May 12, 2025

2025-2026 UH Mānoa Catalog [DRAFT]

John A. Burns School of Medicine

Anatomy, Biochemistry, and Physiology	Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Women’s Health
Cell and Molecular Biology	Pathology
Communication Sciences and Disorders	Pediatrics
Family Medicine and Community Health	Psychiatry
Geriatric Medicine	Quantitative Health Sciences
Medical Technology	Surgery
Medicine	Tropical Medicine, Medical Microbiology, & Pharmacology
Native Hawaiian Health

Administration

John A. Burns School of Medicine
651 Ilalo Street
Honolulu, HI 96813
Tel: (808) 692-0899/0881
Fax: (808) 692-1247
Web: jabsom.hawaii.edu/

Dean: T. Samuel Shomaker, MD, JD, MSM
Associate Dean for Academic Affairs: Lee Buenconsejo-Lum, MD, FAAFP
Interim Associate Dean for Administration, Finance and Operations: Corinne Seymour, MEd
Associate Dean for Clinical Programs at Hawaiʻi Pacific Health: Russell, Woo, MD
Interim Associate Dean of Research: W. Steven Ward, PhD

General Information

The John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM) strives to improve the quality, effectiveness, and equity of health care delivery in Hawaiʻi and the Pacific region. The school provides opportunity for qualified residents of Hawaiʻi, the Pacific Islands, and elsewhere, including students from various underrepresented socioeconomic and minority groups to qualify for an MD degree; provides MD graduates with competency to enter postgraduate programs; and provides residency training programs with emphasis on primary-care specialties.

The school also administers graduate research and professional programs that lead to MS and PhD degrees in the basic medical sciences and health-related fields; MS degree in Communications Sciences and Disorders; and, BS and a post-baccalaureate certificate in medical technology. Medical school faculty participate in undergraduate courses for majors in nursing, dental hygiene, biology, nutrition, and related fields.

The school provides instruction for five major categories of students:

Candidates for the MD degree who are admitted directly by JABSOM’s own admissions committee;
Candidates for graduate certificates in Tropical Medicine and in Clinical Research who apply through the Graduate Division of UH Mānoa;
Candidates for MS degrees in biomedical sciences (with concentrations in cell and molecular biology, clinical translational research, developmental and reproductive biology, and tropical medicine), or in communication sciences and disorders apply through the Graduate Division of UH Mānoa;
Candidates for PhD degrees in biomedical sciences with concentrations in cell and molecular biology, developmental and reproductive biology, and tropical medicine who apply through the Graduate Division of UH Mānoa;
Candidates for undergraduate degrees in medical technology, who apply through the UH Mānoa Admissions Office; and In addition, a post-baccalaureate certificate for medical technology clinical training is offered.

The Kakaʻako Waterfront Complex

In 2005, the John A. Burns School of Medicine relocated to a new 9.898 acre site in Kakaʻako, near the water’s edge, between Waikīkī and downtown Honolulu. The school’s previous location, the 43-year-old Biomedical Sciences building on the Mānoa campus, continues to be occupied by the Department of Medical Technology, the Yanagimachi Institute for Biogenesis Research, some laboratories, and classroom space. The school complex, which includes the UH Cancer Center and JABSOM Kakaʻako Research Clinics, functions as an economic engine for the state that will create quality employment opportunities, increase biomedical research activity, and be a stimulus for the biotechnical industry in Hawaiʻi.

Target areas of research, which include innovations in problem-based learning medical education, are retrovirology/infectious diseases/AIDS, molecular biology/genetics/neuroscience, genomic medicine, proteomics, and bioinformatics/computational biology.

The school is accredited by the Liaison Committee for Medical Education (LCME).

Additionally, UH John A. Burns School of Medicine-sponsored residency programs are accredited by the Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). Approximately 230 physicians (employees of Hawaiʻi Residency Programs, Inc., or the Hawaiʻi Pacific Health Medical Group (Maternal Fetal Medicine) or the Queen’s University Medical Group (Complex Family Planning)) within 19 training programs serve as residents or fellows in these hospitals under the direction of medical school faculty from eight clinical departments. Oversight is provided by the Designated Institutional Official (DIO). Medical Technology (MEDT) and Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD) are accredited by National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences and American Speech-Language-Hearing Association respectively.

Affiliations

The school maintains academic affiliations with facilities for medical student and resident clinical training that include the following: Adventist Health Castle Medical Center, Hawaiʻi Permanente (Kaiser) hospitals and clinics, Hawaiʻi Pacific Health clinics and hospitals (Kapiʻolani Medical Center for Women and Children, Pali Momi Medical Center, Straub Benioff Medical Center, Wilcox Hospital), Hilo Benioff Medical Center, Kalihi-Palama Health Center, Kokua Kalihi Valley Health Center, Kuakini Heath Systems, Maui Memorial Medical Center, Rehabilitation Hospital of the Pacific, Shriners Hospital for Children, Spark Matsunaga VA Medical Center, The Queen’s Health System clinics and hospitals (Queen’s Manamana campus Queen’s West Oʻahu, North Hawaiʻi Community Hospital, Queen’s Wahiawa), Tripler Army Medical Center, Waimanalo Health Center, and Waikiki Health Center. Additionally, JABSOM students rotate through many private physician practices throughout the state.

Degrees

Bachelor’s Degrees: BS in medical technology

Master’s Degrees: MS in biomedical sciences (cell and molecular biology, developmental and reproductive biology, and tropical medicine); MS in communication sciences and disorders; MS in quantitative health and clinical research

Professional Degree: MD

Doctoral Degrees: PhD in biomedical sciences (cell and molecular biology, and tropical medicine); PhD in developmental and reproductive biology

Advising

Premedical advising is available through the Pre-Health/Pre-Law Advising Center, Physical Science Building, Room 214.

Academic Policies

Undergraduate and graduate students in the School of Medicine must adhere to the academic policies of UH Mānoa. Medical students are exempted from certain UH Mānoa policies and instead must follow academic policies germane to the MD program. Copies of relevant policies are available in JABSOM’s Office of Student Affairs.

MD Program

The MD program follows a problem-based curriculum, which was implemented in fall 1989 and includes the following key features: knowledge is acquired in problem-based modules; self-directed learning is fostered in small group tutorials; students are involved actively in the learning process, not simply passive recipients of information; the small group leaders function as facilitators of learning; content experts function as resources to the learning process; laboratory exercises, demonstrations, the library and audiovisual-computer centers supplement faculty input; basic sciences are learned primarily in the context of solving clinical problems; students are trained to think critically and to evaluate new information and research data; and evaluation of students is based on competence in a variety of problem-solving exercises. In the third year, primarily clinical materials and specialties are learned in the context of a longitudinal integrated clerkship that includes rotation opportunities on the neighbor islands of Hawaiʻi.

The learning activities in the first two years of the curriculum take place in the school’s state-of-the-art Medical Education Building and in community health sites. The advanced clinical instruction that constitutes the bulk of the second two years of instruction takes place in affiliated community hospitals and clinics.

Admission Requirements/Application Process

Candidates for MD training must complete a minimum of 90 college-level semester credit hours from a regionally accredited U.S. institution or a similarly accredited institution in Canada. The following coursework must be successfully completed prior to matriculation to medical school:

one academic year of general biology with lab
one academic year of general physics with lab
one academic year of general chemistry with lab
one academic year of organic chemistry with lab
one course in biochemistry (no lab required)

Each course should be acceptable for students majoring in the above science disciplines. Additional enrichment in the biological and social sciences is encouraged. Applicants must also be fully competent in reading, speaking, and writing the English language.

Applicants are required to apply through the American Medical Colleges Application Service (AMCAS). The service permits an applicant to file a single web-based application, which is forwarded to participating medical schools as designated on the AMCAS application. The AMCAS application is available from June 1 at the AMCAS website: www.aamc.org. The deadline to transmit the application to AMCAS is November 1 for regular admission (EST) or August 1 (EST) for Early Decision Students.

Applicants must also take the nationally administered Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT), which deals with knowledge of the biological and biochemical foundations of living systems; chemical and physical foundations of biological systems; psychological, social, and biological foundations of behavior; and critical analysis and reasoning skills. The MCAT must be taken within three years of an applicant’s anticipated matriculation to medical school. The latest MCATs screened or re-screened in the admissions process is September of the year of application (May for Early Decision). Additionally, applicants to JABSOM must take the AAMC PREview® professional readiness exam within three years of the anticipated year of matriculation to medical school.

Applicants who achieve the required screening cut-off points will be asked to submit additional materials and invited for interviews. Applicants must pass the criminal background check to be accepted.

Inquiries regarding admissions should be directed to the Office of Admissions, John A. Burns School of Medicine, 651 Ilalo Street, MEB 3rd floor, Honolulu, HI 96813 or via email medadmin@hawaii.edu. Further information may be obtained on the web at admissions.jabsom.hawaii.edu.

Honors and Awards

Alpha Omega Alpha is the national medical honor society. JABSOM also is a chapter member of the Gold Humanism Honor Society.

Graduate Medical Education Programs

Graduate medical education programs in Hawaiʻi hospitals are in family medicine, sports medicine, internal medicine, cardiovascular disease, geriatric medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, complex family planning, maternal-fetal medicine, orthopaedic surgery, pathology, pediatrics, neonatal-perinatal medicine, psychiatry (adult, child and adolescent, addiction), addiction medicine, general surgery, surgical critical care, and neurointerventional surgery. The UH John A. Burns School of Medicine is the institutional sponsor for these residency training programs, which includes approximately 230 physicians working under the supervision of JABSOM faculty in the affiliated hospitals while studying their chosen specialty.

The medical school also conducts a graduate medical education program at Chubu Hospital in Okinawa for graduates of Japanese medical schools.

Graduate Programs

Refer to the department/program sections of the Catalog for more information on each graduate program.

Graduate program inquiries should be directed to the appropriate program chair. General information is available on the web at jabsom.hawaii.edu/ed-programs/masters-phd/.

Biomedical Sciences

Cell and Molecular Biology
Michelle Tallquist, PhD
Phone: (808) 692-1579
Email: michelle.tallquist@hawaii.edu
Web: cmbgrad.jabsom.hawaii.edu

Quantitative Health and Clinical Research
Chathura Siriwardhana, PhD
Phone: (808) 692-1840
Email: qhcr@hawaii.edu
Web: qhs.jabsom.hawaii.edu/education/qhcr

Developmental and Reproductive Biology
Monika A. Ward, PhD
Phone: (808) 956-0779
Email: mward@hawaii.edu
Web: jabsom.hawaii.edu/grad_drb/

Tropical Medicine
Sandra Chang, PhD
Phone: (808) 692-1607
Email: sandrac@hawaii.edu
Web: manoa.hawaii.edu/tropicalmedicine/

Communication Sciences and Disorders
Web: csd.jabsom.hawaii.edu

Undergraduate Programs

For information on medical technology, refer to the respective section of the Catalog.

Special Programs

Hawaiʻi/Pacific Basin Area Health Education Center (AHEC)

The Hawaiʻi/Pacific Basin Area Health Education Center (AHEC) supports health professions training experiences in rural and under-served areas of Hawaiʻi and the U.S.-Affiliated Pacific Islands (Guam, American Samoa, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Republic of Palau, and Federated States of Micronesia). Training experiences can be preceptorships, clerkships, electives, cultural immersion experiences, research, or inter-professional training experiences. AHEC supports continuity of rural training for students wishing to perform training experiences in a particular rural or under-served area during multiple years of their training (such as their hometown). AHEC staff members perform and support student health careers outreach and recruitment programs across the state, such as the JABSOM Higher Education Mentors first year selective and Teen Health Camps. AHEC also helps develop low-tech simulation centers in rural areas, and holds the Hawaiʻi Health Workforce Summit every September (where students can present posters). The State Loan Repayment Program and Hawaiʻi Health Education Loan Repayment Program are administered by AHEC, as are scholarships for students pursuing health professions training. AHEC administers the Hawaiiutelehealth.org program that provides free mental health services via telehealth to rural areas and those in need. Finally, AHEC continues to conduct a statewide physician workforce assessment where students can participate in studying aspects of the workforce, such as migration patterns and specific shortages.

AHEC is funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration.. The mission of Hawaiʻi/Pacific Basin AHEC is: To improve the health of the under-served through education. Activities focus on four primary areas: 1) health education and recruitment to health professions for students across the region from kindergarten through second careers; 2) educating health professions students in rural and under-served areas, often in interdisciplinary teams; 3) recruitment, retention, and continuing education of practicing health professionals in medically under-served areas; and 4) providing video connectivity for health education, communication, and other health care services to rural and under-served areas across the state through methodologies such as HawaiiECHO.info and HawaiiUTelehealth.org. Contact Dr. Kelley Withy for more information at withy@hawaii.edu, (808) 692-1060 or (808) 429-8712.

Overseas Programs

The school plays an extensive training role outside Hawaiʻi and expects its involvement in the Pacific and Asia regions to continue. In the scattered islands of Micronesia, the school previously trained medical officers (MOs) to bring primary care to a widely dispersed population. The curricula were relevant to the clinical and community health needs of the Pacific Basin. Graduates of the MO program received a Diploma in Community Health, Medicine, and Surgery. Training of other health professionals in the Pacific Basin area continues. In Okinawa, the school conducts a residency training program for graduates of Japanese medical schools. The Postgraduate Medical Education Program at Okinawa Chubu Hospital is financed by the Okinawa prefectural government. The school also conducts a medical student exchange program with affiliated medical schools and hospitals in Korea, Thailand, the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, Taiwan, Australia, and New Zealand.