Joseph Keawe‘aimoku Kaholokula, Ph.D.
Professor and Chair
Department of Native Hawaiian Health
Phone: (808) 692-1047
Email: kaholoku@hawaii.edu
View Curriculum Vitae (pdf)
Dr. Kaholokula is a tenured Professor and Chair of Native Hawaiian Health in the John A. Burns School of Medicine at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and a licensed clinical psychologist. He is a translational behavioral scientist who has led multiple, federally-funded research projects aimed at explaining, preventing, or treating cardiometabolic-related medical conditions in Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders to achieve health equity. He is the co-Principal Investigator for the Pacific Innovations, Knowledge, and Opportunities (PIKO) Clinical and Translational Research Center. With colleagues, he has developed national and international research training programs to support Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, and other science-underrepresented students, post-doctoral fellows, and junior faculty in pursuing a health science research career. His work is chronicled in over 140 scientific and academic publications and has had an impact on the local, regional, national, and international levels to bring systemic improvements to health care delivery, clinical outcomes, and policy. His strong commitment to achieving health equity for Indigenous communities is also reflected in his services on the national level as past Chair for the Intervention Research to Improve Native American Health (IRINAH) network, current co-Chair for the Asian American Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Special Interest Group of the Community Engagement Alliance (CEAL), and his appointment to the National Advisory Council on Minority Health and Health Disparities. In Hawai‘i, he has served on boards of organizations with a mission to improve population and Native Hawaiian health to include the Queen’s Health Systems, Hawai‘i Public Health Institute, and Papa Ola Lōkahi Native Hawaiian Health Board. He is a co-Lead of the Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander COVID-19 Response, Recovery, Resiliency Team for Hawai‘i. As a Native Hawaiian, he is passionate about improving the health of Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders and has made a life-long commitment to improving their social and cultural determinants of health.