A groundbreaking $4-million study funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and spearheaded by the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa aims to delve into the health disparities affecting Native Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders, and Asian Americans. The Pacific Ocean Native Observational (PONO) Health Legacy Study, a longitudinal cohort study, will enroll 10,000 participants aged 18–65 from these communities, focusing on health resilience and risk factors for disease prevention.
The study, described as a “once in a lifetime” opportunity, will be conducted across five U.S. sites, including Hawaiʻi, California, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and New York, with the Fred Hutchinson Center in Seattle coordinating the efforts. Hawaiʻi will be the primary recruitment site for Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders.
Leading the charge are three Hawaiʻi-based scientists: Marjorie Mau and Alika Maunakea from the John A. Burns School of Medicine, and Lani Park from the UH Cancer Center. Mau and Maunakea, both of Native Hawaiian descent, have a long history of working with Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities. Their work aims to bridge health inequity gaps and provide research training opportunities to these historically understudied groups.
The PONO study will explore how genetic expression in these populations is influenced by various factors, including environmental, behavioral, social-cultural, and biological aspects (epigenetics). It also aims to uncover novel socio-environmental and structural factors linked to health and well-being, offering new insights into disease prevention for these communities.
As the study progresses, the PONO team is committed to staying connected with Hawaiʻi’s diverse racial and ethnic populations, ensuring the latest research science benefits local health providers and communities.
“$4M to study health disparities in Native Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders, Asian Americans” on the University of Hawaii website (November 1, 2023)
