Dr. Thomas Samuel “Sam” Shomaker will be the next dean of the University of 91桃色appʻi at M膩noa (JABSOM) after his nomination was approved today (May 16) by the 91桃色app Board of Regents (BOR). Shomaker is scheduled to begin on July 1 and was nominated by 91桃色app M膩noa Provost Michael Bruno after a comprehensive nationwide search.

Related 91桃色app News story: Former leader recommended as 91桃色app medical school dean

“Dr. Shomaker has extensive leadership experience and served in senior leadership positions within higher education and medical schools, including his time at JABSOM,” said Bruno. “He has an understanding of the needs of JABSOM, our community and health partners, 91桃色appʻi and beyond.”

Shomaker is a 1986 JABSOM graduate and previously served as vice dean of the medical school from 2000-2005 and interim dean from 2005 to 2006. He returns to JABSOM after serving as dean of the Austin campus for the University of Texas Medical Branch and the dean and vice president at Texas A&M Health Science Center.

“Mahalo to the search advisory committee and Provost Bruno for affording me this opportunity,” said Shomaker. “It is the highest professional honor of my career to be named the dean of my alma mater. My senior quote upon graduation was, ‘thank you for the opportunity to serve the people of the state of 91桃色appʻi.’ Now I get to realize that dream.”

At the public presentation Shomaker delivered at JABSOM as one of the finalists for the position, he outlined his goals for JABSOM: become the leading medical school in the Asia-Pacific region and the leading Indigenous-serving medical school in the world and leverage JABSOM鈥檚 unique location to develop research, business and health care connections with Asia and the Continental U.S.

“I am excited by the great potential of JABSOM, both in training the next generation of physicians for 91桃色appʻi and in contributing to the diversification of our economy through our research program,” said Shomaker. “I look forward to working with the faculty, staff and students of our school and our important clinical partners to make JABSOM all it can be for our state and its people.”

Shomaker has 20 years of experience in health care, an MD degree, a law degree, and a master鈥檚 degree in management to improve health care. His educational journey includes earning his MD from 91桃色app M膩noa, a JD from Georgetown University School of Law, a master鈥檚 degree in management from Stanford University Graduate School of Business, and a bachelor鈥檚 degree from St. Louis University.

The at the University of 91桃色appʻi at Mānoa recently earned the prestigious 2024 Diversity Leadership Award from the American Bar Association (ABA).

The award recognizes a program鈥檚 outstanding commitment to promoting access and inclusion in the legal profession to women, people of color, people with disabilities, and people of different sexual orientations and gender identities.

This is the first time the 91桃色app law school has received this award. Professor Troy J.H. Andrade, director of the Ulu Lehua Scholars Program, accepted the award at the ABA Litigation Section鈥檚 annual conference in Washington, D.C. on May 2.

“This recognition is a testament to the 50 years of students who have gone through the program and become leaders in our community,” said Andrade, who is also an Ulu Lehua graduate. “I鈥檓 honored to be given the kuleana (responsibility) of supporting our Lehua Scholars and carrying on the legacy of access and opportunity that has been created by my predecessors like Linda Krieger, Chris Iijima, Judy Weightman and George Johnson, to name a few.”

Established in 1974, the Ulu Lehua Scholars Program, formerly known as the Pre-Admission Program, ensures that 贬补飞补颈ʻ颈鈥檚 diversity—in its many forms—is reflected in the law school鈥檚 student body.

Each year, the law school selects 12 incoming students who have overcome adversity, and demonstrated their academic potential, leadership ability, and commitment to social justice. The program provides students with support, mentorship and individualized learning opportunities.

“I am so proud of our Ulu Lehua Scholars and the indelible mark they have made in our Richardson community and beyond,” said 91桃色app law school Dean Camille Nelson. “We look forward to many more years of this program鈥檚 success and dedication to serving 贬补飞补颈ʻ颈鈥檚 diverse communities.”

The Ulu Lehua Scholars program is also celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. .

President David Lassner provided updates on 91桃色app support for Lahainaluna High School students, 2024 fall enrollment and philanthropic fundraising—noting that the 91桃色app Foundation surpassed $100 million in fundraising—in his monthly report to the Board of Regents (BOR) at their May 16 meeting at 91桃色app 惭腻苍辞补.

Lassner also highlighted the successful commencement activities of the 10 campuses, including the graduation ceremony held every four years on Molokaʻi and informed the regents about how recently passed federal appropriations require in-state tuition for the citizens of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands and the Republic of Palau.

• Successful spring 2024 graduation season ()
• Molokaʻi graduation ()
• Federal tuition requirement for Compact of Free Association nations ()
• Ongoing support for Lahainaluna students ()
• Enrollment trending upwards for fall 2024 ()
• Record extramural funding ()
• 91桃色app Foundation surpasses $100 million ()

See previous president’s reports to the Board of Regents.

Undergraduates at the University of 91桃色appʻi at Mānoa were inspired to build a giant antenna to explore hundreds of miles above the planet. The antenna, known as an ionosonde, project began after a lecture from Professor Giuseppe Torri about phenomena that can occur in the ionosphere, one of the highest layers of the Earth’s atmosphere.

The ionosphere plays an important role in radio transmission. Any disturbance in this region, such as those caused by the Sun (solar flares, geomagnetic storms, etc.), can severely affect radio transmissions and cause blackouts. Undergraduate students Arianna Corry, Emily Harris, Kyra Dyer and Grace McCoy, in the 91桃色app Mānoa (SOEST), teamed up to embark on a research journey to try and better understand this region.

“Some of us are long-time sci-fi fans—especially of the amazing work of Arthur Clarke—and we wanted a name that could encapsulate the sense of adventure that we all experienced reading the books that we love so much,” said Corry, who will be graduating this semester with a degree in atmospheric sciences and will start a master鈥檚 degree program at SOEST in the fall. “When Giuseppe mentioned that the branch of atmospheric science that studies the upper layers of the atmosphere is called ‘aeronomy,’ we immediately thought about the name Aeronauts.”

Getting their hands dirty

Certain radio signals emitted by various sources on the planet, such as over-the-horizon radars, are reflected back to Earth鈥檚 surface by the ionosphere.

“The ionosonde is essentially a sophisticated radio that allows us to pick up these signals and, through some complicated mathematics, reconstruct the altitude at which they were reflected,” said Harris, who is an undergraduate student.

With funding from the 91桃色app Mānoa and Torri as their mentor, the students developed a project to build an ionosonde modeled from a design implemented and tested by Jens Floberg of UiT The Arctic University of Norway.

“It鈥檚 been a lot of fun learning about topics of the ionosphere, radio propagation, and GPS applications in class and on our own digging through academic literature and scientific forums,” said Dyer, who graduated in spring 2024 with a bachelor鈥檚 degree. “But to actually get our hands dirty and ‘see’ the ionosphere was a completely different experience that brought our appreciation for science to a completely different level.”

“Each of these extraordinary students has different skills that they bring to the table, and over the months they have been really great at interacting and leveraging each other’s skills in a collaborative and extremely productive way,” said Torri.

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–By Marcie Grabowski

Six University of 91桃色appʻi at Mānoa student-athletes have earned All-Big West honors. Izabella Martinez and Maya Nakamura were both named to the all-conference second team, while Mya鈥橪iah Betha, Chloe Borges, Haley Johnson and Dallas Millwood all earned honorable mentions.

Martinez, hit a .298 overall and was tied for second on the team with 38 hits. She finished her 2024 campaign with six doubles and 22 RBI and a team-high of 19 walks. The junior catcher started all 46 games and threw out a career-high 15 runners trying to steal on her, which ranks her second in the league and 11th in the NCAA Division I.

Nakamura’s senior campaign was cut short due to a season-ending injury, however that did not deter the conference coaches from recognizing her abilities and importance to the 91桃色app team. For the season, she led 91桃色app both overall and in conference with a .312 and .450 batting averages respectively. She concluded her career with a .324 batting average with 155 hits, 105 runs scored, 24 doubles, four triples, 22 home runs and 96 RBI. She had a career slugging percentage of .528 and on-base percentage of .441. Nakamura has earned all-conference honors all four seasons of her career. This is her third time making the all-Big West second team after making the first team as a junior.

For the second-straight season, Bethea led the Big West with 12 home runs for the year. The senior utility player primarily played in leftfield where she started 38 games, but she also saw time in center field and at first base. Overall, Bethea led 91桃色app with 26 runs scored and a .575 slugging percentage.

Borges, the center fielder/pitcher had a breakout season, starting a career-high 39 games in center field and three at pitcher making 13 total appearances in the pitching circle overall. On offense, she finished the season tied for second in the Big West with 30 RBI. Overall, she hit .269 (28-for-104) with 13 runs scored, two doubles and eight home runs. She recorded a .519 slugging percentage and led 91桃色app with eight multiple-RBI games. She also reached base safely in 21-straight games to lead the ‘Bows.

Johnson earned honorable mention honors for the second time. She started all 46 games at designated player, but also saw limited action at catcher. Overall, she hit .310 going 39-for-126 with a team-high seven doubles with a triple and a home run and 11 RBI. She finished her collegiate career hitting .292 with 19 doubles, four triples, nine home runs and 66 RBI.

After suffering a season-ending injury in the second week of the 2023 season, senior first baseman Millwood worked hard to make her way back onto the field for her final season. She made her return this year starting all 46 games at first base. She finished the season hitting .261 with four doubles and three home runs. She was second on the team with 25 RBI and seven multiple-RBI games. She finished her 91桃色app career with a .260 career batting average with 80 hits, 13 doubles, 10 home runs and 60 RBI. This is Millwood’s second Big West honorable mention award.

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A $3.76 million gift from John C. Couch will establish the first-ever gastroenterology and hepatology fellowship program at the University of 91桃色appʻi at M膩noa (JABSOM) to train physicians to treat liver diseases, including cancer, in the islands.

The gift creates the John C. Couch Fund for Hepatology and the John C. Couch Endowed Chair in Hepatology.

The first of its kind in 91桃色appʻi, the new program will leverage partnerships with health systems that provide JABSOM鈥檚 clinical learning environment, including the Queen鈥檚 Medical Center, which currently has the only transplant program in the state. The program will unite specialists from diverse disciplines, and create a framework to tackle liver disease and directly improve the quality of life for local patients.

“This generous gift will allow us to develop and grow a program to train hepatologists in 91桃色appʻi for 91桃色appʻi patients,” said Lee Buenconsejo-Lum, JABSOM鈥檚 interim dean. “The need to proactively create a pipeline of local hepatology specialists is urgent as the rate of liver disease in our population is forecast to rise. This gift will allow us to get started on that now.”

91桃色appʻi鈥檚 high incidence of liver cancer

91桃色appʻi has the second-highest incidence of the most common form of liver cancer in the U.S. while it also has a chronic shortage of locally based expertise to help prevent and treat liver disease.

I understand the incredible promise of continuing improvements in the field and am delighted to support JABSOM in providing the best medical training
—John C. Couch

91桃色appʻi鈥檚 higher propensity for liver disease is forecast to become even more pervasive in the years ahead because of the high numbers of adults, especially those among Native 91桃色appian and Pacific Islander populations, who have diabetes or pre-diabetes that can cause fatty liver disease, a leading cause of liver failure and cancer.

In order to have a liver transplant, and a path to quality of life and survival, some 91桃色appʻi residents must travel to the continental U.S. For those without the means to travel for the transplant and post-transplant care needed, the options are extremely limited.

“There is a higher likelihood that hepatologists trained here in the islands will make a commitment to practice in our local communities,” said Scott Kuwada, chair and professor of medicine and chief of gastroenterology at Queen鈥檚.

Couch is a liver cancer survivor who underwent a successful liver transplant in 1999. He spent 22 years working in 91桃色appʻi most recently as the former chairman, president and CEO of Alexander % Baldwin Inc., and previously was president of Matson Navigation Co. He is currently C.M. Capital鈥檚 vice chairman.

“As a former 91桃色appʻi resident for many years, and the beneficiary of advances in the treatment of liver disease, I understand the incredible promise of continuing improvements in the field and am delighted to support JABSOM in providing the best medical training, as well as resources, to deal with the related challenges in the islands,” said Couch.

“We鈥檙e grateful for John鈥檚 incredible generosity for this gift that will touch, and save, the lives of people going through the same health issues he battled,” said Tim Dolan, 91桃色app vice president of advancement and CEO of the . “His foresight gives 91桃色app the tools to build a strong program that will allow liver patients to get the care they need here at home.”

Three University of 91桃色appʻi at Hilo tennis student-athletes were named to the Academic All-District Teams on May 14. Luca Matheiowetz and Lamar Bartley were recognized from the team, and Julia Barden from the team.

The award recognizes the nation鈥檚 top student-athletes for their combined performances on the court and in the classroom. To be eligible, student-athletes must be sophomore standing or above, have a 3.5 or higher cumulative grade point average and participate in at least 90% of the games during the season.

All three Vulcans are departing student-athletes. Barden and Bartley graduated in the spring with a bachelor鈥檚 in psychology. Matheiowetz will finish in the fall with bachelor鈥檚 degrees in business administration—finance and accounting.

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The University of 91桃色appʻi at Hilo team concluded their 2024 season at the NCAA Men鈥檚 Golf South Central/West Regional, highlighted by student-athlete Dylan Bercan鈥檚 10th place finish.

Bercan shot a four-under 67 in the final round for a -2 overall score. In round 2, Bercan shot a three-under 68 score to shoot up 50 spots on the individual leaderboard before hitting five birdies to snake up 15 more slots to a three-way tie at No.2 10.

91桃色app Hilo totaled 293 on the final day. The Vulcans finished +33 for a tie with Cal State East Bay and Cal State San Marcos.

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Proteins are like tiny machines in our bodies, helping with almost everything we do, including breaking down food, carrying messages between cells, and building and repairing tissues, like muscles and skin.

Protein folding is a protein’s way of twisting and bending into the right shape so it can do its job correctly in the body. However, when protein folding goes wrong, it can have detrimental consequences. Misfolded proteins may fail to perform their intended functions or adopt harmful structures that interfere with normal cellular processes. These misfolded proteins can accumulate in cells, leading to various diseases, such as Alzheimer鈥檚 disease, cystic fibrosis, cancers and more. In Alzheimer鈥檚, misfolded proteins mold into toxic plaques that disrupt neuronal function.

The new book by University of 91桃色appʻi at M膩noa researchers , published by the American Chemical Society, is a comprehensive publication that delves into the intricate world of protein folding. Authored by chemistry PhD candidate Grace E. Orellana, and Assistant Professor Ellinor Haglund, the book provides a thorough overview of the fundamental principles governing protein folding, from basic concepts to advanced theories. With a focus on both experimental techniques and theoretical frameworks, Orellana and Haglund explore the dynamic process of protein folding, shedding light on the key factors that influence folding pathways and kinetics.

“By understanding protein folding at a fundamental level, researchers can unlock new avenues for biomedical research and drug discovery, hopefully leading to improved treatments for protein misfolding-related diseases,” Orellana and Haglund said.

The Department of Chemistry is housed in the .

Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination uptake is a critical issue in public health, especially for communities, such as Native 91桃色appian and Filipino populations, disproportionately affected by HPV-related outcomes. Collaboration between physicians and pharmacists offers a valuable strategy to increase vaccination opportunities and completion rates.

Meliza Roman, an alumna of the University of 91桃色appʻi at M膩noa’s , published a paper in the April issue of that explored the awareness and perceptions of 91桃色appʻi physicians regarding pharmacists’ roles in administering adolescent vaccines following a 2017 legislative amendment.

Roman鈥檚 study involved surveying physicians across 91桃色appʻi. Results indicated that while physicians recognized the beneficial role of pharmacists, they also expressed concerns about the accuracy of vaccine administration and dose tracking. These findings underscore the need for enhanced physician-pharmacist collaboration and additional education and training for pharmacists.

“I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to collaborate on this study under the mentorship of Dr. May Rose Dela Cruz,” Roman said. “My public health background provided a solid foundation for this study, teaching me valuable writing and presentation skills and highlighting the importance of interdisciplinary teamwork in advancing healthcare outcomes.”

Roman conducted this research as part of her public health undergraduate applied learning experience, which allows students to apply their academic knowledge to real-world projects. The HPV vaccine, proven safe and effective, now protects against nine common virus strains that can cause cervical and other cancers. Roman鈥檚 study broadens the understanding of physicians鈥� pre-pandemic perspectives on referring adolescent patients to pharmacies for HPV vaccines. Implementing these practices can help physicians make more informed decisions, providing patients with additional options to receive and complete the vaccine series.

“This study was fortunate to have a student like Meliza interested in research and seeing it through from the beginning with an IRB (Institutional Review Board) application to data collection and finally to an award-winning publication,” said Dela Cruz, an assistant researcher at the Office of Public Health Studies (OPHS). “I am very proud of her accomplishments and commend her for her continued work in public health research.”