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The Department of Anatomy, Biochemistry and Physiology at the University of Hawaiʻi John A. Burns School of Medicine offers a graduate program leading to MS and PhD degrees in Developmental and Reproductive Biology (DRB). In our program, students are enganged in laboratory research and classes that integrate diverse disciplines, such as the study of:

  • Embryo development
  • Stem cells
  • Organogenesis
  • Assisted reproductive technologies (ART)
  • Gene therapy
  • Devo-Evo
  • Anatomical imaging
Whether your goal is pure basic science or translational research, we offer opportunities that will enable you to impact biomedical science and our understanding of life!
View the video on YouTube. Two DRB students, Marissa Miyagi and Winnie Wu, who worked tirelessly with the assistance of the JABSOM Media Team, to prepare this promotion video. Big Mahalo!

For All Students and Faculty Members

On April 30, 2025, the DRB Graduate Program Committee released the DRB Handbook, which outlines the policies and procedures of our program:

The handbook is intended for both current as well as incoming students, as well as faculty members.

Marissa MiyagiFor Prospective Students

The Department of Anatomy, Biochemistry and Physiology offers graduate programs and facilities for instruction and research training in Developmental and Reproductive Biology.

Latest News

Courtney Kurashima won ARCS Scholar of the Year

Courtney Kurashima, a PhD student in the DRB Program, received the E. Palmer Payne Jr. Memorial ARCS Award in Medicine and was also named one of three ARCS Scholars of the Year. Courtney is mentored by Dr. Yusuke Marikawa, and her story is featured in UH News.

Coutney presenting her research
Photo of Benavir and her poster
Benazir Yarbabaeva wins the Best Poster at the Tester Symposium 


Benazir Yarbabaeva, an incoming student in the DRB Graduate Program, has been conducting research under the mentorship of Dr. Monika Ward.  She presented her work at the Tester Symposium (April 11, 2025), and received the Best Undergraduate Student Poster Award.  Benazir will officially join the DRB Program this fall. Congratulations, Benazir!

Congratulations also to Lovina Abdi and Edward Stitt for winning Poster Awards at the JABSOM Biomedical Sciences Symposium (see below)! 


JABSOM Biomedical Sciences Symposium 2025

Ten of our DRB students showcased their research projects at the 2025 JABSOM Biomedical Sciences Symposium, held on Friday, April 4, at the Medical Education Building.
Hongwen Wu
Chantell Balaan
Ian Venter
Lovina Abdi
Ava Vankempen
Shion Aou
Chloe Garcia
Edward Stitt
Bailey Heneghan
Swasthita Sadagopan
Monika Lab Group Photo

New Funding for Ryan Lum

The Monika Ward Lab was awarded an administrative supplement to her active NIH R01 to support a first year DRB MS student Ryan Lum (top middle in the photo). The funds will allow Ryan continue her thesis research as a Research Assistant in the Ward Lab. A comprehensive mentoring plan associated with this award and a team of mentors and advisors will prepare Ryan for various career paths to be taken after graduation.

New Publication by Lance Nunes

Nunes LGA, Rosario FJ, Urschitz J. In vivo placental gene modulation via sonoporation. Placenta. 2024 Oct 23:S0143-4004(24)00688-X. doi: 10.1016/j.placenta.2024.10.015.

Significance of the Study: Complications arising from placental dysfunction impact approximately one-third of human pregnancies. Thus, development of methods for identifying underlying pathology of placental dysfunction is of substantial importance. In this paper, we describe a protocol for placental sonoporation, a gene delivery method that effectively combines ultrasound targeting with lipid microbubble DNA carriers. This research not only holds significant implications for the advancement of methods in placentation studies, as it provides a faster and cost-efficient method for placental research, but it also has the potential to translate into a safe, minimally-invasive treatment strategy for placental dysfunction. (by Lance)
Lance holding a pipetter in his lab.

Halloween at YIBR!

First year DRB MS student, Bailey Haneghan (pumpkin), brought festive spirit to the IBR Manoa and inspired everyone to dress up. Happy Halloween 2024 Everyone!!!

Halloween gathering in front of the YIBR laboratory

Montana INBRE/RAIN Technology Access Grant for Hayden Holmlund

Hayden Holmlund, a PhD student in the Developmental and Reproductive Biology (DRB) graduate program, has just been awarded a Montana INBRE/RAIN Technology Access Grant ($4,600) for his proposal entitled: "Identifying Potential Co-regulators of ZFY1 and ZFY2 in the Male Germline." Hayden pursues his PhD research in the laboratory of Monika Ward. He will use the newly acquired funds to cover the cost of performing mass spectrometry analyses of male germline samples from transgenic mice he developed in Hawaii.

This is not Hayden's first success with attracting grant funding. He has previously applied and been awarded the prestigious Cheteaubriand Fellowship, which sponsored his 6-months training in the laboratory of Dr. Ward's collaborator in Paris, France in Spring this year. He has also recently been awarded the NIH F31 grant to study the function of ZFY proteins.

Hayden holding a bottle in his lab.

Recent Publications (2023-2024) by DRB Graduate Students

Names of the DRB students are underlined.

  • Nunes LGA, Weingrill RB, Fredrick SBJ, Lorca R, Lee MJ, Atif SM, Chicco AJ, Rosario FJ, Urschitz J. Trophoblast-specific Deptor knockdown enhances trophoblast nutrient transport and fetal growth in mice. Acta Physiol (Oxf). 2025 Apr;241(4):e70012. doi: 10.1111/apha.70012. PMID: 40042094.

  • Matsushige C, Kitazumi K, Beaman A, Miyagi M, Tallquist MD, Yamazaki Y. RGD peptide promotes follicle growth through integrins αvβ3/αvβ5 in three-dimensional culture. Reproduction. 2024 Dec 9;169(1):e240151. doi: 10.1530/REP-24-0151. PMID: 39441765.
  • Nunes LGA, Rosario FJ, Urschitz J. In vivo placental gene modulation via sonoporation. Placenta. 2024 Oct 23:S0143-4004(24)00688-X. doi: 10.1016/j.placenta.2024.10.015. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 39477696.
  • Wu H, Nguyen H, Hashim PH, Fogelgren B, Duncan FE, Ward WS. Oocyte-specific EXOC5 expression is required for mouse oogenesis and folliculogenesis. Mol Hum Reprod. 2024 Aug 5;30(8):gaae026. doi: 10.1093/molehr/gaae026. PMID: 39037927.
  • Padron JG, Saito Reis CA, Ng PK, Norman Ing ND, Baker H, Davis K, Kurashima C, Kendal-Wright CE. Stretch Causes cffDNA and HMGB1-Mediated Inflammation and Cellular Stress in Human Fetal Membranes. Int J Mol Sci. 2024 May 9;25(10):5161. doi: 10.3390/ijms25105161.
  • Hew BE, Gupta S, Sato R, Waller DF, Stoytchev I, Short JE, Sharek L, Tran CT, Badran AH, Owens JB. Directed evolution of hyperactive integrases for site specific insertion of transgenes. Nucleic Acids Res. 2024 Aug 12;52(14):e64. doi: 10.1093/nar/gkae534. PMID: 38953167.
  • Cheung EC, Nilsson A, Venter I, Kowalik G, Ribeiro C, Rodriguez J, Kuraoka K, Russo R, Escobar JB, Alber BR, Mendelowitz D, Kay MW, Schunke KJ. Sex differences in cardiac transcriptomic response to neonatal sleep apnea. Physiol Rep. 2024 Jul;12(13):e16110. doi: 10.14814/phy2.16110. PMID: 38981849.
  • Nunes LGA, Ma C, Hoffmann FW, Shay AE, Pitts MW, Hoffmann PR. Selenoprotein I is indispensable for ether lipid homeostasis and proper myelination. J Biol Chem. 2024 Apr 4:107259. doi: 10.1016/j.jbc.2024.107259. PMID: 38582453.
  • Torigoe TH, Willcox DC, Shimabukuro M, Higa M, Gerschenson M, Andrukhiv A, Suzuki M, Morris BJ, Chen R, Gojanovich GS, Allsopp RC, Willcox BJ. Novel protective effect of the FOXO3 longevity genotype on mechanisms of cellular aging in Okinawans. NPJ Aging. 2024 Mar 8;10(1):18. doi: 10.1038/s41514-024-00142-8. PMID: 38459055.
  • Huntsman MC, Kurashima CK, Marikawa Y. Validation of a mouse 3D gastruloid-based embryotoxicity assay in reference to the ICH S5(R3) guideline chemical exposure list. Reprod Toxicol. 2024 Feb 15;125:108558. doi: 10.1016/j.reprotox.2024.108558. PMID: 38367697.

  • Holmlund H, Yamauchi Y, Ruthig VA, Cocquet J, Ward MA. Return of the forgotten hero: the role of Y chromosome-encoded Zfy in male reproduction. Mol Hum Reprod. 2023 Jul 31;29(8):gaad025. doi: 10.1093/molehr/gaad025. PMID: 37354519.
  • Nguyen H, Ribas-Maynou J, Wu H, Quon B, Inouye T, Walker B, Langaman C, Huang TTF, Ward WS. Low levels of mouse sperm chromatin fragmentation delay embryo development. Biol Reprod. 2023 Sep 2:ioad106. doi: 10.1093/biolre/ioad106. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 37658763.
  • Ribas-Maynou J, Nguyen H, Wu H, Ward WS. Functional Aspects of Sperm Chromatin Organization. Results Probl Cell Differ. 2022;70:295-311. doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-06573-6_10. PMID: 36348112; PMCID: PMC9671218.
  • Padron JG, Norman Ing ND, Ng PK, Kendal-Wright CE. Stretch Causes Cell Stress and the Downregulation of Nrf2 in Primary Amnion Cells. Biomolecules. 2022 May 31;12(6):766. doi: 10.3390/biom12060766. PMID: 35740891; PMCID: PMC9220942.
  • Saito Reis CA, Ng PK, Kurashima CK, Padron J, Kendal-Wright CE. Fetal DNA Causes Sex-Specific Inflammation From Human Fetal Membranes. Front Physiol. 2022 Jun 22;13:901726. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2022.901726. PMID: 35812324; PMCID: PMC9257279.
  • Kurashima CK, Ng PK, Kendal-Wright CE. RAGE against the Machine: Can Increasing Our Understanding of RAGE Help Us to Battle SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Pregnancy? Int J Mol Sci. 2022 Jun 7;23(12):6359. doi: 10.3390/ijms23126359. PMID: 35742804; PMCID: PMC9224312.
  • Nguyen TB, Lac Q, Abdi L, Banerjee D, Deng Y, Zhang Y. Harshening stem cell research and precision medicine: The states of human pluripotent cells stem cell repository diversity, and racial and sex differences in transcriptomes. Front Cell Dev Biol. 2023 Jan 4;10:1071243. doi: 10.3389/fcell.2022.1071243. PMID: 36684445; PMCID: PMC9848738.
  • Giannakopoulos S, Strange DP, Jiyarom B, Abdelaal O, Bradshaw AW, Nerurkar VR, Ward MA, Bakse J, Yap J, Vanapruks S, Boisvert WA, Tallquist MD, Shikuma C, Sadri-Ardekani H, Clapp P, Murphy SV, Verma S. In vitro evidence against productive SARS-CoV-2 infection of human testicular cells: Bystander effects of infection mediate testicular injury. PLoS Pathog. 2023 May 18;19(5):e1011409. doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1011409. PMID: 37200377; PMCID: PMC10231791.
  • Ribas-Maynou J, Nguyen H, Valle R, Wu H, Yeste M, Ward WS. Sperm degradation after vasectomy follows a sperm chromatin fragmentation-dependent mechanism causing DNA breaks in the toroid linker regions. Mol Hum Reprod. 2022 Aug 29;29(9):gaac029. doi: 10.1093/molehr/gaac029. PMID: 35929777; PMCID: PMC9422300.
  • Morosky P, Comyns C, Nunes LGA, Chung CZ, Hoffmann PR, Soll D, Vargas-Rodriguez O and Krahn N (2023) Dual incorporation of non-canonical amino acids enables production of post-translationally modified selenoproteins. Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences 10:1096261. doi: 10.3389/fmolb.2023.1096261.
  • Kirkwood-Johnson L, Marikawa Y. (2023) Developmental toxicity of remdesivir, an anti-COVID-19 drug, is implicated by in vitro assays using morphogenetic embryoid bodies of mouse and human pluripotent stem cells. Birth Defects Research 115(2):224-239. doi: 10.1002/bdr2.2111. PMCID: PMC9877128.
Earilier student publications (2018-2022) are found here.