Star-Advertiser staff

The ongoing federal government shutdown could have significant effect on a prestigious regional meeting hosted by the University of Hawaii’s John A. Burns School of Medicine next week.

The third biennial Western Regional IDeA Scientific Conference, scheduled to take place Sunday through Tuesday at the Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort & Spa, is expected to attract hundreds of young scientists from Hawaii, Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico and Wyoming.

As JABSOM Dean Jerris Hedges emphasized in a statement released Friday, one of the biggest draws for the conference is the opportunity to meet with federal officials who oversee key research programs for the National Institutes of Health.

“The government shutdown may not permit these federal officials to travel and would thus deny the young scientists the opportunity to showcase their research and compete successfully for future grants,” Hedges said. “We are uncertain of the impact of this factor upon the overall out-of-state attendance at the meeting and thus its immediate impact on the local economy.”

Hedges noted that federal funding of research at the medical school is an economic driver for the state. New research awards for the 2013 fiscal year totaled $56 million, Hedges said.