Dr. Kathryn L. Braun, Director, is Professor of Public Health and Social Work and holds the Barbara Cox Anthony Endowed Chair of Aging at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. She is PI of Hā Kūpuna National Resource Center for Native Hawaiian Elders, evaluator for the Hawai‘i Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program, Director of the Professional Development Core for the PIKO Center for Translational Research, and Director of the Investigator Development Core of the Ola HAWAII RCMI. She has been a mentor for the National Mentoring Research Network (NRMN) since 2016 and completed the Faculty Mentor Development Program at the University of New Mexico in 2021. She is a past winner of a UHM Board of Regents medal for teaching excellence and currently serves as President of the Active Aging Consortium Asia-Pacific
Eunjung Lim, PhD, Associate Director, assists Dr. Braun with providing the oversight of the Team-Science Pilot Projects Program and Mentoring Bootcamp. Dr. Lim is Associate Professor and Graduate Chair at the department of Quantitative Health Sciences. Also she has served as Director of the Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Research Design Core for Hawaii’s IDeA-CTR. Her expertise is in the areas of clinical and translational research design, biostatistics, quantitative methods, database development and management, and clinical trials.
Richard Yanagihara, MD, MPH, Senior Advisor, is a Professor of Pediatrics and a former COBRE PI who was previously associated with the G12 RCMI as an activity leader in 1995–2000 and as Program Director in 2000–2011 and has served as Director / MPI of the RCMI Coordinating Center, formerly known as RCMI Translation Research Network (RTRN) from 2009 – 2022. Dr. Yanagihara is well qualified to foster inter-institutional collaborations and mentoring between Ola HAWAII, RCMI-CC, RIC, CEC, IDC. He will assist the IDC with the Pilot Project Program, implementation of a career development program, and mentoring bootcamp.
Shaylah Kagehiro, BSN, is a Graduate Assistant for Ola Hawaii IDC. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Allied Health from Azusa Pacific University, followed by a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Hawai’i at Manoa. She is currently pursuing her Doctorate of Nursing Practice. With a deep commitment to addressing health disparities, she is particularly interested in research focused on underserved populations. Her dedication to improving healthcare access and outcomes for marginalized communities drives her academic and professional endeavors.