# Transdisciplinary Health Disparities Research Training for Native Hawaiians and Pacific Students

> **NIH NIH T37** · UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII AT MANOA · 2021 · $273,688

## Abstract

Individuals raised within the Pacific Rim, including Native Hawaiians (NH), Filipinos, and other Pacific
Islanders, i.e., Pacific People (PP), bring unique geographic, ethnic, and cultural perspectives to research. Yet,
they remain underrepresented in research-oriented careers. They bring a personal perspective to research in
health disparities, as they are burdened by many of the same communicable (malaria, TB, AIDS, dengue) and
non-communicable diseases as other minority groups (e.g., diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity). Since
receiving a MHIRT award in 2013, a Training Program designed for Pacific Peoples was developed at the
University of Hawaii (UH) that provided training in all aspects of research, with an emphasis on health
disparities in tropical medicine. The proposed MHRT Training Program is built on that foundation, but has
shifted the focus from laboratory-based biomedical research to research on social, behavioral, and public
health aspects of health disparities impacting NH/PP communities. Dr. V. Nerurkar, Chair of Tropical Medicine,
Medical Microbiology and Pharmacology (T3MP), and Dr. J.K. Kaholokula, Chair of Native Hawaiian Health
(NHH), will co-direct the revised program, providing complementary expertise in biomedical and behavioral
sciences. Faculty in NHH, T3MP, the Cancer Center and Departments of Nutrition, Psychology, Public Health,
and Social Welfare at UH join the revised Hawaii-MHRT Training Program. Annually, 5 undergraduate and 5
pre-doctoral trainees will receive MHRT training, since this is the point of highest attrition of NH/PP in the
educational pipeline. Training includes: 1) a Spring semester course covering the basics principles of research;
2) working with UH and national and international mentors to develop research projects; 3) attending an 8-day
Pre-Travel Workshop on health disparities; 4) conducting research (under-graduates and graduates 10-12
weeks; pre-doctoral 1 to 2 semesters) at one of 4 national or 3 international sites; 5) analyzing results and
interpreting data at a Post-Travel Workshop; 6) creating “E Ho‘oulu haumana” (Hawaiian for “emerging
students”), a public presentation of research results for families, friends, and faculty; and 7) continue
conducting research and receiving mentoring for career development until graduation and beyond. Trainees
will have the opportunity to work on culturally-relevant projects important to the communities; for example,
conduct research on 1) diabetes prevention in a community of migrants from the Marshall Islands at the
University of Arkansas; 2) obesity prevention in American Indian women at the University of Washington; 3)
hypertension intervention with NH/PP living is Seattle with Washington State University; 4) prevention of
smoking on cancer prevalence at the University of Guam; 5) health problems of transgender women at the
Thai Red Cross, Thailand; 6) community-based initiative to respond to Ebola outbreaks at the University of
Liberia; and 7)...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10058213
- **Project number:** 5T37MD008636-08
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII AT MANOA
- **Principal Investigator:** Joseph Keawe'aimoku Kaholokula
- **Activity code:** T37 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $273,688
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2013-12-01 → 2024-11-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10058213

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10058213, Transdisciplinary Health Disparities Research Training for Native Hawaiians and Pacific Students (5T37MD008636-08). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10058213. Licensed CC0.

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