Hawaii Dental Service, or HDS, has donated $500,000 to the Aina Informatics Network, a professional program for the next generation of Hawaii scientists, HDS officials recently announced.
The Aina-Informatics Network — an initiative started by ‘Iolani School three years ago — introduces genome science, or the study of DNA, to student participants and fosters ethical science practices and care for Hawaii’s island environment. HDS' recent contribution will help ‘Iolani School expand the network and provide specialized equipment and teacher training for Hawaii’s public, private and charter schools.
“We’re pleased to partner with the Aina-Informatics Network to take this innovative program to a new level and to invest in Hawaii’s youth,” said Dr. Diane Paloma, president and CEO of Hawaii Dental Service, in a statement. “It’s rewarding to nurture their love for exploration and discovery, and to watch them grow into responsible stewards of all of the things we love about our island home. It’s exciting to know more Hawaii residents will have a positive impact in the world.”
One of the projects that students in the program have worked on is SARS-CoV-2 surveillance. The Aina-Informatics Network, in collaboration with the Hawaii Department of Health and Dr. Marguerite Butler’s lab at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, allowed students to help in tracking SARS-CoV-2 variants of interest, according to officials with the program.
Using mobile sequencing technology, students sequenced inert viral genomes isolated from samples collected locally, to better understand what makes them virulent.
Th network is led by Dr. Yvonne Chan, the John Kay Teaching Chair in research science and the director of the Sullivan Center Research Lab at ‘Iolani School; Eric Tong, ‘Iolani genomics specialist; and Joanna Kobayashi of ‘Iolani Aina-Informatics support.
“We started Aina-Informatics with the mission of bringing genome science into Hawaii’s classrooms and developing place-based ethical curricula where students can collect real scientific data and wrestle with the impact of biotechnology on their lives and communities," Chan said in a statement. "Since 2018, we’ve reached more than 1,000 students and it’s exciting to see the growing support and interest by schools throughout the state.
"This gift from HDS will enable us to make strides towards our goal of expanding the network to every high school in Hawaii,” she said.
Hawaii schools and programs participating in the Aina-Informatics Network include Castle High School, Governor Samuel Wilder King Intermediate School, Hawaii Baptist Academy, KA‘I Program, Kahuku High School, Kalani High School, Le Jardin Academy, Mid-Pacific Institute, Moanalua High School, PaCES Program, St. Andrew’s Priory, Waianae Intermediate School, and Aiea High School.
“We appreciate the vision and commitment of the Aina-Informatics Network in expanding the impact of this revolutionary science curriculum to Hawaii’s public and charter schools,” said Keith Hayashi, interim superintendent of the Hawaii State Department of Education, in a statement. “This is a great example of how we, as a community, can align our energy and resources to offer exciting and meaningful learning opportunities that benefit not only our students, but also our economy and our state.”
Kenneth Hiraki, chair of the Public Schools of Hawaii Foundation, added, “This donation is probably the most significant donation to benefit public schools in decades. It has the potential to transform Hawaii's economy from a visitor-based economy to a science-based economy and make Hawaii a technology leader in the world.
"This has been an awesome relationship with the Aina-Informatics Network and this gift from HDS is transformative," he said. "We’ll be able to take this curriculum to more schools and eventually reverse the brain drain by creating opportunities for Hawaii’s youth to return to Hawaii.”
