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NIH Grants $12 Million to Launch Pacific Center for AI-Driven Biomedical Research at University of Hawaii
On June 4 2026, the National Institutes of Health awarded the University of Hawaiʻi Cancer Center and the John A. Burns School of Medicine a five‑year, $12 million Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) grant to establish the Pacific Center for Artificial Intelligence and Data Science in Medicine (PAC‑AID). The National Institute of General Medical Sciences will administer the award, which will fund the center through February 2031.
PAC‑AID will become a regional hub that fuses artificial intelligence (AI) and data science with biomedical research to improve health outcomes for Hawaiʻi, the broader Pacific region, and the world. The center will occupy the shared Kakaʻako campus, where the UH Cancer Center and JABSOM already collaborate.
Principal investigators John Shepherd, chief scientific officer of the UH Cancer Center, and Youping Deng, co‑director of the Genomics and Bioinformatics Shared Resource, will steer the project. They plan to renovate the UH Cancer Center Data Center into a new Medical AI Core (MedAI Core) that will house high‑performance computing resources and AI expertise.
"At the heart of our mission as a flagship research university is the drive to translate innovation into meaningful impact," said Vassilis Syrmos, incoming chancellor of UH Mānoa. "PAC‑AID is a vital expansion of that mission, enabling our faculty to harness the power of artificial intelligence to pioneer new avenues of biomedical inquiry that were previously unreachable, solidifying the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s role as a global leader in health innovation."
Senator Brian Schatz, who helped secure the grant, added: "AI has the potential to unlock major medical breakthroughs and help people live healthier lives, and we need to take advantage of it. This new funding will help Hawaiʻi continue to attract top‑tier talent and develop treatments and cures that will benefit people across the state."
UH Cancer Center Director Naoto T. Ueno emphasized the investment’s impact on research and training. "The $12 million over five years will substantially strengthen AI and data science capabilities and support the development of the next generation of investigators," he said. "The research advances made possible by PAC‑AID will further the UH Cancer Center’s work toward new understandings and treatments for cancer, to save lives in Hawaiʻi and the Pacific, and across the globe."
JABSOM dean Sam Shomaker highlighted the patient‑care benefits. "At JABSOM, our mission is to improve the health of Hawaiʻi through education and research. This investment will help accelerate discoveries that address the real health challenges facing our communities and ensure that advances in AI translate into better outcomes for patients."
The COBRE award will also create a workforce‑development mechanism. Shepherd and Deng will oversee efforts to build research capacity and nurture the next generation of independent investigators. Shepherd said the award will bridge advanced AI computational methods with Hawaiʻi’s specific clinical and community health challenges. "By fostering a collaborative environment for our investigators, we are equipping them with the technical capabilities to tackle the most persistent health disparities in our islands and turn complex data into actionable health solutions," he said.
Deng outlined the center’s expected outputs. "By the end of this project, we expect to have a nationally competitive Medical AI Core, four independently funded research leaders, and more than 10 pilot projects," he said. "Through these efforts, alongside workshops and collaborative research opportunities, we will significantly strengthen Hawaiʻi’s capacity for AI‑enabled biomedical research and innovation to address important health challenges in our region and beyond."
PAC‑AID’s inaugural projects include AI‑driven research by UH Cancer Center scientists Kevin Cassel, who is using full‑body imaging to triage skin lesions, and Elizabeth Nakasone, who is studying pancreatic cancer in Native Hawaiian and Japanese populations. Public health researcher Jonathan Huang at UH Mānoa will model environmental toxicant effects on fetal development, while JABSOM researcher Yiqiang Zhang will identify genetic traits in congenital heart disease.
The COBRE Phase I grants focus on developing independent biomedical researchers and research centers. Shepherd estimates that the funded faculty projects will eventually achieve independent NIH R01 funding, potentially returning an additional $19.5 million in federal research funding to Hawaiʻi over the first five years. Combined with the initial $12 million, the projected economic and research impact exceeds $31 million.
PAC‑AID joins a growing portfolio of NIH‑funded COBRE centers at UH Mānoa, including the Diabetes Research Center, the Integrative Center for Precision Nutrition and Human Health, and the Integrative Center for Environmental Microbiomes and Human Health.
The center’s establishment marks a significant expansion of AI‑enabled biomedical research infrastructure in the Pacific region, positioning the University of Hawaiʻi as a key player in translating AI advances into health improvements for underserved populations.
PAC‑AID will become a regional hub that fuses artificial intelligence (AI) and data science with biomedical research to improve health outcomes for Hawaiʻi, the broader Pacific region, and the world. The center will occupy the shared Kakaʻako campus, where the UH Cancer Center and JABSOM already collaborate.
Principal investigators John Shepherd, chief scientific officer of the UH Cancer Center, and Youping Deng, co‑director of the Genomics and Bioinformatics Shared Resource, will steer the project. They plan to renovate the UH Cancer Center Data Center into a new Medical AI Core (MedAI Core) that will house high‑performance computing resources and AI expertise.
"At the heart of our mission as a flagship research university is the drive to translate innovation into meaningful impact," said Vassilis Syrmos, incoming chancellor of UH Mānoa. "PAC‑AID is a vital expansion of that mission, enabling our faculty to harness the power of artificial intelligence to pioneer new avenues of biomedical inquiry that were previously unreachable, solidifying the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s role as a global leader in health innovation."
Senator Brian Schatz, who helped secure the grant, added: "AI has the potential to unlock major medical breakthroughs and help people live healthier lives, and we need to take advantage of it. This new funding will help Hawaiʻi continue to attract top‑tier talent and develop treatments and cures that will benefit people across the state."
UH Cancer Center Director Naoto T. Ueno emphasized the investment’s impact on research and training. "The $12 million over five years will substantially strengthen AI and data science capabilities and support the development of the next generation of investigators," he said. "The research advances made possible by PAC‑AID will further the UH Cancer Center’s work toward new understandings and treatments for cancer, to save lives in Hawaiʻi and the Pacific, and across the globe."
JABSOM dean Sam Shomaker highlighted the patient‑care benefits. "At JABSOM, our mission is to improve the health of Hawaiʻi through education and research. This investment will help accelerate discoveries that address the real health challenges facing our communities and ensure that advances in AI translate into better outcomes for patients."
The COBRE award will also create a workforce‑development mechanism. Shepherd and Deng will oversee efforts to build research capacity and nurture the next generation of independent investigators. Shepherd said the award will bridge advanced AI computational methods with Hawaiʻi’s specific clinical and community health challenges. "By fostering a collaborative environment for our investigators, we are equipping them with the technical capabilities to tackle the most persistent health disparities in our islands and turn complex data into actionable health solutions," he said.
Deng outlined the center’s expected outputs. "By the end of this project, we expect to have a nationally competitive Medical AI Core, four independently funded research leaders, and more than 10 pilot projects," he said. "Through these efforts, alongside workshops and collaborative research opportunities, we will significantly strengthen Hawaiʻi’s capacity for AI‑enabled biomedical research and innovation to address important health challenges in our region and beyond."
PAC‑AID’s inaugural projects include AI‑driven research by UH Cancer Center scientists Kevin Cassel, who is using full‑body imaging to triage skin lesions, and Elizabeth Nakasone, who is studying pancreatic cancer in Native Hawaiian and Japanese populations. Public health researcher Jonathan Huang at UH Mānoa will model environmental toxicant effects on fetal development, while JABSOM researcher Yiqiang Zhang will identify genetic traits in congenital heart disease.
The COBRE Phase I grants focus on developing independent biomedical researchers and research centers. Shepherd estimates that the funded faculty projects will eventually achieve independent NIH R01 funding, potentially returning an additional $19.5 million in federal research funding to Hawaiʻi over the first five years. Combined with the initial $12 million, the projected economic and research impact exceeds $31 million.
PAC‑AID joins a growing portfolio of NIH‑funded COBRE centers at UH Mānoa, including the Diabetes Research Center, the Integrative Center for Precision Nutrition and Human Health, and the Integrative Center for Environmental Microbiomes and Human Health.
The center’s establishment marks a significant expansion of AI‑enabled biomedical research infrastructure in the Pacific region, positioning the University of Hawaiʻi as a key player in translating AI advances into health improvements for underserved populations.
