Naoto Ueno, Director at University of Hawai’i Cancer Center, shared a post on LinkedIn:
“After serving for about 3.5 years at the University of Hawai’i Cancer Center.
When I came to the University of Hawaiʻi Cancer Center nearly four years ago, my goal was to build on its strengths and make the Cancer Center even more robust—scientifically, clinically, and for the communities we serve.
Today, I see tremendous momentum. Our scientists and clinicians are advancing discoveries across cancer biology, prevention, population science, and clinical research. We are strengthening the connection between what we discover in the laboratory and what ultimately reaches patients.
As Hawaiʻi’s NCI-designated cancer center, we have a special responsibility. We must maintain the scientific excellence required of an NCI-designated center, but we also want our research to have real impact. That means improving cancer prevention and treatment for people in Hawaiʻi and the Pacific while contributing discoveries that can benefit patients across the nation and around the world.
Hawaiʻi also gives us a unique scientific opportunity. The diversity of our population, our geography, and the needs of our communities allow us to ask important questions that may not be studied anywhere else. What we learn here can have relevance far beyond Hawaiʻi.
That is also why I spend so much time meeting people. Science does not advance through laboratories alone. It advances through relationships—with patients and communities, healthcare systems, scientists, universities, government, industry, philanthropy, and partners worldwide. Listening to people helps us understand where the needs are, and strong partnerships allow us to move discoveries to patients faster.
We are building a cancer center that does excellent science, serves Hawaiʻi, and contributes to the broader fight against cancer. That is the direction we are moving, and I am very excited about where we are going.”
Other posts featuring Naoto Ueno on OncoDaily.