Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

At the University of Hawaiʻi Cancer Center, we are dedicated to attracting highly qualified faculty and staff from a wide range of backgrounds. Adopting a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) plan is not merely a policy decision for us: It mirrors our core identity, embodying the inclusivity and diversity for which Hawaiʻi and the US Affiliated Pacific Island nations are known.

Our DEI initiative extends from this philosophy, aiming to foster a culture of trust, belonging, and equity within our institution. It will not only reflect our multicultural history and population within our workforce, but also drive innovation and enhance our research and clinical practices as we integrate DEI principles through our work. For example, we are currently working to bring cancer health equity throughout our islands by expanding clinical trials access statewide across Hawaiʻi's diverse communities, so that cancer patients on the neighbor islands can also participate in groundbreaking research. Over the last 20 years with our U54 National Cancer Institute partnership funding, we have been building infrastructure and capacity for cancer disparities research in Hawaiʻi and the Pacific.

This website, like the DEI initiative itself, is a work in progress. We look forward to sharing more with you—including benchmarks that show where and how we are making a difference through our deliberate efforts—in the days, months, and years to come.

Aims

The Cancer Center’s Plan to Enhance Diversity set forth four aims to advance diversity, equity and inclusion across the institution:

Aim 1: Support a DEI Office within the Cancer Center to coordinate strategic planning and implementation of diversity enhancement initiatives;

Aim 2: Enhance participation of underrepresented groups in the cancer Center’s membership and leadership throughout components of the CCSG including staff, faculty, leadership, Shared Resources, and research administration;

Aim 3: Establish targeted infrastructure to leverage institutional resources to support career-enhancing opportunities for early and mid-level researchers; and

Aim 4: Collect baseline and longitudinal metrics on DEI and evaluate progress in enhancing the diversity of the leadership, faculty, staff, and students within the Cancer Center.

DEI Office

Neal A. Palafox, MD, MPH
Associate Director (AD)
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Dr. Palafox is a full member of the Population Sciences in the Pacific Program at the UH Cancer Center, and a member of the Cancer Center’s Senior Leadership Team. He is also a B.H. & Alice C. Beams Endowed Professor of Cancer Research in the Department of Family Medicine & Community Health at the John A. Burns School of Medicine.

Dr. Palafox serves as the administrative head of the DEI Office, and reports directly to the UH Cancer Center Director. The AD ensures that a culture of diversity, equity and inclusion are an integral part of the Cancer Center identity and operations. The AD builds and maintains partnerships with DEI programs at academic institutions, health care centers and fellow NCI-designated cancer centers to inform the work of the DEI Office and advance synergy and innovation.

Joseph Keawe‘aimoku Kaholokula, PhD
Faculty Director
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Dr. Kaholokula is a full member of the Population Sciences in the Pacific Program at the UH Cancer Center. He also serves as Professor and Chair of the Department of Native Hawaiian Health at the John A. Burns School of Medicine.

Dr. Kaholokula assists the AD with the development and implementation of the Plan to Enhance Diversity as well as DEI Office operations. The Faculty Director develops pipeline and mentorship programs to foster the building of a diverse workforce with diverse leadership, faculty, researchers, and staff

DEI Internal Advisory Committee

Supported by ex-officio (non-voting) DEI Office personnel, the DEI Committee serves to advise the development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the Cancer Center’s Plan to Enhance Diversity (PED), which articulates the aims of the Center’s commitment to advancing DEI. Committee membership includes representation from the various programs and units across the Cancer Center. Members bring perspectives from diverse disciplines, backgrounds, ethnicities, and affinity communities to inform the work of the DEI Committee.