UH Cancer Center recognizes community partners at 3rd ACCRUAL event

March 2021

Community partners of the University of Hawaiʻi Cancer Center were recognized at the 3rd Annual Cancer Clinical Research UH Cancer Center Accrual Leaders (ACCRUAL) event that was held virtually. Dedicated physicians, nurses, and research administrators throughout Hawaiʻi were awarded for their efforts toward enrolling patients onto clinical trials and furthering clinical research.

Through the Hawaiʻi Cancer Consortium, the UH Cancer Center coordinates clinical trials for cancer patients throughout the state. The consortium consists of Adventist Health Castle , Hawaii Medical Service Association , Hawaiʻi Pacific Health , Kuakini Medical Center , The Queen’s Health Systems , and the John A. Burns School of Medicine . The UH Cancer Center is completely community facing and relies on the help of its community partners to administer clinical trials.

“We are grateful for all of our physicians, nurses, and research administrators throughout the Hawaiʻi Cancer Consortium, who put so much effort into getting patients enrolled onto clinical trials,” said UH Cancer Center Director Randall Holcombe, MD, MBA. “They play a huge role in helping us to reduce the burden of cancer through clinical research and patient care.”

Each year, awardees are recognized for reviewing the validity and feasibility of clinical trial protocols, monitoring data safety, facilitating clinical trials, and successfully enrolling patients onto interventional clinical trials. Once patients are enrolled, these dedicated cancer care professionals provide stringent monitoring of their patient’s health and disease status for the duration of their active therapy and beyond, while ensuring that the clinical trials are closely adhered to as prescribed. These efforts contribute to the UH Cancer Center’s 20BY25 campaign goal of increasing clinical trial enrollment to 20 percent of all individuals with newly diagnosed and relapsed cancers by the year 2025 in Hawaiʻi.

Many of Hawaiʻi’s cancer patients are currently underrepresented in national clinical trials, but as more are enrolled, researchers will be able to better understand their overall cancer risk and develop treatments that are specific to them.



2021 ACCRUAL Awards

Therapeutic Accruals Platinum Award - Jared Acoba, MD (Hawaiʻi Oncology, Inc.)

Therapeutic Accruals Gold Award - Yoshihito David Saito, MD (Hawaiʻi Oncology, Inc.)

Non-Therapeutic Accruals Platinum Award - Erin Capps, MD (The Queen's Medical Center)

Non-Therapeutic Accruals Gold Award - Jami Fukui, MD (UH Cancer Center/Hawaiʻi Pacific Health)

APRN Accruals Platinum Award - Christa Braun-Inglis, APRN, FNP, AOCNP (UH Cancer Center/Hawaiʻi Pacific Health)

Most Reviewed Protocols Award - Keith Terada, MD (University Health Partners of Hawaiʻi)

Research Staff Award - Sharon Tamashiro, RN (The Queen's Medical Center)

Research Staff Award - Robyn Morse, CCRC (Hawaiʻi Pacific Health)

Community Research Advisory Board Chair - Jared Acoba, MD (UH Cancer Center/Hawaiʻi Oncology, Inc.)

Protocol Review and Monitoring Committee Chair - Jeffrey Berenberg, MD (UH Cancer Center/Tripler Army Medical Center)

Data Safety Monitoring Committee Chair - Jonathan Cho, MD (Hawaiʻi Cancer Care, Inc.)

Most Reviewed Protocols - Ian Pagano, PhD (UH Cancer Center)

Outstanding contribution to clinical trial enrollment:

Puahone Garcia, CCMA (Hawaiʻi Pacific Health)

Jonalyn Chua, CMA(AAMA), CPC-A (Hawaiʻi Pacific Health)

Holly Ho-Chee-Dupont, Patient Navigator (The Queen's Medical Center)

Franchesca Recaido, MA (The Queen's Medical Center)

Valerie Ferguson, APRN, FNP, AOCNP (Hawaiʻi Pacific Health)

Yvonne Mina, RN (Hawaiʻi Pacific Health)

Kealohilani Harvest-Castro, MA (Hawaiʻi Pacific Health)

Adrienne Mendiola, MA (Hawaiʻi Pacific Health)

Judy Ko, APRN (Hawaiʻi Cancer Care, Inc.)