Jason Kenji Higa, Ph.D., is from the ʻEwa side of Oʻahu and earned his Bachelor's at UH Mānoa, his Master's at the Univ. of San Francisco, and his Ph.D. in Cell & Molecular Biology at UH Mānoa. His postdoctoral studies were in cardiac cell physiology and ferroptosis. He has taught undergraduate Human Anatomy & Physiology since 2016, and was awarded the Frances Davis Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching in 2020.
Dr. Higa also has a dual appointment with the Office of Medical Education at JABSOM, and is a pre-clerkship Course Director and subject lead for physiology for the medical student curriculum. He enjoys traveling and learning new languages. He also loves animals and can be seen bird-watching at both Mānoa and Kakaʻako campuses.
Higa, J.K., Kawasaki, N.K., Matsui, T. (2023). Ferroptosis in Cardiovascular Disease. In: Tang, D. (eds) Ferroptosis in Health and Disease. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-39171-2_8
Protective effects of the mechanistic target of rapamycin against excess iron and ferroptosis in cardiomyocytes
Yuichi Baba, Jason K. Higa, Briana K. Shimada, Kate M. Horiuchi, Tomohiro Suhara, Motoi Kobayashi, Jonathan D. Woo, Hiroko Aoyagi, Karra S. Marh, Hiroaki Kitaoka, and Takashi Matsui
American Journal of Physiology-Heart and Circulatory Physiology 2018 314:3, H659-H668
Cardiac mTOR rescues the detrimental effects of diet-induced obesity in the heart after ischemia-reperfusion
Toshinori Aoyagi, Jason K. Higa, Hiroko Aoyagi, Naaiko Yorichika, Briana K. Shimada, and Takashi Matsui
American Journal of Physiology-Heart and Circulatory Physiology 2015 308:12, H1530-H1539
