Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 10, Number 11, 1 November 1993 — Kamehameha Schools student earns international recognition in science [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Kamehameha Schools student earns international recognition in science

bv JefT CIark There's a scientist here in Hawai'i conducting research on the 'ie'ie vine in an attempt to find a cure for cancer. And he's 16 years old. Layne Kahinuonalani Richards, a junior at Kamehameha Schools, has been studying 'ie'ie since the ninth grade and is testing the plant for its anti-cancer properties. The 'ie'ie is an endemic plant that grows only in high, moist areas such as Makiki's Round Top and parts of Kaua'i. In need of a topic for a science project, Richards decided to take a close look at the plant after hearing

Hawaiians talk about plants and their medicinal values. 'Ie'ie was used by Hawaiians to treat menstrual discomfort and high fevers and was also a diuretic. Wellknown for its use in weaving and basketmaking, 'ie'ie attracted Richards because it was something "that no scientist had really studied in the Western style of studying science," he said. S

After testing 'ie'ie at school and finding that it inhibited the growth of yeast and bacteria, he took his project to Leahi Hospital, where he tested it on human eancer cells. "I found that the plant did help to inhibit cancer. Especially the roots, and that's what the Hawaiians said worked." Last year his goal was to find out whether it worked; now his goal is to find out how. "This year I'm studying what chemicals in the plant work," Richards said. "I'll be doing chromatography, spectrography, and other different processes to see what is inhibiting the cancer cells." His research led him to read lots of books and to talk to neighbor-

island kahuna lā'au lapa'au, like Papa Henry Auwae, and he even went to the Cook Islands and studied a related plant. Richards has been well recognized for his achievement. He won the science fair at Kamehameha, and took fourth plaee in an international science fair held last May in Biloxi, Mississippi. Perhaps more impressive is the fact that doctors and professors in Hawai'i and on the Mainland find his pursuit promising enough to want to work alongside him. Richards is quick to give credit to kūpuna, for teaching him some of the practieal and cultural wavs of

using Hawaiian medicinal plants - "That's the most important part," he says — and to Kamehameha faculty members like Jane Teves and Jerry Johnson: "I couldn't have done it without Kamehameha. The scienee department is really strong." Says Richards, who wants to continue his work in medicine and hopes to eventually become a

doctor, "It's rewarding, especially when you start to find things that may actually help people."

Layne Richards and his award-win-ning science project.