Faculty from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (ICS) presented two peer-reviewed papers at the (ICSE 2026) and related events, April 12–18, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Mobile app accessibility

ICS Assistant Professor Anthony Peruma presented “” in the ICSE 2026 Research Track, co-authored with ICS master鈥檚 alumnus Amila Indika and Professor Rick Kazman from the .

The study examines how mobile app developers approach accessibility across platforms such as iOS and Android. Drawing on a mixed-methods survey of 110 mobile app developers across 43 countries, the research identifies how platform ecosystems, developer experience, organizational constraints and technical limitations shape accessibility practices.

The findings show that while developers recognize the importance of accessibility, accessibility-related testing is often performed late in the development process. The study also revealed meaningful differences in accessibility practices between iOS and Android platforms and across developer experience levels, offering actionable guidance for more inclusive app development.

Improving security for shared software packages

At the Cooperative and Human Aspects of Software Engineering conference, which was co-located with ICSE, ICS Assistant Professor Italo Santos presented the paper “.” The paper was co-authored by Peruma, ICS master鈥檚 student Truman Choy and ICS master鈥檚 alumnus Gerald Lee.

This research investigates how developers who maintain packages in the Node Package Manager (npm) ecosystem—a platform for sharing and managing JavaScript software packages—perceive and address security. Through a survey of 75 npm package developers, the study examines their security practices, the tools they use, barriers to implementing stronger security measures and recommendations for enhancing the security of the npm ecosystem.

The findings highlight concerns such as supply chain attacks, dependency vulnerabilities, malicious code, alert fatigue and false positives, while also identifying opportunities for better detection tools, clearer documentation, stronger account protections and expanded security education.

“Together, these two papers reflect 糖心视频 Mānoa鈥檚 growing contributions to software engineering research, particularly in areas where technical systems intersect with people, organizations and society,” Peruma said. “Our work aims to understand the real-world challenges developers face and provide practical guidance for building software that is more accessible, secure and beneficial to the broader community.”

ICSE is widely recognized as the leading international venue for software engineering research, bringing together researchers, practitioners and educators from around the world to discuss advances, challenges and emerging trends in the field. Acceptance into the ICSE main research track is highly competitive, making the showing a notable achievement for 糖心视频 Mānoa.

Oceanographers from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa discovered that microbial communities—from the sunlit surface to extreme depths—in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre exhibit robust seasonal cycles. provides new insight into how high levels of biodiversity are maintained in the open ocean.

“A long-standing question in biological oceanography, which we refer to as the ‘paradox of the plankton,’ asks: How can open ocean species diversity be so vast and sustained, in a seemingly homogeneous environment like the open ocean?,” said Fuyan Li, lead author of the study and affiliate researcher in the in the 糖心视频 Mānoa .

The blue, deep waters of the Pacific Ocean have extremely low nutrient concentrations compared to coastal areas that teem with visible life, such as kelp forests off California or coral reefs in Hawaiʻi.

“Theoretical ecology suggests that one way co-occurring species diversity can be maintained, is if shared resources, such as nutrients, are used at different times of year, thereby minimizing competition,” Li said. “Though seasonal cycles are a fundamental property of many diverse ecosystems, seasonality in the tropics is less pronounced than in temperate or polar ocean habitats.” This work was funded by the Simons Foundation project called the SCOPE.

Tracking microbes through DNA

To determine whether microbial communities at Station ALOHA, a tropical, open ocean research station 60 miles north of Oʻahu, have seasonal cycles, Li and colleagues analyzed microbial DNA in samples collected monthly over eight years, leveraging the Hawaiʻi Ocean Time-series (HOT) program. The combination of frequent sampling over a long time period, and high-resolution species identification, allowed the researchers to make these new and unprecedented open ocean observations.

They found that more than 60% of the microbial groups they tracked exhibited seasonal cycling. While these seasonal cycles diminished at depths below 150 meters, surprisingly, they remained measurable in some deep-sea microbial species at depths of nearly two and a half miles.

“Notably, very closely related species or subspecies ‘bloomed’ at different times of the year, similar to seasonal patterns observed in some terrestrial plants and animals,” Li said. “Taking turns with respect to nutrient use throughout the year seems to be a key ecological strategy for microbial communities to maintain their diversity.”

By sustaining their populations throughout the year, microbial communities consistently supply organic matter and energy to organisms higher in the food web, for example larval fish. In this way, microbes ensure the stability of the marine food web and productivity in waters across the Pacific Ocean.

The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa has received nearly $1 million in new federal funding—including a National Science Foundation (NSF) Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award—for research led by Assistant Professor Tianlu Wang to develop tiny, flexible robots designed to work in hard-to-reach environments, from coral reefs to the human body.

The funding includes a five-year, $659,613 CAREER award and a two-year, $299,997 Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) Research Fellows grant, both from NSF.

“By focusing on both performance and safety, we鈥檙e working to make miniature robots practical for real-world use in places that are difficult to reach,” said Wang from 糖心视频 Mānoa鈥檚 . “This research brings us closer to technologies that can better support healthcare and protect sensitive environments.”

The CAREER project focuses on improving how small “soft” robots move and function in fluids such as the ocean or inside the body. These robots, about the size of a few millimeters to centimeters, can adapt to their surroundings. However, they currently lack the speed, agility and manipulation capabilities as seen in small marine organisms. The research aims to change that by developing new ways for the robots to interact with fluids, helping them move faster, turn more easily and handle objects. Potential uses include exploring coral reefs and mangroves, monitoring aquaculture systems and reaching difficult areas of the body for medical diagnosis or treatment. The project also supports student learning through new courses, research opportunities and public outreach.

The CAREER program is the NSF鈥檚 flagship award for early-career faculty in the U.S., supporting those who show strong potential to lead in both research and education. CAREER awardees are also eligible for nomination to the Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers, a White House honor recognizing innovative research and leadership.

Safety and environmentally friendly design

The EPSCoR fellowship focuses on safety and environmentally friendly design. In collaboration with the Mayo Clinic in Arizona, the project will develop miniature soft robots made from materials that are safer for natural environments and medical use. It will also establish methods for designing and testing these robots to ensure they can operate effectively without causing harm. The work is expected to expand research opportunities at 糖心视频, while training students in robotics, materials science and biomedical engineering.

Wang also serves as an adjunct assistant professor at The Queen鈥檚 Medical Center and a cooperating faculty in 糖心视频 Mānoa鈥檚 .

Related 糖心视频 News stories:

• Heart tech, mini medical robot breakthrough: 糖心视频 researcher earns $230K award, April 8, 2026
• Bio-inspired breakthroughs: Engineering solutions from nature, August 26, 2025
• Team of microscopic soft robots could transform medical care, November 10, 2024
• Robot tech to clean oceans wows international summit, February 6, 2024

The University of Hawaiʻi has launched a new office that will serve as a central hub for grant support, research development and funding opportunities to help boost scientific discovery, increase research capacity and stimulate workforce development in the state.

Backed by the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Institutional Development Award (IDeA) from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the was created to help faculty and students from higher education institutions located in the Hawaiʻi EPSCoR/IDeA jurisdiction (encompassing the state of Hawaiʻi) to expand their research efforts, while enhancing the impact and visibility of Hawaiʻi-based research across the nation.

“The launch of this office is an important step in strengthening our state鈥檚 research capacity and expanding support for faculty and students,” 糖心视频 President Wendy Hensel said. “By building stronger partnerships and increasing access to federal funding, we can accelerate discovery, grow Hawaiʻi鈥檚 research workforce and deliver meaningful impact for our communities.”

The EPSCoR program is a federal initiative designed to strengthen research capacity and competitiveness across states, territories and jurisdictions that historically have received a smaller share of federal research funding. In 2016, NSF awarded 糖心视频 a five-year $20 million grant for its ʻIke Wai (knowledge of fresh water) project to conduct geophysical research to better understand the dynamics of freshwater aquifers around the state. In addition to providing updated information on water flows and capacities, the study helped to more accurately map the contaminant flow from subsequent leaks into the aquifer that contributed to the eventual shutdown of the U.S. Navy鈥檚 Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility on Oʻahu in 2022. Currently, 糖心视频鈥檚 Change Hawaiʻi project leverages AI, machine learning and high-resolution data to advance climate resilience and ecosystem monitoring across the islands.

Similarly, the IDeA program works to broaden the geographic distribution of biomedical research funding in states and territories that have historically received lower levels of NIH research funding. In Hawaiʻi, IDeA enriches 糖心视频 programs such as 糖心视频 Mānoa鈥檚 Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) and its Diabetic Research Center; the Hawaiʻi IDeA Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE), which helps to fortify research programs statewide to increase the number of undergraduate students seeking a biomedical science career; and the Center for Pacific Innovations, Knowledge, and Opportunities (PIKO) that aid medically underserved populations in Hawaiʻi by improving clinical and translational research infrastructure.

“The launch of the Hawaiʻi EPSCoR/IDeA Office represents an important step forward in strengthening our state鈥檚 innovation ecosystem,” said Amy Asselbaye, executive director of City and County of Honolulu鈥檚 Office of Economic Revitalization. “As a member of the Hawaiʻi EPSCoR Jurisdictional Steering Committee (JSC), I鈥檓 excited to play a role in aligning research priorities and translating federal investment into meaningful, community-centered outcomes. By advancing collaboration and increasing local research, we can support scientific discovery while creating pathways for economic diversification, workforce development, long-term resilience for Hawaiʻi, and a better quality of life for our people.”

The 糖心视频 Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation oversees and provides administrative support for Hawaiʻi EPSCoR/IDeA initiatives. The Hawaiʻi EPSCoR/IDeA Office is currently working with JSC—a strategic advisory body comprised of members from local government, business, higher education, health, and community based organizations—on a new Hawaiʻi Science and Technology Plan (S&T Plan). The S&T Plan will serve as a five-year strategic road map to enhance the state鈥檚 research competitiveness, economic resilience and workforce through science, technology and data-driven innovation, by building on Hawaiʻi鈥檚 unique geographical, cultural and ecological strengths.

“The role of the Hawaiʻi EPSCoR/IDeA Office is to serve as quarterback for a team of outstanding faculty and students from higher education institutions in Hawaiʻi to help secure critical funding and infrastructure for their critical research that impacts not only our state, but the world,” said 糖心视频 Interim Vice President for Research and Innovation Chad Walton. “Armed with a new S&T Plan that reflects the state鈥檚 research priorities, it is our goal to foster more public-private-academic collaboration to further strengthen our state鈥檚 research capacity and ultimately—our economy.”

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa researchers revealed that Waikīkī is facing a fundamental shift in flood hazards as sea levels rise—transitioning from a flooding that is driven primarily by rainfall to events increasingly dominated by tidal processes. The team identified two key pathways that will become more significant with sea-level rise, both of which will increase public exposure to sewage-contaminated waters. The study was published in .

“Our findings make clear that current flood management strategies for Waikīkī are incomplete,” said Kayla Yamamoto, climate modeling analyst at the in the 糖心视频 Mānoa (SOEST). “Most planning focuses on surface damage and economic loss from storms, but largely ignores the contamination dimension. Our results show that contaminated flooding will become more frequent, more extensive, and eventually a daily occurrence rather than a storm-driven one. There are currently no effective management strategies in place to address this.”

Simulating future scenarios

The team used an open-source, physics-based flood model to simulate how multiple flood sources interact in Waikīkī. The team used an advanced flood model that, unlike previous models, integrates all sources of flooding—rain, tides, underground water behavior, and storm drains—to provide a single, complete view of the hazard

“What we found is that during extreme rainfall like we鈥檝e been experiencing, high tides and elevated water levels in the Ala Wai can combine to create conditions where contaminated water flows back into low-lying streets and sidewalks,” said Shellie Habel, study co-author and coastal geologist with the Coastal Research Collaborative and . “As sea level rises, it will take less extreme rainfall and tides to cause similar flooding in the future.”

The two key pathways they identified were: storm drain backflow, where polluted water from the Ala Wai Canal is forced into streets and public spaces in Waikīkī through drainage systems, and groundwater emergence, which brings sewage and other contaminants from aging and leaking sewage infrastructure to the surface.

The model simulations show that storm drain backflow is projected to occur even when there is no rainfall:

• 1 foot of sea-level rise: Storm drain backflow occurs during extreme tides, even without rain.
• 2 feet of sea-level rise: Storm drain backflow occurs during moderate daily tidal conditions.
• 4 feet of sea-level rise: Groundwater emergence (bringing sewage to the surface) begins to occur without rain.

Researchers compared their model simulations against tide gauges, canal water level sensors, groundwater monitoring wells, and photographs of street-level flooding during three real recent storm events, including a major 50-year Kona storm in December 2021, a moderate storm in April 2023, and a five-year Kona storm in May 2024.

Implications for Waikīkī, beyond

The Ala Wai Canal is one of the most polluted waterways in Hawaiʻi, containing sewage, heavy metals and pathogens such as Vibrio and MRSA. Exposure to these waters is a documented risk, with MRSA infections linked to Hawaiʻi waters already contributing to an estimated 200 deaths per year in the state. Because Waikīkī is a primary economic engine where residents and visitors are in constant contact with coastal waters, the anticipated flooding represents a growing public health and environmental crisis.

Many coastal cities around the world rely on estuarine waterways to drain their stormwater, and face the same combination of aging infrastructure, rising seas and contaminated waters.

“Our modeling framework is transferable, and we hope this study serves as a wake-up call to modernize stormwater and wastewater infrastructure, integrate contamination risk into coastal flood planning, and build early warning systems before these thresholds are crossed,” Yamamoto said.

Nearly 100 people gathered in person and online on April 18 at the for the free workshop, “How Clinical Trials Save Lives,” learning how these studies work and how patients may benefit from new cancer treatments.

The event also marked the one-year anniversary of the Susan C. Hirano Cancer CARE Community, a patient-empowerment program that brings together patients, survivors, caregivers, and health care providers for education and support.

Attendees learned about the 贬辞鈥�ō濒补 Early Phase Clinical Research Center, located at the 糖心视频 Cancer Center in Kakaʻako. The new facility will allow Hawaiʻi patients to access early phase, or Phase I, clinical trials locally for the first time, without traveling to the U.S. continent.

Panel discussions and presentations featured clinicians, researchers, survivors and caregivers sharing medical information and personal experiences with clinical trials.

Clinical trials expand access to new hope for patients

“Clinical trials are where research can turn into real hope for patients,” said Naoto T. Ueno, director of the 糖心视频 Cancer Center. “Clinical trials give patients access to promising new therapies that are not yet widely available鈥攕ometimes offering options when standard treatments are no longer effective.”

Panelist Kimberly Omine, who is undergoing a clinical trial for blood cancer, said the experience has been life-changing. “If I didn鈥檛 go through clinical trials, I wouldn鈥檛 be here.”

糖心视频 Cancer Center officials noted that clinical trials provide closely monitored care and may offer access to treatments that improve outcomes while advancing future cancer research. The center administers nearly 90% of all cancer clinical trials in Hawaiʻi, in partnership with member organizations of the Hawaiʻi Cancer Consortium.

The workshop was produced by the , which continues to expand programming connecting the cancer community across Hawaiʻi.

University of Hawaiʻi at M膩noa student Elizabeth Rooks is earning national recognition for her research on retinoblastoma, a pediatric eye cancer, during a dedicated research year.

Rooks was awarded the Research to Prevent Blindness Medical Student Eye Research Fellowship, a competitive program supporting students advancing the understanding and treatment of eye disease.

“It鈥檚 an incredible honor,” she said. “This fellowship feels like an investment in my future, but more importantly in work that directly impacts patients.”

Advancing retinoblastoma research

Collaborating with researchers at the University of Washington, Rooks examines the genetic mutations behind the retinoblastoma and how they are inherited.

“Some patients also go on to develop osteosarcomas or other cancers in their 40s and 50s, while others never do,” she said.

Her work uses long-read genetic sequencing, which can identify not only mutations but also which parent passed them on.

“Unlike traditional sequencing methods, long-read sequencing lets us see the parental origin of a mutation without needing to test the parents. This is important because earlier research shows that mutations inherited from the father can make retinoblastoma more aggressive,” she said.

Rooks also helps collect and sequence DNA from patients and return findings to clinicians, potentially informing care in a fast-progressing cancer. Understanding the origin may help identify high-risk children earlier and guide more precise treatment.

After her research year, Rooks will return to Hawaiʻi to complete her medical training.

“I am so grateful for this fellowship and for my team,” she said. “Working with them has taught me so much and has shown me the kind of physician I want to become.”

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An invasive algae already well-established in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands is raising concern among researchers as it threatens to spread into the main Hawaiian Islands. Scientists from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) have identified a potential ally in slowing its advance: sea turtles.

Hawaiian green sea turtles (honu) have been documented for the first time actively grazing on Chondria tumulosa, an aggressive invasive red alga that has spread rapidly across reefs among three of the northernmost atolls in Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument (PMNM).

The findings, recently published in the journal by researchers, suggest that honu may play a meaningful role in controlling this ecologically damaging species—while also potentially spreading it.

“After these exciting finds, our multi-partner effort to prevent this seaweed from taking hold in the Main Hawaiian Islands must include a plan to increase numbers of threatened, native green sea turtles, as well as ramping up efforts to identify all routes that could allow Chondria to spread to Oʻahu,” said Celia Smith, 糖心视频 Mānoa‘s professor and senior author of the study.

Dangers of C. tumulosa

First detected at Manawai (Pearl and Hermes Atoll) in 2016, C. tumulosa has since expanded to more than 101 square kilometers of reef habitat (nearly the size of Kahoʻolawe), including Kuaihelani (Midway Atoll) in 2021 and Hōlanikū (Kure Atoll) in 2022. The alga forms dense mats more than 6 centimeters thick that can smother live coral and displace native reef species, making it one of the most pressing threats to the monument’s reef ecosystems.

Turtles take a bite

Using a stationary GoPro camera deployed on a reef at Midway Atoll in June and July 2025, the research team captured approximately 50 minutes of footage showing three honu grazing on C. tumulosa mats. One female took up to 18 bites in a 95-second burst, leaving disruptions 5–15 cm in diameter across the algal canopy—substantially larger than what urchins or fish could achieve. A complementary necropsy of a stranded adult female confirmed C. tumulosa fragments throughout her digestive tract, accounting for roughly 25% of the material in her esophagus and crop.

“These turtles are consuming a meaningful amount of this alga in a single foraging session,” said Tammy Summers, USFWS staff biologist and co-author of the study. “It鈥檚 exciting because it points to honu as a native megaherbivore with the potential to suppress C. tumulosa biomass—but it also raises important questions about whether fragments excreted during their migrations between atolls could accelerate the alga鈥檚 spread.”

The findings carry immediate management implications. Because 96% of Hawaiian green sea turtles nesting occurs at Lalo (French Frigate Shoals) before individuals disperse to foraging grounds across the archipelago, the authors recommend eDNA monitoring at Lalo to track potential spread of C. tumulosa beyond its known range.

The study was a collaboration between 糖心视频 Mānoa‘s School of Life Sciences and USFWS Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, and was funded by USFWS Invasive Species Strike Team funds through a cooperative agreement with 糖心视频 Mānoa. Smith leads the Limu Lab at 糖心视频 Mānoa, where research on C. tumulosa physiology, distribution and ecology has been ongoing for several years. Other authors on the paper are Caroline Pott from USFWS and Angela Richards Donà from the School of Life Sciences.

This work was accomplished under permit numbers PMNM-2025-001, USFWS 274 Recovery Permit TE72088A-3, Recovery Sub-permit TE163899-2, NOAA Permit 21260, and 275 State of Hawaiʻi, Department of Land and Natural Resources Special Activity Permit 2026-01.

The School of Life Sciences is housed in 糖心视频 Mānoa‘s .

Related 糖心视频 News stories on 糖心视频 Mānoa research on C. tumulosa:

• Nuisance alga detected beyond Papahānaumokuākea for the 1st time, December 16, 2024
• Early detection system for nuisance alga infesting Papahānaumokuākea reefs, September 25, 2022
• Algae species discovered infesting NW waters has been identified, July 7, 2020

A University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa faculty member has earned international recognition for research that advances understanding in a key area of modern mathematics.

Department Chair and Associate Professor Malik Younsi received the 2026 Frontiers of Science Award from the International Congress of Basic Science (ICBS). The honor recognizes major breakthroughs in mathematics, physics and engineering.

Younsi was recognized for a research paper co-authored with Dimitrios Ntalampekos on conformal maps, a topic in complex analysis that studies how shapes in the plane can be transformed while preserving angles. In simple terms, it looks at how you can stretch or reshape something—such as a map or a piece of rubber—without changing the way angles and corners fit together, similar to how digital maps adjust views while keeping locations accurate.

“Mathematics is often about finding hidden structure in things that seem complicated at first,” Younsi said. “This recognition highlights the value of staying curious and patient, and I hope it encourages students to see that even abstract ideas can lead to meaningful discoveries.”

The 55-page paper, published in Inventiones Mathematicae, looks at when flat shapes can be transformed into ones bounded by circles and points, building on a long-standing question called the Koebe uniformization conjecture. The research helps describe when there is essentially just one possible way to do transformation, giving a clearer understanding of how these shapes work.

The Frontiers of Science Award, launched in 2023, recognizes recent papers with lasting impact after a competitive global review process. Younsi鈥檚 work was selected by an international panel of experts for its contribution to complex analysis. He will be honored at the 2026 ICBS meeting in Beijing on August 9, where leading scientists from around the world will gather to present and discuss new discoveries.

The Department of Mathematics is housed in 糖心视频 Mānoa鈥檚 .

The University of Hawaiʻi has been designated as a new Pacific Reef Research Coordination Institute (Pacific RRCI) by the (NOAA) to support coral reef conservation in the Pacific through research, collaboration and public education.

The Pacific RRCI will be housed in 糖心视频鈥檚 , under the aegis of the , and will perform the following critical functions: conduct federally directed research to fill national and regional gaps; collaborate with relevant states and territories, Indigenous groups, coral reef managers, non-governmental organizations, and other coral reef research centers; assist in the implementation of the NOAA鈥檚 National Coral Reef Resilience Strategy and coral reef action plans; build non-federal capacity for management and restoration practices; and conduct public education and awareness programs.

“This new institute combines 糖心视频鈥檚 strengths in cutting-edge, ocean-related research and our collaborative, place-based approach to working with resource managers throughout Hawaiʻi and the Pacific to protect our vital coral reefs,” said Chad B. Walton, 糖心视频 interim vice president for research and innovation. “At the same time, it provides us with further opportunities to develop our region鈥檚 next generation of researchers and managers in the field of conservation futures.”

To restore and preserve coral reef ecosystems in the U.S. from natural and human-related effects, the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000 was reauthorized and modernized by the Restoring Resilient Reefs Act of 2021, which was included in the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act that became law in 2022. The reauthorized law required the designation of two RRCIs, one each in the Atlantic and Pacific basins, was required. The RRCIs were chosen from 32 preselected coral reef research centers and were designated based on the results of technical merit and panel reviews. The Restoring Resilient Reefs Act of 2021 was introduced and sponsored by Hawaiʻi Senators Brian Schatz and Mazie K. Hirono, and Congressman Ed Case.

The 糖心视频-led institute will be guided by experienced reef researchers from 糖心视频 Mānoa鈥檚 Kewalo Marine Laboratory and the Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology, 糖心视频 Hilo鈥檚 Marine Sciences program, and the University of Guam鈥檚 Marine Laboratory. It will support research, monitoring, capacity building and outreach for coral reef management throughout the U.S states and territories of American Samoa, Guam, Hawaiʻi, and the Northern Marianas Islands and with the Freely Associated States of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of Palau and the Republic of the Marshall Islands.

“Many people worked many years to make this vision for collaborative reef research across the Pacific a reality,” said Suzanne Case, director of the Office of Land and Ocean Conservation Futures. “We鈥檙e excited to jump in with scientists and communities and agencies across the region to take it forward.”