The mission of the University of Hawai ‘ i Cancer Center is to reduce the burden of cancer through research , education , patient care and community outreach with an emphasis on the unique ethnic , cultural and environmental characteristics of Hawai ‘ i and the Pacific . This issue of Innovations describes several areas where the Cancer Center excels in its mission to educate a new generation of cancer research scientists .
Our educational activities range from teaching undergraduates about research , and providing them with hands-on , real-life research experiences , to graduate and medical students , to post-doctoral fellow trainees to junior faculty . For undergraduates , the continuation of a phenomenally successful summer research program will be assured with the new NIH funding obtained by Drs . Joe W . Ramos , Gertraud Maskarinec and Joseph Kaholokula . With this funding and a competitive award from UH Mānoa , student interns will be able to expand their opportunities beyond the summer months and continue their work under the mentorship of Cancer Center faculty . We hope this will provide incredibly enriching experiences for these students that will impact them throughout their lives .
The new Clinical Research Professional Certificate Program is a new educational initiative established in collaboration with the UH Outreach College . Students are from varied backgrounds — some are still in college , others are in the workforce and exploring new career opportunities . With a foundation in clinical research and the conduct of clinical trials , graduates will have a myriad of professional opportunities at the Cancer Center , within the Hawai ‘ i Cancer Consortium , and at numerous other agencies engaged in patient-oriented research .
As an organized research unit at UH Mānoa , the Cancer Center ’ s educational initiatives are often overshadowed by the world-class studies driving advances in cancer knowledge and cancer care . However , education remains a core tenet of our work , a key component of our mission , and one for which we continuously strive for excellence .
Mahalo ,
Randall F . Holcombe , MD , MBA Director
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Adventist Health Castle joins Hawai ‘ i Cancer Consortium
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“ e are extremely pleased that Adventist Health Castle has joined the Hawai ‘ i Cancer Consortium ,” said UH Cancer Center Director Randall Holcombe , MD , MBA . Adventist Health Castle , is a full-service medical center located in Kailua , O ‘ ahu that offers inpatient , outpatient , and home-based services .
This partnership with Adventist Health Castle will provide access to cutting-edge cancer therapies for all residents on the windward side of the island and allow research to expand on cancer participation opportunities for individuals who experience a high incidence and mortality rates in certain cancers .
“ It is a privilege to partner with the Hawai ‘ i Cancer Consortium ,” said Alan Cheung , MD , MBA , Vice President of Medical Affairs at Adventist Health Castle . “ As a strong organization with similar goals , we are committed to increasing access to our windward community for generations to come . Working together , we can do much more than we ever could on our own .”
Welcome to Dr . Stephanie Si Lim
STEPHANIE SI LIM , MD , MS , received her medical degree from Georgetown University and is a pediatric hematologist / oncologist , who trained at Children ’ s Hospital of Philadelphia . Lim is currently an associate researcher at the UH Cancer Center and does clinical practice at Kapi ‘ olani Medical Center for Women and Children .
Stephanie Si Lim , MD , MS
Lim and her research team have discovered that one of the T cell markers , TIM-3 , is uniformly expressed in biopsy samples of patients diagnosed with Ewing ’ s sarcoma . They are in the process of reviewing selective antigens within the tissue samples to confirm this finding . This could potentially serve as a platform for clinical trials using anti-TIM 3 in pediatric solid tumors .
Lim hopes to bring novel immunotherapies such as CAR T cell therapy to our community , and through her research here at the Cancer
Center , provide insight on ways to overcome current barriers in immunotherapies in order to continue improving patient outcomes . She hopes to build upon the Cancer Center ’ s future Early Phase Clinical Research Center and continue to offer cutting-edge cancer treatments to children and young adults in Hawai ‘ i .