Ambitious biotech effort targets students

By Beverly Creamer
Advertiser Education Writer

The words "imagine" and "hopeful" are peppered throughout Martin Rayner's explanation of what's in store for Hawai'i.

As part of the biotech plan, researchers such as Tina Carvalho hope to expand access to UH's electron microscopes. Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser

It means a youngster in eighth grade who loves science and lives on Lana'i will, in the not too distant future, be able to link up with and be mentored by a researcher on O'ahu.

It means the dinkiest research project at the smallest college will have a shot at using the electron microscopes at the university.

For free.

It means that when a new researcher comes to town, in a few keystrokes he or she can find an Internet list of all biomedical research projects in the state, and create partnerships to enhance the work of all.

It means that by 2004, 150 junior-high and 150 senior-high students — at a minimum — will also be able to find mentors from the network.

All of this will be done by something called BRIN — a Biomedical Research Infrastructure Network grant. Over the next three years it will link scientists, colleges, hospitals, research centers, even schools, as the structural underpinning of a new biomedical technology industry for the state.

"You start thinking about the scope of this," said Rayner. "When we sent in the proposal, we really didn't have it together. We were just thinking the Pacific Biomedical Research Center and the hospitals. But then we realized there's so much more ... We're not talking about the people who now have the NIH grants, but the people who would have NIH grants if this state was really pulling its weight."

There are so many potential partners in this ambitious endeavor that Rayner and his team are still in the process of identifying and notifying them all. The meetings are just starting, to begin putting the partners "at the same table" to plan well, right from the beginning.

"Our real goal is to help develop the state's next economy which is biotechnology," said Steve Seif-ried, acting director of the Office of Information Technology at the John A. Burns School of Medicine, who is creating a Web page and Internet link for the network. "It will certainly be a component of the state's economy."

BRIN grants are offered to states at the bottom of the heap in terms of NIH money — and Hawai'i is one of them. Five states get 50 percent of the approximately $19.5 billion in money now, said Rayner, and the NIH is concerned about spreading this research wealth out more evenly.

"The NIH agrees that this isn't quite right," he said.

Meanwhile, 23 states are eligible for these grants, said Rayner. Like Hawai'i, they all receive less than $70 million a year from the NIH.

The BRIN grant covers three years, and while its primary objective is providing stimulation for existing research, it will also create spin-offs in education, training and mentoring for the future.

"Suppose we can really pull off what we're trying to do," he said. "Suppose we can start a biotech industry. Suppose we have the first pharmaceutical company in the next three years hanging out next to the new Health and Wellness Center in Kaka'ako? And suppose they say 'We're thinking of coming here but we're worried we have to import all the technicians from New Jersey.'

"And we can say 'No, no, no. We have a group of technicians graduating from Kapi'olani Community College, people with bachelor of science degrees graduating from Hawai'i Pacific University and UH-Hilo.'

"The idea is we need to train not just the future researchers, but we also need to train a staff of technicians. And to do that, we have to start with at least four years lead time. And we've got to go to the high schools and let them get interested. We need to put the schools and teachers in it."

Already half a dozen researchers are at work in several core areas of the grant, with another dozen expected to be hired in the near future.

Marilyn Dunlap, manager of the Biological Electron Microscope Facility on the UH campus, is working to expand access to the research microscopes, including the new $480,000 confocal microscope that uses laser optics.

"These are already a core for existing researchers," said Dunlap, "but then these instruments may become available to other partners. We're increasing our services to existing researchers and setting up the pipeline to produce some workshops and de-

monstrations. Our goal is to support biomedical research. We want to expand our outreach. We'll try to support more undergrad level class demonstrations, but it's a balance."

As Rayner's team prepared to launch a Web page, headed by Seifried, and a mentoring and training program for college and high school students, headed by Dr. Kelley Withy, it's clear this is a key piece of the goal of developing a new biomedical research industry for the state, increase NIH funding, and vault Hawai'i students into leadership roles in the sciences.

"In the long term, it's going to increase the level of science and biomedical education," said Leslie Isaki, director of grant development for the Medical School, and formerly with NIH. "To bring the kids up to a level that exceeds nationwide standards."

It's Isaki who's responsible for finding the right types of additional grants to support the fledgling network infrastructure, and to create collaboration with Mainland research centers. It's also Isaki who knows how the process works, and how to find the right grant "mechanism."

But it's Withy, an assistant professor of family medicine at the medical school, who sees the potential of how far the network can stretch into the community, and is responsible for developing those long lines of cooperation.

"We have the resources," she said, "but the students don't necessarily know about them. And those with the resources don't know about each other.

"So we're trying to bring every college in the state to the table and find out who wants to mentor, what's the area of specialty, what students are interested in, to provide the beginning of something much bigger."

While the immediate hope is to have 300 students from junior and senior high schools mentored over the next three years, Withy isn't going to stop there.

"I'm shooting for a thousand students contacted," she said. Already, she said, 50 researchers are willing and just waiting to mentor. She just has to begin matching them up.

Reach Beverly Creamer at bcreamer@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8013.