Kauai’s ‘lab superstar’

LIHUE — A 2004 graduate of Kauai High School is making waves for his discoveries related to cone sea snails and their venom.

Chino Cabalteja, a master’s student in the Department of Molecular Biosciences and Bioengineering at UH Manoa, received the 2014 UHM Student Excellence in Research Award. The recognition comes from the student’s work in Dr. Jon Paul Bingham’s lab in the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, according to a press release.

“I’m very honored to have received this award,” Cabalteja said. “It’s not every day that you get recognized for something that you love doing. Hopefully, it motivates me to strive harder and contribute back to the community some day.”

Cabalteja was honored last week during a campus-wide ceremony and will be recognized again on Friday during CTAHR’s awards banquet at the Ala Moana Hotel.

Described as a “lab superstar” by one of his student colleagues, Cabalteja is currently researching the bioengineering of conotoxins, bioactive peptides from the venom of Conus sea snails, the college wrote in a release. Cone snail venom is being investigated for its many possible applications, from the potential design of drugs with specific pharmacological properties to agricultural pesticides.

“Instead of having to harvest the venom from the snails, which is still being done today, Cabalteja is also able to recreate the conotoxin in the lab, formulating it amino acid by amino acid,” the release stated. “An interesting discovery arising from his research is that human-made conotoxins have different configurations than those that are created naturally by the snails, the discovery that led to his award.”

Coming from Kauai, Cabalteja first day at UH was the first time he had any real lab exposure. He arrived as a microbiology major, wanting to learn more about the state of human disease, and later developed an interest in biochemistry, he said.

When asked what he thought about being called a “lab superstar,” Cabalteja laughed.

“I think they’re giving me way too much credit,” he told The Garden Island. “Everybody works really hard in our lab. It’s a very collaborative environment … I’m really happy because I found a very supportive lab, with good guidance from my colleagues.”

Bill Arakaki, the Kauai Area Complex superintendent, described Cabalteja’s work, and recent award, as terrific.

“We are very proud of his accomplishments and contributions,” he wrote in an email. “We also wish him the best as he embarks to the University of Pittsburgh.”

This fall, Cabalteja will attend the University of Pittsburgh, where he has been accepted into the prestigious Ph.D. program in molecular biophysics and structural biology.

He said he is excited about his acceptance to Pittsburgh and that his long-term goals include returning to Hawaii to be a professor and contributing to the growing STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) program on Kauai.

“(I want to help) establish programs that will help people, especially the Kauai youth that are interested in science,” he said.

While Kauai was lacking in science enrichment education when he was young, Cabalteja said things are changing, thanks to programs like the Hawaii Regional Science Bowl and the Kauai “Gene-iuses on a Mission,” a series of Saturday workshops at Kauai Community College.

“We look forward to his return to Kauai as he brings positive change and to influence increased opportunities in the field of Science Education on Kauai,” Arakaki said.

The recent award is not Cabalteja’s first honor as a UH student. In 2012, he was awarded the CTAHR Best MS Student Poster Presentation at the Student Research Symposium. And at this year’s symposium, he brought home the Molecular Biosciences and Bioengineering Best MS Student Oral Presentation.

Originally from the Philippines, Cabalteja moved to Kauai as a child.