About Pacific Alliance Against COVID-19

A Community-Driven Approach to Mitigate COVID-19 Disparities
in Hawaii’s Vulnerable Populations

The Pacific Alliance Against COVID-19 (PAAC) is formed by a multidisciplinary team of researchers at the University of Hawaii and the AHARO Community Health Centers. The collective goal is to expand testing in the community and empower educators, students and their families with COVID-19 education tools and more effective connections with public health services, especially those provided by the AHARO Community Health Centers, including the Waiʻanae Coast Comprehensive Health Center and the Waimānalo Health Center on Oʻahu, Bay Clinic and Hāmākua-Kohala Health Center on Hawaiʻi Island, and Molokaʻi Health Center on Molokaʻi.

Meet The Leadership Team

Ruben Juarez

Director of Data Coordination and Evaluation Unit

(Professor in Economics and UHERO, CSS)

Pauline Chinn

Co-Director of Community Partner Unit

 (Professor in Curriculum Studies, COE)

Marjorie Mau

Director of Community and Scientific Advisory Board

(Professor in Department of Native Hawaiian Health, JABSOM)

Jerris R Hedges

Principal Investigator, Ola HAWAII

Grant NIH/NIMHD U54MD007601

(Professor & Dean, JABSOM)

May Okihiro

Director of Human Subjects Unit and Co-Director of Community Partner Unit

(Associate Professor in Pediatrics, JABSOM and Senior Pediatrician at WCCHC)

Alika Maunakea

Director of Testing Capacity Unit 

(Associate Professor in Epigenomics and Health Disparities, JABSOM) 

Romelynn Stein

Project Manager