Current and Previous ORWH U3 Projects
Since its inception in 2017, the ORWH U3 Administrative Supplement Program has funded research projects across geographical regions and spanning divergent diseases and conditions affecting underserved populations of women.
U3 Featured Researcher
Mariana Gerschenson, Ph.D.
University of Hawaii at Mānoa
Dr. Gerschenson is the associate dean for research at the John A. Burns School of Medicine and tenured professor in the Department of Cell and Molecular Biology at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa. She also serves as lead principal investigator and director for the Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE). In 2021, Dr. Gerschenson’s ORWH-sponsored U3 administrative supplement examined how plasma levels of irisin and systemic inflammatory cytokine levels differ in Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islander (NHPI) women when compared to other ethnicities, and how the levels correlate with overall risk of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). This project focused on identification of predictive biomarkers, relevant across patients with diverse ethnic backgrounds, to facilitate early intervention for GDM and prevention of adverse maternal and fetal outcomes.
