Sayaka Aoki, Ph.D.

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Postdoctoral Researcher/
​Plant Pathologist
Academic Qualifications
  • Ph.D., Plant and Environmental Protection Sciences, Tropical Plant Pathology (Plant bacteriology), University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2021
  • M.S., Plant and Environmental Protection Sciences, Tropical Plant Pathology (Plant nematology), University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2009
  • B.A., Biology, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2006
Professional Experience
  • 2022-Present: Affiliated graduate faculty, Dept. of Plant and Environmental Protection Sciences, Tropical Plant Pathology, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 
  • 2021-Present: Postdoctoral Researcher/Plant Pathologist, Hawaii Agriculture Research Center
  • 2019-2021: Research assistant (HARC fellowship receiver) for coffee germplasm preservation: a collaborative project with USDA-ARS, PBARC, Hawaii Agriculture Research Center
  • 2014-2018: Graduate research assistant/Ph.D. candidate, Dept. of Plant and Environmental Protection Sciences, Entomology (Insect ecology and IPM lab), University of Hawaii at Manoa, 
  • 2010-2013: Research assistant/technician to Dr. Chifumi Nagai, Hawaii Agriculture Research Center (Coffee breeding/sugarcane, energycane breeding programs)
  • 2007-2009: Graduate Research Assistant, Dept. of Plant and Environmental Protection Sciences, Tropical plant pathology (Plant nematology lab), University of Hawaii at Manoa
  • 2006-2007: Research assistant/technician to Dr. Chifumi Nagai, Hawaii Agriculture Research Center (Coffee breeding program)
  • 2004-2006: Student research assistant, Dept. of Tropical Plants and Soil Sciences (coffee, cacao, and kava research lab), University of Hawaii at Manoa
Current Research
1) Developing new coffee cultivars that possess Coffee leaf rust resistance and superior beverage qualities, 2) Developing new coffee cultivars with dual resistance to Kona coffee root-knot nematode and Coffee leaf rust, and 3) Developing a high throughput and robust Coffee leaf rust bioassay to screen resistance in new coffee cultivars. 

Selected Publications
  • Aoki, S., Bennett, G.M., Weatherby, T., and Arif, M. Localization and identification of Caffeine- degrading bacteria, Pseudomonas sp., within the eggs of Coffee berry borer, Hypothenemus hampei (Ferrari) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae) by Fluorescent in situ Hybridization; Implication of vertical transmission of an essential bacterial symbiont in the coffee pest. Unpublished manuscript, Department of Plant and Environmental Protection Sciences, University of Hawaii at Manoa, U.S.
  • Aoki, S. Microbial associations in the Coffee Berry Borer, Hypothenemus hampei, 2021. Ph.D. dissertation. ProQuest, University of Hawaii at Manoa.
  • Vega, F. E., Emche, S., Shao, J., Simpkins, A., Summers, R., Mock, M. B., Aoki, S., & Maul, J. E. (2021). Cultivation and Genome Sequencing of Bacteria Isolated from the Coffee Berry Borer (Hypothenemus hampei), with Emphasis on the Role of Caffeine Degradation. Frontiers in Microbiology, 12, 692
  • Poff, K. E., Stever, H., Reil, J. B., Seabourn, P., Ching, A. J., Aoki, S., ... & Eiben, J. A. (2017). The native Hawaiian insect microbiome initiative: a critical perspective for Hawaiian insect evolution. Insects, 8 (4), 130
  • Aoki, S., B. Sipes., C. Astorga, and C. Nagai. 2012. Resistance of Semi-wild Coffea arabica L. from Ethiopia to a Root-Knot Nematode, Meloidogyne konaensis. Nemtropica 42:131-136. 
  • Aoki, S. Evaluation of Coffee arabica L. accessions from Ethiopia for resistance to the Kona Coffee Root-Knot nematode, Meloidogyne konaensis. 2009. Master’s thesis. University of Hawaii at Manoa