For more than a decade, JABSOM students have been making meaningful connections and health education accessible to one of Honolulu’s most underserved communities. Through the annual Healthy Keiki Camp at Linapuni Elementary, future physicians are building a healthier future while making memories one last time as a class.

Find out several ways to help with the Hawaiʻi HOME Project this Spring!

JABSOM MD students and faculty mentors launched the inaugural Disability Day as part of a second-year medical student course.

An estimated 90,000 individuals were exposed or placed at risk of exposure to fuel releases from the Red Hill storage facility. Many of those who drank, bathed in or used tainted water for dishes and laundry say they are still dealing with various health impacts. To track long-term health impacts, the University of Hawaiʻi, Office of Strategic Health Initiatives, is launching the Red Hill Independent Health Registry to obtain information about the health effects of exposure to jet fuel, and provide support and resources for anyone directly impacted by the water crisis.

The University of Hawaiʻi John A. Burns School of Medicine has been awarded a Good Skin Knowledge Grant from the American Academy of Dermatology.

Historic partnership by University Hawaiʻi Cancer Center, John A. Burns School of Medicine emphasizes cutting-edge research, workforce development, culturally informed practices.

The University of Hawaiʻi Kakaʻako campus bustled with the sounds of children excited to attend the first physician career pathway tour and workshop of its kind for students as young as the sixth grade. Nearly a hundred students from Waipahu’s Honowai Elementary School, accompanied by their teachers, spent their morning learning at the John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM).

Training the next generation of cardiovascular researchers will continue at the University of Hawaiʻi John A. Burns School of Medicine as investigators in the Center for Cardiovascular Research (CCR) have renewed their National Institutes of Health T32 Training Grant for a third cycle.

JABSOM, the National Association of Pasifika Organizations (NAOPO), and Papa Ola Lōkahi (POL) collaborated on a project aimed at training and supporting additional Community Health Workers within Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities. This initiative is known as "Peau o le Vasa," which translates to "the waves of the ocean" in Samoan. Recognizing its significance, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) allocated $1.4 million to further develop this project.

Ashley Lee was nominated Lee for the US Public Health Service Physician Professional Advisory Committee Excellence in Public Health Award. She accepted the award at the annual JABSOM Awards Ceremony.

There's a new addition to the great lawn on the John A. Burns School of Medicine campus. Inspired by the free petite library movement that made reading accessible to millions, there's a similar structure intended to provide inspiration and accessibility to art for all who pass by.The Ko Iki Mini Museum ( Ko, for her surname and "iki" for "small" in ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi) was installed on the JABSOM campus earlier this month by JABSOM alumna Dr. Kathryn Ko.

Dozens of other high school students from Molokaʻi, Lānai, and Maui visited the John A. Burns School of Medicine to get a first-hand, day-long look at what being a medical student entails.

The PONO Health Legacy Study is a new research study awarded to a team of Hawaiʻi scientists from UH Mānoa to study diabetes, heart and lung health disparities in Native Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders and Asians.

Dr. Kenneth Luke, 1988 graduate of the University of Hawaiʻi John A. Burns School of Medicine, has been tapped to lead Hawaiʻi State Hospital, the state’s only forensic psychiatric hospital.

Dr. Rosita Leong's Mini-Medical School on Healthy Aging marks a decade of service, welcoming back in-person sessions.

Three HIV survivors share their stories at the fourth Hawai’i to Zero Conference (H20) at the Ala Moana Hotel, which marks the first in-person conference since the COVID-19 pandemic. The event is hosted by JABSOM's Hawaii Center for AIDS (HICFA).

The COVID-19 pandemic brought a lot of uncertainty to the world. Many were turning to health experts for answers, and one reassuring voice was JABSOM Assistant Clinical Professor Dr. Theresa Wee. The 1979 JABSOM graduate didn't just offer medical guidance. Through blog posts, she combines her practical healthcare expertise with personal encounters of loss, resilience, and the guiding presence of faith. Her readers related to her experiences and found comfort and solace in her posts. Now that the worst of the pandemic is likely behind us, Dr. Wee published "My Covid-19 Diary: Practical Tips and Scriptures for Improbable Times from an American Doctor".

The second cohort of students with the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa John A. Burns School of Medicine's (JABSOM) Kauaʻi Medical Training Track kicked off their first-year by meeting leaders of the Kauaʻi healthcare community at an event held at The Plantation House by Gaylords on August 18.The program was launched in 2022 and is funded by a $10 million commitment from Dr. Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg to help address the physician shortage and directly improve the health and wellness of Kaua‘i’s families, today and in the future.

JABSOM students provide hands-on care for the hundreds who survived the deadliest US wildfire in over a century. Each student would treat or interact with upwards of 20 people daily in the two weeks after the Maui fires.

Leaders from local health plans, hospital systems, JABSOM, and the community gathered to learn how to make telehealth even more effective for rural parts of Hawaiʻi, including neighbor islands.

Dr. Claire Townsend Ing carried those words from her father for decades, and this month, it culminated with the 43-year-old receiving a prestigious National Institutes of Health award for its potential impact on the health of thousands of families in Hawaiʻi.

Dr. Pakieli Kaufusi developed the Pathways for the Advancement of Pacific Islanders (PAPI). The summer bridge program was launched in early 2023, with the support of the University of Hawaiʻi Provost Strategic Initiative.

Dr. Kara Wong Ramsey, neonatologist and assistant professor at the University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine (UH JABSOM), admired how other doctors used their platform as medical professionals to share information on social media and decided to make and upload her own videos with the intention of raising awareness about COVID-19 and addressing vaccine hesitancy.

Cancer registrars throughout the US Affiliated Pacific Island (USAPI) territories of Guam and American Samoa, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and countries of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau will join their colleagues, fellow medical professionals, and community leaders to observe the 27th annual National Cancer Registrars Week (NCRW) on April 3-7, 2023.

More than 100 academic advisors and career counselors from middle schools and high schools across Hawaiʻi, including several neighbor islands, made the huakaʻi to Kakaʻako to learn more about how they can plant the seed of a potential career in medicine in their students.

Thanks to a $2.25 million endowment from Hawaii Dental Service, JABSOM will integrate oral health into its curriculum more than ever before. JABSOM used part of the endowment to establish its first oral health director. Dr. Matthew Oishi started in the role in late January.

Every Sunday morning at 8:30, a big white cargo van pulls up to Thomas Square. Students from the John A. Burns School of medicine and other volunteers follow. With stethoscopes around their necks and dressed in scrubs, they unfold plastic benches and lay out the essentials for the day–blood glucose machines, bottles of hand sanitizer, and boxes of gloves surround the cardboard carton of Starbucks coffee and snacks.

Living on an archipelago of paradise where the temperature is always warm, the beaches never end, and the lush hiking trails await your exploration, it’s easy to forget that you are on an island. One that is thousand of miles away from our nearest academic neighbor. As a student in Hawaiʻi, our isolation presents a unique challenge to our ability to interact with the greater scientific community. While University of Hawaiʻi Mānoa (UHM) affiliated guests play a vital role in expanding our knowledge, the diversity of the audience is limited to those with connections to the university.

This news story, reported with a little assistance from the University of Hawaiʻi Mānoa (UHM) John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM), features the work the Student Immunization Initiative at the University of Hawaiʻi , and what they are doing working peer-to-peer to educate young people about the importance of vaccinations.

Dr. Leanne Kealoha Fox recently became the first “JABSOM” grad we know of to have the opportunity to introduce the former president of the United States, Hawaiʻi-born Barack Obama, in a public ceremony in Hawaiʻi.