HONOLULU (KHON2) — UH alumnus and businessman Jay H. Shidler has donated $1 million to start the Director’s Innovation Fund at the University of Hawai‘i Cancer Center.
This fund will enable UH Cancer Center Director Dr. Naoto T. Ueno to further his research initiatives at the facility.
Shidler, a 1968 graduate of the Shidler College of Business at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, expressed admiration for Ueno’s commitment to advancing cancer research and treatment in Hawaii.
With the UH Cancer Center entering a new phase of advanced research and patient care, highlighted by the upcoming opening of the Ho’ōla Early Phase Clinical Research Center next year, this investment is timely.
Hawaii, with an average of 7,393 invasive cancer diagnoses and 2,393 related deaths annually, faces unique challenges due to its geographic isolation and diverse population of Asian, Pacific Islander, and Native Hawaiian communities that are often at higher risk for cancer.
The UH Cancer Center is the sole National Cancer Institute-designated center focused on these groups.
Part of the donation will be allocated to acquiring advanced imaging and analysis equipment, enhancing the precision of cancer drug screening, expediting new treatment development, and recruiting skilled technicians and researchers. The funds will also support the center’s community outreach efforts.
Ueno also plans to work with the John A. Burns School of Medicine to address Hawaii’s chronic shortage of oncologists. This initiative will focus on cultivating local talent, developing culturally sensitive practices, and addressing disparities in cancer care access across the neighbor islands.