Research
UH Manoa
Collaboration
HONOLULU, Hawaiʻi — Chelsea Miller, a Ph.D. student in the Department of Molecular Biosciences and Bioengineering (MBBE) at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, was awarded the prestigious Outstanding Poster Award at the National IDeA Symposium of Biomedical Research Excellence (NISBRE), held June 17, 2026, in North Bethesda, Maryland.
Miller’s award-winning poster, “Genome on the Go: Decentralizing Molecular Biology Education through Portable Genomics Tools and Near-Peer Mentorship,” highlighted an innovative training platform that brings hands-on genomics education directly to students using portable sequencing technologies and graduate student mentors. The project was developed through the Hawaiʻi INBRE program and supported by USDA workforce development initiatives.
Over the past year, Miller and her team delivered 11 workshops across Hawaiʻi, the Pacific, and the U.S. mainland, training 72 participants through a complete “sample-to-sequence” genomics workflow using Bento Lab and Oxford Nanopore technologies. The program has successfully expanded access to cutting-edge molecular biology tools while strengthening biomedical workforce development and student engagement in genomics.
“This award reflects the incredible efforts of our graduate student instructors and the vision of making genomics accessible to every student, regardless of location,” said Dr. Jon-Paul Bingham, Hawaiʻi INBRE PATHways Director and co-author on the project. Faculty interested in bringing a Genome on the Go workshop to their campus or classroom are encouraged to contact Dr. Jon-Paul Bingham at jbingham@hawaii.edu.
This national IDeA meeting is held every other year and in addition to Miller's award, there were two others awarded from HI-INBRE including Dr. Li Tao, PhD, Professor at UH Hilo (Outstanding Mentorship and Teaching Award) and Dr. Natalie Graham, PhD., Assistant Professor at UH Hilo (Scientific Merit Award). 