A new Center for Pacific Innovations, Knowledge, and Opportunities (PIKO) to improve the health and wellbeing of Indigenous Pacific People (IPP) is being established with the help of a $15 million, five-year grant from the (NIGMS). PIKO is focused on Native Hawaiians, other Pacific Islanders and Filipinos. These communities comprise 40% of the state¡¯s population and have disproportionately higher rates of physical ailments and mental health conditions, compared to Caucasian and Asian people in Â鶹´«Ã½.
PIKO will be led by Joseph Keaweʻaimoku Kaholokula, professor and chair of , and Neal A. Palafox, professor of , of the University of Â鶹´«Ã½ at ²Ñ¨¡²Ô´Ç²¹ (JABSOM). This Institutional Development Award Networks for Clinical and Translational Research center at NIGMS represents a partnership between UH ²Ñ¨¡²Ô´Ç²¹, Â鶹´«Ã½ Pacific University, Chaminade University and a statewide network of community-based organizations.
“This is an unprecedented partnership and initiative in Â鶹´«Ã½ to support talented junior researchers in doing culturally responsive and community-engaged research to improve the health and wellbeing of Native Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders, Filipinos and other health disparate populations,” said Kaholokula.
PIKO will take a team-science approach to transform current research paradigms to accelerate clinical and translational research to improve IPP health. There are seven core components to PIKO: administrative; professional development; pilot projects program; biostatistics, epidemiology, and research design; community engagement and outreach; clinical research and regulatory support; and tracking and evaluation.
UH adds $1.5 M
UH ²Ñ¨¡²Ô´Ç²¹ has committed $1.5 million over five years toward PIKO, which will increase the number of new and early-stage investigators from IPP communities for clinical and translational research careers. With strong mentoring from established researchers, these emerging scientists will learn how to conduct community-responsive research to find real-world solutions to reduce health disparities and advance health equity.
Key to PIKO¡¯s success will be implementation and dissemination of research findings back to the affected communities through a robust statewide network of community-based partners and community stakeholders, who will share best practices, translate discoveries and leverage data to improve the health of IPP and other marginalized communities in Â鶹´«Ã½.
“Achieving health equity in Â鶹´«Ã½¡¯s marginalized populations requires a dedicated and sustained investment in relevant discovery and problem solving, tasks that belong to the people of these communities,” said Palafox.
This effort is an example of UH ²Ñ¨¡²Ô´Ç²¹¡¯s goal of (PDF), one of four goals identified in the (PDF), updated in December 2020.