Cheers, hugs and tears flowed at the University of Â鶹´«Ã½ at ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹ (JABSOM) as the Class of 2026 opened envelopes revealing the next step in their medical journeys.

On March 20, 78 students participated in Match Day, learning where they will continue their training in residency programs across the country.

This year’s class is strongly committed to primary care, with 56% matching into internal medicine, family medicine, pediatrics and OB-GYN—fields that remain in high demand across Â鶹´«Ã½. Additionally, 33% of graduates will remain in Â鶹´«Ã½ for residency.

Staying home to serve Â鶹´«Ã½

For many students, staying home made Match Day especially meaningful.

“As cheesy as it might sound, I think it means the world to me,” said Kerrick Chinen. “I grew up in this place, these people have raised me, and it’s an absolute honor to be back serving the people and practicing even more at home.”

He added, “The heart said I really wanted to stay at home, but I knew the reality of it. It was a little dicey. So it was an absolute relief opening that envelope up and seeing the University of Â鶹´«Ã½.”

Jonathan Carino shared a similar goal. “That’s always been my intention,” Carino said. “To do residency somewhere not in Â鶹´«Ã½ didn’t sit right with me, and I’m really glad I’m staying home here at UH.”

JABSOM Dean Sam Shomaker said that commitment reflects the school’s mission to serve the state’s most pressing health care needs.

“Primary care is the backbone of a healthy community, and Â鶹´«Ã½ continues to face a critical need in these areas,” Shomaker said. “We are proud to see so many of our students choosing this path and staying true to our mission of training physicians who will serve our communities here at home.”

It was also a notable year for surgery, with 19% of the class matching into surgical specialties.

Nationally, more than 38,000 medical students matched into residency programs this year, marking the largest Match in the history of the National Resident Matching Program.

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Walton K.T. Shim, Â鶹´«Ã½â€™s first pediatric surgeon and a longtime professor of surgery and pediatrics at the University of Â鶹´«Ã½ at ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹ (JABSOM), died in November 2025 at his family home in Montana. He was 94.

Over the span of his long career, he trained residents, mentored future surgeons and helped raise the standard of pediatric care statewide.

Born and raised in Â鶹´«Ã½, Shim attended Dartmouth College and Columbia University School of Medicine before completing surgical training in Chicago. Shim returned to Â鶹´«Ã½ in 1967 determined to build pediatric surgery as a specialty so children could receive complex care without leaving the islands. For many years, he was the only pediatric surgeon statewide.

In addition to his faculty role at JABSOM, Shim held multiple leadership positions at Kapiʻolani Medical Center for Women & Children, including division chief of pediatric surgery and chief of staff. He was also a founding member of the Pacific Association of Pediatric Surgeons.

A doctor who never delayed

“There’s all sorts of ways you can delay seeing patients,” said his wife, Vicki Shim. “He never did that. In other words, if somebody came into the ER or someone like Dr. Boychuk called him, he was there, right away.”

That dedication was felt at home as well. “I remember them calling him late at night on the phone,” said daughter Jennifer Shim. “He actually had his own telephone line installed just for emergencies…I realize it now as an adult.”

Shim is survived by his wife, four children, six grandchildren and generations of patients whose lives he helped save.

“Dr. Shim was a pioneer in pediatric surgery whose contributions to the field left a lasting impact,” said Russell Woo, professor of surgery at JABSOM and associate dean for clinical programs at Â鶹´«Ã½ Pacific Health. “His legacy of caring, skill and dedication to the children of Â鶹´«Ã½ is a high bar for all of us who follow in his footsteps.”

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To help children feel less afraid of surgery, a graduate of the (JABSOM) at the University of Â鶹´«Ã½ at ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹ created a story to guide young patients through the experience. Mariah Gosling, a 2022 alumna, wrote Toby’s Magic Bubbles: An Anesthesia Story to comfort pediatric patients in the moments leading up to their operations.

I discovered my passion for helping children feel safe and empowered in the medical setting,
—Mariah Gosling

The story follows Toby, a young sea turtle who feels nervous before surgery. He soon discovers “magic bubbles”—a child-friendly symbol of anesthesia—that carry him into a dreamlike world of friends and adventures, where he finds his courage.

Now in her final year of the University of Miami’s Anesthesiology Residency Program, Gosling hopes that Toby’s bravery resonates with her young readers.

“As a soon-to-be pediatric anesthesiology fellow, spending time with patients in the preoperative setting, I discovered my passion for helping children feel safe and empowered in the medical setting,” she said.

Gosling credits her time at JABSOM and mentors Jason Isa (a 2002 JABSOM alumnus) and Cindy Ku for shaping her growth as a compassionate physician.

“[Drs. Isa and Ku] taught me the foundations of anesthesia and welcomed me like family,” she said. “I admired their knowledge, procedural skills, and the genuine rapport they built with patients—and it was in those moments that I knew anesthesiology was the path I wanted to follow.”

Toby’s Magic Bubbles is now available on . Gosling hopes to donate copies to children’s hospitals to inspire young patients facing surgery.

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Anna-Kaelle Ramos, a fourth-year medical student at the University of Â鶹´«Ã½ at ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹ (JABSOM), fulfilled a childhood dream by matching into the UH pediatrics residency program. Joining her were 76 other students, all matched into various residency programs, continuing JABSOM‘s streak of 100% match rate for two consecutive years.

“Even though I didn’t know at that time that I was necessarily going to go into pediatrics or OBGYN or anything like that, being born and raised here, I knew I wanted to serve the exact communities I grew up in,” said Ramos, a Kaiser High School graduate.

Austin Corpuz, who grew up on the Leeward side, was inspired by the care he received from his community. Now, he’s matched with the UH internal medicine program, eager to give back.

Corpuz said, “I like to think about how I’ll impact this community in the future. That purpose is what really drives me forward.”

Primary care specialties fill need

A Â鶹´«Ã½ continues to grapple with a physician shortage, more than half of JABSOM students are pursuing primary care specialties of internal medicine, family medicine and pediatrics.

For many of them, staying in Â鶹´«Ã½ to learn and serve is a priority. Although not all specialties are available locally, 31% of the JABSOM class of 2024 will continue their training in Â鶹´«Ã½.

This year JABSOM matched 16 students in pediatrics, the highest number in seven years, promising increased care for Â鶹´«Ã½‘s children.

For more than three decades, Lynn Iwamoto has served Â鶹´«Ã½ as a neonatologist at Kapiʻolani Medical Center for Women & Children while training the next generation of as an associate professor at the (JABSOM) at the University of HÂ鶹´«Ã½ at ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹.

Iwamoto was honored by Â鶹´«Ã½ Pacific Health (HPH) and Â鶹´«Ã½ Health Partners as the Member of the Year for making the healthcare landscape safer for patients. She created the Maintenance Certification Program, which gives physicians credit for their quality and patient safety work.

Years ago, once doctors became certified, they stayed certified throughout their careers.
However, in medicine, advances and breakthroughs are constant, and the American Board of Medical Specialties currently requires physicians to stay up-to-date.

“They’re showing that they’re really trying to keep up with the information that is rapidly increasing and that they’re trying to do things to help their patients by improving care,” Iwamoto said.

Creating a blueprint for physician certification

Through the Maintenance Certification Program, Iwamoto created a blueprint for physicians at HPH to get credit to keep them current within the American Board of Medical Specialties standards.

“The whole board perspective is that physicians are already doing the work, so what we just want to do is give them credit for what they are already doing.”

Iwamoto started crafting the guidelines for HPH and shared an example in neonatology that HPH physicians were already working on that they can now receive credits for.

Their efforts to boost breast milk rates for preemie babies included educational interventions for staff and parents. The initiative led to a notable increase in preemies going home with breast milk feedings, contributing to better outcomes and recognizing physician participation in the project.

“[This not] only contributes to better outcomes for babies, but we were able to give our physicians credit for actively participating in the project,” Iwamoto said. “The sense of giving back is special. Being part of the community is being able to contribute. That’s the best part of practicing medicine here.”

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Obese adolescents have their most rapid weight gain before the age of five and are usually already obese by that age. Due to limited pediatric obesity research and lack of appropriate body composition technologies, researcher John Shepherd was awarded $3.1 million from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to discover body composition technologies that can detect health outcomes of obesity among young children.

• Related UH News story: $3.1M to advance pediatric obesity research, January 20, 2022

Shepherd’s team hopes to recruit 360 children ages 0 to 5 years old for a study, to create advanced body shape models using 3D scans.

These scans will provide detailed descriptions of how body shape and composition are related to obesity-related risk factors, including high blood pressure, increased cholesterol levels, and risk for developing cancer among children in Â鶹´«Ã½ and the Pacific.

“The inclusion of our diverse population in Â鶹´«Ã½ for this specific study will help us to more fully understand the extent of health inequities and the mechanisms in which to address them,” said Shepherd.

Recent research suggests that interventions to prevent obesity and metabolic diseases later in life need to be implemented in early childhood. Studies such as Shape Up! Keiki are needed to explore innovative technologies to assess and understand the risk factors of metabolic diseases.

Parents who are interested in enrolling their children in the study can visit the for more details. To contact the study team, call (808) 440-5234 or email bodycompstudies@cc.hawaii.edu.

September 1, 2022 update: This paper has been selected for “American Physiological Society (APS) Select,” a collection from APS that showcases some of the best recently published articles in physiological research. This paper will be free to access for two months.

Original story:

Menthol in e-cigarettes may be harmful to respiratory health, according to new research by a team of University of Â鶹´«Ã½ at ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹ experts. The findings come as e-cigarette use is on the rise among Â鶹´«Ã½â€™s youth.

Yi Zuo, UH ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹ professor of and adjunct professor of , has invented a groundbreaking method that allows the study of the health impact of e-cigarette aerosols. This breakthrough research was published in June 2022 in the American Journal of Physiology—Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology, “.”

Zuo’s research found that flavorings used in e-cigarettes, especially menthol, impaired a lipid-protein film at the air-water surface of the lung. This film is called the lung surfactant. It plays a central role in maintaining the normal respiratory mechanics of the lung. Therefore, Zuo’s research indicated that menthol in e-cigarette aerosols may cause an adverse impact on the respiratory health of the user.

“E-cigarettes were initially advertised as a healthier and safer alternative to conventional tobacco smoking when they first appeared in the mid-2000s,” Zuo said. “However, increasing research evidence, especially long-term (more than 10 years) toxicological data that emerged only in recent years, has suggested that e-cigarettes are not as safe as originally promised.”

E-cigarette use is on the rise among Â鶹´«Ã½â€™s youth, according to a by the UH ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹ . Survey respondents who reported they used an e-cigarette or vaping product at least one day during the previous 30 days before taking the survey increased from 25.1% to 30.6% from 2015 to 2019. Respondents who used vapor products for more than 20 days in the past 30 days before taking the survey increased from 3.6% in 2015 to 10.4% in 2019.

Flavor is a main attraction to e-cigarette users, especially youth. As of 2018, there were more than 15,000 different e-cigarette flavor blends available on the market. Although most flavorings used in e-cigarettes are food-grade additives and scents, their safety and health impact on the respiratory system, at levels inhaled by e-cigarette users, have been largely unknown, until now.

Menthol is a substance found in peppermint, spearmint and other mint plants. It gives a cooling and soothing sensation, and is used to relieve minor pain and irritation. Menthol is added to products as a flavoring including cough drops, beverages, gum and candy. However, none of these products are smoked or inhaled when used. E-cigarette companies, contrastingly, add menthol to their products to make them more appealing and seemingly less harmful when used.

Zuo hopes this research finding may contribute to a better understanding of the health impact of e-cigarettes, especially on youth, and a better regulation of e-cigarette products. This research was a collaborative effort between Zuo’s lab and Professors Ellinor Haglund and Rui Sun in the UH ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹ . This research was supported by a National Science Foundation award and the George F. Straub Trust and Robert C. Perry Fund of the Â鶹´«Ã½ Community Foundation.

Other stories from UH News involving e-cigarettes:

• Cancer Center awarded $1.4M for e-cigarette research, November 23, 2018
• Teens who use e-cigarettes are more likely to start smoking cigarettes, January 25, 2016
• E-cigarette use by Â鶹´«Ã½ teens is nearly triple national average, December 16, 2014

—By Marc Arakaki

An assistant clinical professor at the University of Â鶹´«Ã½ at ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹â€™s (JABSOM) has gone viral across social media with her educational, fun and down-to-earth videos.

Board-certified Pediatric Ophthalmologist Rupa Wong has been on social media for only three years, but her social media posts as @drrupawong have captured the attention of many across the world.

Wong has accumulated more than 225,000 followers/subscribers across , and . She also has a weekly podcast, “,” where she delves into the challenges of balance, time management, entrepreneurship and being a boss on your own terms.

How it started

I really do believe that if you see it—you can be it.
—Rupa Wong

It all started with Instagram in 2019, when Wong discovered a group of other doctors that were interested in promoting health information. Together, they formed the non-profit organization, the , a resource for social media usage by healthcare professionals that advocates for using social media as a public health tool to combat misinformation.

“Through that group, that’s when I started branching out into different types of social media platforms just in an effort to get others to understand eye health and information and also what it’s like to become a doctor and a woman in medicine,” said Wong. She soon found a strong following, particularly in young women, who were inspired by the transparency depicted in her videos not only about her life as a physician, but also as a mother of three.

“I started getting messages from younger women in high school, college and medical school that said, ‘My family said I can’t be a surgeon and a mother. What do you think of this?’ There were so many (similar messages) that I felt that it was really important to address that,” said Wong. “I really do believe that if you see it—you can be it. I have my daughter and my two boys and I thought it was really important to pull back the curtain so that others can see how I make my life work.”

Originally from Raleigh, North Carolina, Wong attended Duke University and earned her MD from Cornell University Medical College. After residency, she completed her fellowship in pediatric ophthalmology and adult strabismus in Boston, which is where she met her “local boy” husband and comprehensive ophthalmologist Jeffrey Wong (JABSOM MD 2003). They moved back to Â鶹´«Ã½ in 2008 and practice together at Honolulu Eye Clinic.

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Metabolic diseases such as obesity are the leading causes of deaths among adults, and are increasingly becoming an epidemic in the U.S. A researcher has been awarded $3.1 million from the to further his research efforts to provide new body composition technologies to detect the risks of metabolic consequences of obesity among young children. These include hypertension, type 2 diabetes and premature heart disease.

John Shepherd, in collaboration with partner Steven Heymsfield, of the , are working on a study called Shape Up! Keiki (children). This observational study of 360 children, between the ages of birth to five years, will create advanced models of body shape from 3D optical whole-body scans. This study will provide clear descriptions of how body shape and composition are related to metabolic risk factors—high blood pressure, increased cholesterol levels and risk of developing cancer among children of Â鶹´«Ã½ and the Pacific.

Through this study, Shepherd hopes to provide newly found health traits in children, including emotional stability and management of stress levels, by studying their body shape and providing tools to visualize and quantify body shape in research and clinical practices.

“Obese adolescents have their most rapid weight gain before the age of five, and are usually already obese by that age. Despite clear connections between obesity and disease risk, pediatric obesity research is limited due to the lack of appropriate body composition technologies,” said Shepherd.

The outcome of the Shape Up! Keiki study will provide descriptions of how the body shape of Â鶹´«Ã½ residents varies across their lifespan with technological tools that will be useful to probe the intricate relationships of aging, activity level, diet and genetic associations related to diabetes and fatty liver disease.

In the future, Shepherd hopes this technology will be accessible worldwide through consumer-level gaming and smartphone technologies, which will help parents and pediatricians monitor their children’s health from home.

This research is an example of UH ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹â€™s goal of (PDF), one of four goals identified in the (PDF), updated in December 2020.

• Related UH News stories:
  • Researcher elected to elite medical fellows program, March 24, 2021
  • 3D scan study by UH Cancer Center student hailed for obesity findings, November 12, 2019
  • 3D scanners give new insight to body shape and health, April 16, 2018

The University of Â鶹´«Ã½ and The Queen’s Health Systems (Queen’s) announced a three-party affiliation agreement between UH ²ÑÄå²Ô´Ç²¹â€™s (JABSOM), Queen’s and University Health Partners of Â鶹´«Ã½ (UHP). This affiliation agreement, expected to be operational by September, will expand medical education and research, engage the next generation of healthcare professionals and improve the health and well-being of the people of Â鶹´«Ã½.

UH is currently working with another one of its valued healthcare partners, Hawaii Pacific Health, to develop a separate affiliation addressing the departments of Pediatrics, OB/GYN and Family Medicine.

The new affiliation agreement with Queenʻs will benefit patients and the community by:

• Strengthening and enhancing the education of the next generation of medical students, residents, fellows and other health professionals in Â鶹´«Ã½.
• Attracting and retaining talented faculty, physicians and researchers in Â鶹´«Ã½.
• Expanding clinical and research programs and providing opportunities to create innovative models of care.
• Enhancing teaching, research and community service missions.
• Encouraging and creating pathways for the next generation of healthcare professionals to provide care in our state.
• Improving each organization’s ability to meet the needs of vulnerable communities and address health inequities.
• Accelerating the achievement of improving the overall health of communities served.

A key component of this affiliation agreement is the creation of a combined physician group to be named The Queen’s University Medical Group (QUMG). This group of more than 450 providers, representing 17 specialties, will further strengthen high quality, compassionate care, innovation, research and education in Â鶹´«Ã½.

As part of the QUMG, UH faculty will be employed and supported by Â鶹´«Ã½â€™s largest clinical site for training medical students and more than 100 residents and fellows from JABSOM. Queen’s will ensure the medical group has the support needed to meet educational needs. JABSOM will oversee the academic activities of the faculty, and UHP will help sustain support of JABSOM’s teaching and research mission.

“This opportunity to align the clinical care and academic roles of those working at Queen’s to enhance training of our learners will transform medical education and research at JABSOM. We look forward to working with Queen’s through this new affiliation to help support Â鶹´«Ã½â€™s healthcare training and service needs for the future,” said Jerris Hedges, dean of JABSOM.

“By unifying our practices, we will strengthen the education and development of the next generation of caregivers in a culturally grounded way, infuse research and innovation into our delivery systems, and expand and improve key clinical programs,” said Jill Hoggard Green, CEO of The Queen’s Health Systems. “We look forward to enhancing our already strong and longstanding partnerships with the university to achieve our shared goal of improving the health of our communities, both now and in the future.”