# Insectary for Scientific Training and Advances in Research (InSTAR)

> **NIH NIH P20** · UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII AT MANOA · 2022 · $103,557

## Abstract

Project Summary – CORE D: Insectary for Scientific Training and Advances in Research (InSTAR)
Insects provide excellent model systems with which to study the interactions between hosts and their
microbiota. These insect models advance our understanding of the impact of microbial symbionts on host
development, metabolism, immune function, and overall system fitness, and produce generalizable information
that informs human health. In addition, the symbiotic microbes of insects have direct impacts on public health
because microbial symbionts influence the survival, development, cellular function, and immunity of insect
pests and disease vectors that contribute significantly to the global public health burden, especially in the
tropics. The central objective of this proposal is to develop an insectary facility that will enable the use of
insects to study the environmental microbiome by researchers at the University of Hawai`i at Mānoa. Currently,
this major research university does not have a high-containment biosafety level 2 (BSL-2) facility, which greatly
reduces the capacity of researchers at this institution to utilize insect models to study the impact of the
environmental microbiome on human health. The proposed Insectary for Scientific Training and Advances in
Research (InSTAR) will provide such a high-containment, BSL-2 certified insectary space and greatly facilitate
use of insect models to investigate biomedical questions that impact human health. Importantly, the InSTAR
facility will provide critical infrastructure for at least four junior investigators on this COBRE, and will fully
integrate with existing facilities at UHM that support a renowned community of researchers investigating the
microbiome. Over the long term, the core will facilitate medical entomology in the State of Hawai`i, increasing
the capacity to respond to public health threats imposed by insects. In addition, it will promote research toward
developing new model systems focusing on unique native Hawaiian insects, and serve as a resource that
facilitates access to Hawaii`s distinctive biodiversity to the global research community.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10488604
- **Project number:** 5P20GM125508-05
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII AT MANOA
- **Principal Investigator:** PATRICIA A COUVILLON
- **Activity code:** P20 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $103,557
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-08-15 → 2023-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10488604

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10488604, Insectary for Scientific Training and Advances in Research (InSTAR) (5P20GM125508-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10488604. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*