Department of Human Nutrition, Food and Animal Sciences (HNFAS)

HNFAS Faculty

FACULTY	INFORMATION
Banna, Jinan
Associate Prof. in Human Nutrition see more...	Email: jcbanna@hawaii.edu Phone: (808) 956-7857 Special Skills and Knowledge: Nutrition Education, Community Nutrition
Butel, Jean
Jr Rsrch see more...	Email: jbutel@hawaii.edu Phone: (808) 956-5319 Special Skills and Knowledge:
Cacpal, Kristina
Extn Agent see more...	Email: kcacpal@hawaii.edu Phone: (808) 567-6929 Special Skills and Knowledge:
Caires, Kyle
Asst Extn Agent see more...	Email: kccaires@hawaii.edu Phone: (808) 878-1212, ext 27 Special Skills and Knowledge: Improving Reproductive Performance of Livestock, Genetic Improvement of Livestock, Youth Development in 4-H Livestock Programs, etc.
Esquivel, Monica
Associate Professor and Dietetics Program Director see more...	Email: monicake@hawaii.edu Phone: (808) 956-8691 Special Skills and Knowledge: Registered Dietitian, Community Nutrition, Childhood Health
Fialkowski, Marie Kainoa
Assoc Prof see more...	Email: mariekf@hawaii.edu Phone: (808) 956-8337 Special Skills and Knowledge: Infant Feeding, Nutrition and Health in Indigenous Populations, Nutritional Assessment, Nutrition Education for Underserved Populations, Online Nutrition Course Delivery
Franks, Kyle
Junior Extension Agent - DHHL see more...	Email: kefranks@hawaii.edu Phone: (808) 567-6934 Special Skills and Knowledge:
Hackney, Lara
Instructor see more...	Email: laraj27@hawaii.edu Phone: (808) 956-3837 Special Skills and Knowledge:
He, Yanghua
Assistant Professor of Genomics and Epigenomics see more...	Email: yanghua.he@hawaii.edu Phone: (808) 956-7090 Special Skills and Knowledge: 1. Benchwork: Sequencing platforms: Illumina HiSeq; Mi-seq; 10*Genomics; Nanopore sequencing. Library constructions for sequencing: DNA-seq; RNA-seq; ChIP-seq and CUT&RUN; MBD-seq; MeDIP-seq; WGBS; RRBS; Bisulfite cloning sequencing; pyrosequencing; HiC; PLAC-seq; ATAC-seq. CRISPR-based technologies (Genome-editing and Epigenome-editing). sgRNA Library Screening. 2. Data analysis: Bioinformatics in Genetic and Epigenetic data analysis; Galaxy platform; Linux Operating System; Computational languages: Perl, Python, R, Matlab, SAS, C++
Ho, Kacie
Asst Prof see more...	Email: kacieho@hawaii.edu Phone: (808) 956-8286 Special Skills and Knowledge:
Jha, Rajesh
Professor and Graduate Chair of Animal Sciences see more...	Email: rjha@hawaii.edu Phone: (808) 956-4122 Special Skills and Knowledge: Monogastric Animal Nutrition, Gut Heath and Physiology, Feed and Feed Additive Evaluation
Jun, Soojin
Professor see more...	Email: soojin@hawaii.edu Phone: (808) 956-8283 Special Skills and Knowledge: Food Engineering, Food Processing, Food preservation, Biosensing
Kim, Yong-Soo
Researcher see more...	Email: ykim@hawaii.edu Phone: (808) 956-8335 Special Skills and Knowledge: Growth physiology; muscle biology ; meat science: Cattle-ProductionSwine-Production-all aspectsCattle-PostharvestSwine-Postharvest
Lee, Chin Nyean
Specialist see more...	Email: chinl@hawaii.edu Phone: (808) 956-4882 Special Skills and Knowledge: Reproductive PhysiologyDairy Science: Cattle-Dairy -Pasture ManagementForage Crops in gen.-MarketingCrops in gen.-Agricultural DevelopmentAnimals in gen.-Agricultural DevelopmentPasture in gen.-Management
Lee, Cheng Sheng
Researcher and Exec Dir Ctr for Trop & Subtrop Ag see more...	Email: chenglee@hawaii.edu Phone: (808) 956-3385 Special Skills and Knowledge: Reproduction control in marine finfish and marine shrimp; Early life history of fish and shrimp; Ecology of live feed organisms; and Aquaculture Management in general.
Lee, Mi-Jeong
Asst Prof see more...	Email: leemj7@hawaii.edu Phone: (808) 956-9565 Special Skills and Knowledge:
Li, Yong
Assoc Prof see more...	Email: liyong@hawaii.edu Phone: (808) 956-6408 Special Skills and Knowledge:
Mishra, Birendra
Assistant Professor see more...	Email: bmishra@hawaii.edu Phone: (808) 956-7021 Special Skills and Knowledge: Reproductive Physiology of Domestic Animals and Poultry, Environmental stress on reproduction, Transcriptional regulation of egg formation in the laying hens, nutritional programming to increase the reproductive efficiencies.
Morgan Bernal, Lydi
Jr Extn Agent - Oʻahu Farm to School see more...	Email: lydi@hawaii.edu Phone: (808) 956-7095 Special Skills and Knowledge:
Nakamoto, Stuart T
Extension Economist/Spec see more...	Email: snakamo@hawaii.edu Phone: (808) 956-8125 Special Skills and Knowledge: Agr. marketing / adding value (marketing of specialty crops & products); agribusiness management; agr. economics; risk management; tea; blueberries
Novotny, Rachel
Professor see more...	Email: novotny@hawaii.edu Phone: (808) 956-3848 Special Skills and Knowledge: Community and global nutrition; Maternal and child nutrition; Public health nutrition; Field assessment of nutrition status
Odani, Jenee
Associate Specialist, Extension Veterinarian, Pre-Vet Adviser see more...	Email: jsodani@hawaii.edu Phone: (808) 956-3847 Special Skills and Knowledge: Diseases of terrestrial & aquatic livestock; board-certified in veterinary anatomic pathology,
Oshiro, Melelani
Asst Extn Agent see more...	Email: mabran@hawaii.edu Phone: (808) 322-0165 Special Skills and Knowledge: Livestock husbandry, pasture management, grass-fed beef, carcass and meat quality, poultry and small ruminant production practices.
Reichhardt, Caleb Case
Assistant Professor of Livestock Animal Production see more...	Email: CCReichh@hawaii.edu Phone: (808) 956-7691 Special Skills and Knowledge: Beef cattle management and muscle biology.
Seale, Andre P.
Associate Research Professor see more...	Email: seale@hawaii.edu Phone: (808) 956-8961 Special Skills and Knowledge: Comparative endocrinology, fish physiology, cell and molecular biology, signal transduction, aquaculture.
Thorne, Mark
Specialist see more...	Email: thornem@hawaii.edu Phone: (808) 887-7625 Special Skills and Knowledge: Rangeland ecology and Management, Livestock nutrition, health, and management.
Yang, Jinzeng
Professor & Chair see more...	Email: jinzeng@hawaii.edu Phone: (808) 956-6073 Special Skills and Knowledge: Molecular biolgy, Animal biotechnology, Transgenic animals Genetics, Gene regulation, Muscle biology, Lactation physiology, Mammary gland biology

28 April 2021

Fibrous Feedstuff

HNFAS researcher touts the functional benefits for livestock

Compared to the fattening up power of soybeans and corn, high-fiber animal feeds are often considered to be inefficient for optimal growth and production. But livestock producers may want to reconsider that stance, says Rajesh Jha of the Dept. of Human Nutrition, Food and Animal Sciences. “Our lab has studied many alternative feed components for developing cost-effective and sustainable animal production systems and, in the process, found many functional benefits of dietary fiber not previously appreciated,” he notes. Although fibrous feedstuffs typically have fewer calories and relatively lower nutritional values, the higher level of dietary fiber works to improve the animal’s gut health by modulating beneficial microorganisms in the large intestine, the same way as in humans. This, in turn, benefits the immune function, as well as overall health and performance.

“Alternative feedstuffs are a reasonably cheaper animal feed, and can be sourced locally,” Rajesh adds. “Interestingly, dietary fibers and their components have a prebiotic function and are considered alternatives to antibiotics in animal feeding programs. This is of particular importance when the animal industry is under pressure to produce food animals without antibiotics in their diets.”

The review paper, Dietary fiber in poultry nutrition and their effects on nutrient utilization, performance, gut health, and on the environment, appears in a recent issue of the Journal of Animal Science and Biotechnology. Related review and research papers are also available on Rajesh’s lab website.

30 March 2021

LIVE with Kainoa and Laʻakea

HNFAS professor visits KITV and NPR to recruit study participants

“What Are Native Hawaiian Babies Eating? UH Researchers Want to Know” was the title for a segment on Hawaiʻi Public Radio this past Monday, featuring an on-air interview with Marie Kainoa Fialkowski Revilla of the Dept. of Human Nutrition, Food and Animal Sciences. Kainoa says there isn’t enough information about what guides feeding decisions for Native Hawaiian mothers during their baby’s first year. So she’s leading a study, “Exploring Diet Diversity of Native Hawaiian Infants,” with the UH John A. Burns School of Medicine, the UH Cancer Center, and Purdue University.

The researchers hope to recruit pregnant Native Hawaiian women, who will be asked to download the study’s app and upload photos of their meals and their baby’s meals at certain intervals over the course of a year.

“It’s all about improving the health of the next generation – and they’re going to be planting those seeds,” says Kainoa. “And it’s super easy; it’s on your smartphone. We’re always taking pictures of our food anyways and as moms, we’re always wanting to take pictures of what our babies are eating.”

The Sunday evening before, Kainoa was the guest on KITV Island News to discuss the study and recruit participants. She says the data collected can make a difference in the daily health and wellness choices among the Native Hawaiian community.

“Ultimately, I want the work that I do to promote a healthy lahui – a thriving Native Hawaiian community,” says Kainoa, “I believe a way I can do that is through promoting healthy thriving families, healthy thriving babies, and healthy thriving mommies who are giving birth to babies.”

Study participants must be 18 years of age or older, Native Hawaiian, and must feel comfortable using a mobile phone application to take photos of meals throughout the first year of babies life. To sign-up, call (808) 375-3785 or email whrc@ucera.org. The study is funded by the National Institutes of Health through JABSOM and Ola HAWAIʻI.

Photo: Kainoa and Laʻakea Mekaleoalohamaikalewalani Revilla having fun with their food.

3 March 2021

Green Light? Red Light!

HNFAS authors a new column in the Star Advertiser

In their latest newspaper column on nutrition and health, Alan Titchenal and Joannie Dobbs of the Dept. of Human Nutrition, Food and Animal Sciences weigh in on green drinks, those superfoods-in-a-smoothie concoctions we drink for a variety of health goals. With more than 800 million green drink recipes available – each with health claims ranging from sensible to … not sensible – some of us might be tempted to over-consume such green drinks. “However, consuming too much of a good thing can be harmful,” the authors point out. “Many of the nutrients and phytochemicals in these drinks are good for you in moderation, but excessive amounts can result in potential health problems over time.”

Read the full article, Nutrient Overload From Green Drinks Can Be Harmful.

2 December 2020

Mom’s Holiday Pancit

Nutrition professor shares her family recipe

Growing up in Northern Virginia, Monica Esquivel didn't have many opportunities to enjoy Filipino food. So her mom made it a point to have Filipino food at their holiday celebrations every year. "Since we didn't have Filipino food very often, it became something of a tradition to look forward to – and a way to feel connected to our family in the Philippines.”

23 November 2020

Get Stuffed

HNFAS professor’s family loves this Thanksgiving recipe

“The stuffing tends to be a favorite part of the meal and is usually the first bowl to be emptied,” says professor Rachel Novotny of the Dept. of Human Nutrition, Food and Animal Sciences. For your reading and cooking enjoyment, Rachel is sharing her family recipe for stuffing, adapted from the Joy of Cooking cookbook, for their annual Thanksgiving meal.

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HNFAS Department

1955 East West Road
AgSci 216

Honolulu, HI 96822

phone: 808-956-7095

fax: 808-956-4024

hnfas@hawaii.edu

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