Shepherd named endowed professor to spearhead breast cancer study
June 4, 2024
John Shepherd, chief scientific officer at the University of Hawaiʻi Cancer Center, has been named the B.H. and Alice C. Beams Endowed Professor at UH Mānoa’s John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM). Shepherd will receive $60,000 over three years to advance breast cancer awareness, prevention and treatment in Hawaiʻi and the US Affiliated Pacific Island Jurisdictions (USAPI).
“I want to reduce breast cancer mortality in Hawaiʻi, and the Pacific region,” said Shepherd, who is also an adjunct faculty in JABSOM’s Department of Family Medicine and Community Health. “To do this, we propose to investigate the metrics hindering early detection programs, timely diagnosis and treatment delivery and compliance.”
He will focus on the World Health Organization (WHO)’s Global Breast Cancer Initiative’s three pillars, which aim to reduce global breast cancer mortality by 2.5% annually: 1) health promotion for early detection; 2) timely breast diagnostics; and 3) comprehensive breast cancer management.
