Keawe Kaholokula

Professor & Chair, Native Hawaiian Health - Honolulu, HI

Joseph Keaweaimoku (Keawe) Kaholokula, PhD, is a Professor and Chair of Native Hawaiian Health at the John A. Burns School of Medicine at the University of Hawaii. He is a clinical health psychologist and translational behavioral scientist who leads multiple National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded research projects to improve the health of Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders. He has leveraged community and cultural assets to develop culturally responsive health promotion programs that improve cardiometabolic health. His research collaborations span the Pacific and North American regions, including Aotearoa New Zealand, the United States, and the Pacific Region. He also oversees the Clinical and Translational Research Center of Pacific Innovations, Knowledge, and Opportunities (PIKO), whose mission is to improve the health and well-being of Hawaii’s diverse populations. He has served in key leadership and advisory roles across multiple federal health and policy initiatives – including the National Institutes of Health and White House subcommittees – to advance research, community engagement, and data equity for Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders. In 2024, he was elected to the National Academy of Medicine.