Summer Research Internship

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The Summer Research Internship (SRI) is a 8-week program designed for undergraduate college students interested in a career in medicine and research. This program is offered by The Queen’s Medical Center, Office of Research & Development in collaboration with the University of Hawaii – John A. Burns School of Medicine, Department of Native Hawaiian Health.

The SRI program consists of five main components:

Didactics - Learn many of the necessary skills for conducting research. Weekly seminars and lectures on topics such as Introduction to Research, Study Design, and Statistical Methods.
Mentored Research Project - Participate on a research project under the guidance of a Queen’s Principal Investigator resulting in a final report and presentation at a reception held at the conclusion of the program.
Clinical Observation - Shadow physicians in the hospital and/or outpatient clinics. Clinical units may include, but are not limited to: Internal Medicine, Surgery, OB/GYN, Gastroenterology, Intensive Care, and Cardiology.
Tours - Tour the UH medical school and various hospital facilities.
Cultural Experiences - Engage in cultural and community activities relevant to Native Hawaiian health.

If interested, please review the Summer Research Internship Program FAQ.
The next cycle of Summer Research Internship application will be available around mid-December. The 2026 SRI Application is available for download.
For more information, email SRI@queens.org or call (808) 691-4121.

Anthony Hoang

School: Vanderbilt University
Project: Single Center Tertiary Care Experience with Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury in Hawai’i
Mentors: Jessica Wilson, PhD; Stacy Brown, MD

Erin Song

School: University of Rochester
Project: Evaluating Lung Cancer Screening Eligibility and Diagnostic Outcomes in NHPI and Asian Populations in Hawai’i
Mentors: Jared Hara, MD; Taryne Imai, MD; Bradley Tokeshi, MD; Nicolas Villanueva, MD

Estefany Mae Bayudan

School: University of Hawaii at Manoa
Project: Queen’s North Hawai’i Community Hospital OB/GYN Operations Improvement Project: Identifying
Operational Drivers Leading to Variance in NHCH OB/GYN Outpatient Encounter Turnaround Times
Mentors: “Richard” Dik Hong Ng, MBA, MS
Gurpreet Bhamra, MBA, BSN, RN

Katelyn Corpuz

School: Skidmore College
Project: Characterizing Rheumatic Heart Disease (RHD) in Pregnancy: A Case Series from Hawai’i
Mentor: Mary Tschann, PhD; Bliss Kaneshiro, MD; Stacy Tsai, MD

Katelyn Shu

School: Tufts University
Project: Evaluation of gynecologic cancer patient understanding of prognosis and treatment goals
Mentor: Bliss Kaneshiro, MD; Robert Kim, MD; Tiffany Lai, MD

Kaylynn Hashiro

School: University of Washington
Project: Advancing DIEP flap surgery: robotic-assisted harvest reduces pain and narcotic use
Mentor: Daniel Murariu, MD, MPH, MBA, FACS

Kristi Nakagawa

School: Northwestern University
Project: Single-Institution Review of Bone Sarcoma Survival
Mentor: Sean Kelly, MD

Paige Morihara

School: Santa Clara University
Project: Body composition and coronary artery plaque burden amongst an AAPI cohort
Mentor: Kevin Benavente, MD

Taysia Morioka

School: University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Project: Practical Radiation Dose Using Modern and Aged Angiographic Equipment
Mentor: Ferdinand Hui, MD

Jensen Dunn

School: Whitman College
Project: Surfer’s Myelopathy Prospective Data Registry
Mentor: Stacy Brown, MD

Chase Kane

School: Univeristy of Hawaii at Manoa
Project: Evaluation of cancer patients’ understanding of prognosis and treatment goals
Mentor: Jared Acoba, MD

Myah McDonald

School: University of New Mexico
Project: Investigating medical predictors of extended length of stay among psychiatric inpatients
Mentor: Phoebe Hwang, DrPH, MS

Sophie Nguyen

School: Tufts University
Project: The impact of social determinants of health on people living with HIV
Mentor: Louie Mar Gangcuangco, MD

Kyra Ong

School: Bates College
Project: Vapocoolant application for pain reduction during office-based gynecologic procedures: a randomized controlled trial (VAPOR)
Mentor: Catherine “Lule” Rault, MD

Anela Nicole Ramos

School: Georgetown University
Project: Diabetes prevalence among Asian subgroups, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Communities in Hawaii and California
Mentor: Deborah Taira, ScD

Hale Robinson

School: Davidson College
Project: I Kua Na’u ~ “Let Me Carry Out Your Last Wishes”
Mentor: Gerard Akaka, MD

Katherine Gong

School: Dickinson College
Project: The impact of metformin on age-related complications of Human Immunodeficiency Virus
Mentor: Louie Mar Gangcuangco, MD

Josiah Morita

School: The George Washington University
Project: Facilitators and barriers to implementation of a pilot methamphetamine treatment program at a Level I trauma center
Mentor: Joshua Ng-Kamstra, MD

Tyler Shimabukuro

School: Lewis and Clark College
Project: Giant Cell Tumor of Bone Cell Line Therapy
Mentor: Sean Kelly, MD

Michael Tong

School: University of Hawaii, Manoa
Project: Fn14 ameliorates cell death in cisplatin induced acute kidney injury (AKI)
Mentor: Michael A. Ortega, PhD

Alex Ueoka

School: Columbia University
Project: Perceptions of genomic medicine and technology among Native Hawaiian patients enrolled in a longitudinal healthcare engagement program
Mentor: Stacy Brown, MD

Joshua Grube

School: Illinois Institute of Technology
Project: Facilitators and barriers to implementation of a pilot methamphetamine treatment program at a Level I trauma center
Mentor: Joshua Ng, MD

Koryn Isa

School: University of Notre Dame
Project: Molecular Mechanisms of Cardiac Myocyte Proliferation
Mentor: Yiqiang Zhang, PhD

Erica Ma

School: University of Hawaii at Manoa
Project: Challenges Faced by Rural Primary Care Providers Caring for Parkinson’s Disease Patients in Neighbor Islands of Hawai’i
Mentor: Michiko Bruno, MD

Kara Ushijima

School: University of Southern California
Project: A comparative analysis of breast and colon/rectum cancer screening pre-pandemic and during the pandemic: an opportunity for outreach?
Mentor: Danny Takanishi, MD

Nikki Wong

School: Brown University
Project: Fn14 ameliorates cell death in cisplatin induced acute kidney injury (AKI)
Mentor: Michael Ortega, PhD

Jan Aurelio

School: Brown University
Project: Using the VerifyNow P2Y12 assay to optimize dual antiplatelet therapy for patients with acute stroke and transient ischemic attack: association of P2Y12 reaction units to CYP2C19 polymorphisms
Mentor: Stacy Brown, MD

Celyna Becerra

School: University of Hawaii at Manoa
Project: A comparative analysis between breast and colon cancer screening rates pre-pandemic and during the pandemic: an opportunity for outreach?
Mentor: Danny Takanishi, MD

Michaela Kop

School: University of Hawaii at Manoa
Project: Clinicopathologic features of human papillomavirus (HPV) dependent and independent squamous cell carcinoma of the vulva
Mentor: Koah Vierkoetter, MD

Liana Owen

School: Harvard University
Project: Developing a novel approach to identify COVID-19 antiviral drugs
Mentor: Brandon Johnson, MD

Katelyn Stenger

School: California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo
Project: Patient understanding of radiology reports: Is access to electronic medical records helpful?
Mentor: Jared Acoba, MD

Sofi Vandor

School: Kapiolani Community College
Project: Improving race/ethnicity data collection to allow for disaggregation
Mentor: Bliss Kaneshiro, MD

Justin Abe

School: University of Southern California
Project: Evaluating Telehealth Visits for Oncology Patients: Satisfaction and Feasibility during COVID-19 Pandemic
Mentor: Jared Acoba, MD

Hannah Collins-Doijode

School: Johns Hopkins University
Project: Expanded Access to Contraception – A study of the Availability of Pharmacist Prescription of Contraceptives
Mentor: Bliss Kaneshiro, MD

Evan Liu

School: Duke University
Project: The Role of Monocyte Dysfunction in Cardiovascular Disease among People Living with HIV on Suppressive Antiretroviral Therapy
Mentor: Dominic Chow, MD, PhD, MPH

Julia Oehlers

School: University of Oklahoma
Project: Expanded Access to Contraception – A study of the Availability of Pharmacist Prescription of Contraceptives
Mentor: Bliss Kaneshiro, MD

Justin Wong

School: Washington and Lee University
Project: Preventing Falls in the Elderly: A Multidisciplinary Intervention Study
Mentor: Danny Takanishi, MD

Nina Krupa

School: University of Hawaii at Manoa
Project: Development of a scFv Antibody for Detecting Bacterial Induced Infection using ImmunoPET Imaging.
Mentor: Aaron J. Cullen, PhD and Clay Wakano, PhD

Katriel Wong

School: University of Hawaii at Manoa
Project: Effect of Optimized Alarm Parameters on Frequency of Alarm Signals, Clinically Significant Events, Cardiac Arrests, and Mortality
Mentor: Julius C. Pham, MD, PhD

Eduardo Manzano

School: Hawaii Pacific University
Project: Evaluation of the Chemotherapy Toxicity Risk Score in a Community Cancer Center
Mentor: Jared Acoba, MD

Makoa Mau

School: University of Puget Sound
Project: Role of Monocyte/Macrophage in HIV-related Cardiovascular Risk
Mentor: Dominic Chow, MD, PhD, MPH

Erin Evangelista

School: Trinity College
Project: Liver Cancer High-Dimensional Dataset Analysis
Mentor: Sandi Kwee, MD, PhD

Matthew Alexander

School: Brown University
Project: Fatty Liver Disease in HIV Infected Individuals
Mentor: Andy Stenger, PhD

Kelsie Fukuda

School: University of Hawaii at Manoa
Project: Effect of Enhanced Alarm Settings on Frequency of Alarm Signals, Non-Actionable Signals (False-Alarms), and Patient Complications
Mentor: Julius C. Pham, MD, PhD

Ji Hae Lee

School: Harvard University
Project: Novel Approach for Early Detection of Life-Threatening Neurological Complications of Preeclampsia with Severe Features
Mentor: Kazuma Nakagawa, MD and Scott Harvey, MD

Baoxin Liang

School: University of Rochester
Project: Role of Ferumoxytol-Enhanced Neuroimaging in HIV Associated Neurocognitive Disorder
Mentor: Dominic Chow, MD, PhD, MPH and Beau Nakamoto, MD, PhD, MS, MBA

Danielle Sato

School: Lehigh University
Project: Establishing Pain Scales for Gynecologic Procedures Using a Novel VAS App
Mentor: Bliss Kaneshiro, MD

Amity Tran

School: University of Hawaii at Manoa
Project: Development of a Novel PET Tracer for Detecting Early Stage Neuroinflammation
Mentor: Aaron J. Cullen, PhD

Au, Lauren

School: Scripps College
Project: Establishing pain scales for gynecologic procedures using a novel VAS app
Mentor: Bliss Kaneshiro, MD

Gozun, Melissa

School: University of Notre Dame
Project: Synergistic regulation of calcium signaling by the goliaths of cell communication: TRPM7 and CRAC
Mentor: Andrea Fleig, PhD, MBA

Kwock, Jason

School: Johns Hopkins University
Project: Pelvic hemorrhage control interventions should be based on pelvis fracture pattern
Mentor: Walter Biffl, MD

Nishioka, Scott

School: Occidental College
Project: Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) of liver cancer
Mentor: Sandi Kwee, MD

Saiki, Katelyn

School: University of Hawaii, Manoa
Project: Association of monocyte function and subset with markers of cardiovascular injury
Mentor: Dominic Chow, MD

Yap, Lauren

School: Georgetown University
Project: Traffic-related crash injuries in Hawaii’s older adult population
Mentor: Cora Speck, MS, MBA

Chin, Kristen

School: University of California, Davis
Project: University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine Medical Students’ Attitudes Towards Obese Patients
Mentor: Bliss Kaneshiro, MD

Lacar, Laurence Lea

School: University of Hawaii, Manoa
Project: Liver transplant for acute liver failure due to dietary supplements
Mentor: Linda Wong, MD

Ching, Mc Millan

School: University of Hawaii, Manoa
Project: Neural Correlates of Working Memory Training in HIV Patients
Mentor: Linda Chang, MD

Fernandez, Mayumi

School: University of Hawaii, Manoa
Project: Impact of Statewide Trauma-focused Ultrasound Education
Mentor: Susan Steinemann, MD

Simon, Nicholas

School: Boston College
Project: Analysis of gastric and gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma among a multiethnic population
Mentor: Jared Acoba, M.D.

Akana, Reid

School: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Project: Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors (GIST)
Mentor: Scott Kuwada, M.D.