-2024 Marek Kirs UH Water Resources Research Center
2022-2023 David Carter Chaminade University
2021-2022 Paul Fox Hawaiʻi Department of Health
2020-2021 Frederique Kandel Chaminade University
2019-2020 Wei-Kung Wang UH Department of Tropical Medicine
2018-2019 Axel Lehrer UH Department of Tropical Medicine
2017-2018 Sladjana Prisic UH Department of Microbiology
2016-2017 Mukesh Kumar UH Department of Tropical Medicine -> Georgia State Univ.
2015-2016 Saguna Verma UH Department of Tropical Medicine
2014-2015 Maqsudul Alam UH Department of Microbiology
2013-2014 Pakieli Kaufusi UH Department of Tropical Medicine
2012-2013 Stuart Donachie UH Department of Microbiology
2011-2012 Moti Chapagain UH Department of Tropical Medicine->Praedicare, Inc., TX
2010-2011 Vivek Nerurkar UH Department of Tropical Medicine
2009-2010 Hongwei Li UH Department of Microbiology -> Windward Community College
2008-2009 George Hui UH Department of Tropical Medicine
2007-2008 Tung Hoang UH Department of Microbiology
2006-2007 Sean Callahan UH Department of Microbiology
2005-2006 Sean Callahan UH Department of Microbiology
2004-2005 Paul Fox Hawaiʻi Department of Health
2003-2004 Yuanan Lu UH Department of Microbiology->UH Department of Public Health
2002-2003 Stuart Donachie UH Department of Microbiology
2001-2002 John Berestecky Kapiolani Community College
2000-2001 Yuanan Lu UH Department of Microbiology->UH Department of Public Health
1985-1986 Arwin Diwan UH UH Department of Tropical Medicine