Our Team

The investigators, core directors, mentors, and advisors advancing AI and data science in medicine across Hawaiʻi and the Pacific.

Leadership

The principal investigators and administrative core directors guiding PAC-AID.

Visit the Administrative Core →
John A. Shepherd, PhD
Contact PD/PI · Administrative Core Co-Director
Chief Scientific Officer, University of Hawaiʻi Cancer Center · B.H. and Alice C. Beams Endowed Professor in Cancer Research, JABSOM

Leads research on imaging biomarkers for cancer, obesity, and osteoporosis using advanced machine learning. Directs the Hawaiʻi Pacific Islands Mammography Registry and has been continuously NIH-funded since 2005.

Youping Deng, PhD
Multiple PD/PI · Administrative Core Co-Director
Professor & Director, Bioinformatics Core, Dept. of Quantitative Health Sciences, JABSOM

Professor of Quantitative Health Sciences and Director of the Bioinformatics Core at JABSOM. His work centers on bioinformatics, genomics, and systems biology for precision cancer medicine and cancer health disparities.

MEDAI Core Directors

Leaders of the Medical AI & Data Science Core that supports every project.

Visit the MEDAI Core →
Yuanyuan Fu, PhD
MEDAI Core Co-Director
Assistant Professor & Bioinformatics Data Scientist, Dept. of Quantitative Health Sciences, JABSOM

Assistant Professor and Bioinformatics Data Scientist at JABSOM. Her research focuses on genetic biomarkers for cancer early detection and prognosis and on cancer health disparities in multiethnic populations.

Peter Sadowski, PhD
MEDAI Core Co-Director
Associate Professor, Dept. of Information & Computer Sciences, UH Mānoa

Associate Professor of Information & Computer Sciences at UH Mānoa, applying machine learning and deep learning to challenging problems across the natural sciences — from cancer to climate.

Research Project Leaders

Early-stage investigators leading PAC-AID's four research projects.

Kevin Cassel, DrPH, MPH
Project 1 Leader — AI triage of skin lesions
Associate Professor & Associate Director for Community Outreach and Engagement, UH Cancer Center

Associate Professor and Associate Director for Community Outreach and Engagement at the UH Cancer Center. He uses community-based participatory research to address cancer prevention and control in populations facing health disparities.

Elizabeth Nakasone, MD, PhD
Project 2 Leader — Multi-omics of pancreatic cancer
Physician-scientist & Associate Member, Cancer Biology Program, UH Cancer Center

Physician-scientist and gastrointestinal medical oncologist at the UH Cancer Center. Her translational research focuses on GI malignancies and the mechanisms driving metastasis and therapeutic resistance.

Yiqiang Zhang, PhD
Project 3 Leader — Functional genomics of congenital heart disease
Assistant Professor, Dept. of Anatomy, Biochemistry & Physiology, JABSOM

Assistant Professor at JABSOM whose lab studies cardiac and stem cell biology, heart regeneration, and functional genomics, aiming to develop therapies for congenital and congestive heart diseases.

Jonathan Y. Huang, PhD, MPH
Project 4 Leader — Causal discovery of environmental toxicants
Assistant Professor of Epidemiology & Data Science, Dept. of Public Health Sciences, UH Mānoa

Assistant Professor of Epidemiology and Data Science at UH Mānoa. An epidemiologist specializing in causal inference, perinatal and pediatric epidemiology, and molecular biomarkers.

Mentoring Team

National experts mentoring each project leader toward research independence.

Karen Glanz, PhD, MPH
External Mentor — Project 1
George A. Weiss University Professor, Perelman School of Medicine & School of Nursing, University of Pennsylvania

George A. Weiss University Professor at the University of Pennsylvania and a leading health-behavior and cancer-prevention researcher. She directs the UPenn Prevention Research Center.

Jen Jen Yeh, MD
External Mentor — Project 2
Professor of Surgery & Pharmacology; Director, Pancreatic Cancer Center of Excellence, UNC Lineberger

Surgical oncologist and Professor of Surgery and Pharmacology at UNC-Chapel Hill, where she directs the UNC Lineberger Pancreatic Cancer Center of Excellence. Her research uses genomics to find new treatments for pancreatic cancer.

Yuan Luo, PhD
External Mentor — Project 3
Professor & Director, Institute for AI in Medicine; Chief AI Officer, NUCATS, Northwestern University

Professor at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and Chief AI Officer of the Northwestern Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute. He develops machine learning methods that integrate clinical, imaging, and -omics data.

Alexander Gusev, PhD
External Mentor — Project 4
Associate Professor of Medicine, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute & Harvard Medical School

Statistical geneticist and Associate Professor of Medicine at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School, where he leads the Clinical Computational Oncology Group.

External Advisory Committee

An independent panel of national experts advising on scientific direction and rigor.

The External Advisory Committee roster will be announced as members are confirmed.