Cancer Research Center of Hawai'i expands with five new researchers

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
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Posted: Feb 1, 2010

The University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa’s Cancer Research Center of Hawai‘i has successfully recruited five noted cancer researchers to join its faculty, adding expertise that will translate into better cancer care for state residents.
 
Three of the researchers—Drs. Clayton Chong, Naoky Tsai and Linda Wong—are well-known cancer specialists in Hawaii. Chong and Wong will join the Center as recipients of two federal ARRA grants that were awarded in December to fund “translational” research that spans the continuum from lab study to patient care.
 
Two additional recruits come from the mainland: Wen-Ming Chu, MD, PhD, formerly of Brown University’s department of molecular microbiology and immunology; and Toshihiko Kawamori, MD, PhD, from the University of South Carolina’s department of pathology and laboratory medicine.
 
“We are making great strides in expanding our research capacity with these newest recruits,” said Michele Carbone, MD, PhD, director of the Cancer Research Center of Hawai‘i. “Their expertise will strengthen our clinical and natural products programs, and ultimately the people of Hawaii will benefit from their study of specific cancers, including liver, breast and colon cancer.
 
More information on the researchers:
 
Dr. Clayton Dai Kwock is the chief of oncology at The Queen’s Medical Center. A graduate of Kamehameha Schools and Harvard University School of Public Health, he has a strong interest in health disparities among ethnic groups, and specifically studies breast cancer and its incidence among Native Hawaiians. He is an associate medical professor at the John A. Burns School of Medicine’s (JABSOM’s) department of Native Hawaiian Health. He was formerly with the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Texas, and is a graduate of JABSOM.   
 
Dr. Naoky Tsai is currently at Castle Medical Center in Kailua and the Liver Center at St. Francis Medical Center in Liliha. Also a JABSOM professor, he attended Taipei Medical University in Taiwan, held an internship at St. Mary’s Hospital, and a residency in internal medicine at The Griffin Hospital, an affiliate of Yale University.
 
Dr. Linda Wong specializes in the treatment of liver cancer and those at greatest risk, including patients with viral hepatitis B and C. Hawaii has the highest incidence of liver cancer in the U.S.  Dr. Wong is a clinical professor of surgery at JABSOM, a surgeon with Surgical Associates Inc., and director of the liver transplant program at St. Francis Medical Center. She earned her medical degree from University of California-Irvine and is a graduate of Stanford University and Punahou School.
 
Dr. Wen-Ming Chu studies inflammation and colon cancer. Most recently, he was an assistant professor at Brown University’s department of molecular microbiology and immunology in Providence, Rhode Island. He earned master and doctoral degrees from the Peking Union Medical College in Beijing, and his medical degree from Nanjing Medical College.
 
Formerly with the University of South Carolina’s department of pathology and laboratory medicine, Dr. Toshihiko Kawamori studies chemo-prevention of colon cancer. Kawamori earned his doctoral degree from Gifu University Graduate School of Medicine in Japan and his medical degree from the Gifu University School of Medicine. He is the recipient of numerous awards, and is a fellow of the International Academy of Toxicologic Pathology. He will arrive at the Cancer Research Center of Hawai‘i on May 1.