Director, Hawaiʻi Center for AIDS
Edwin C. Cadman Endowed Chair
Professor, Department of Medicine
Dr. Cecilia M. Shikuma is Edwin C. Cadman endowed Professor of Medicine and Director of the Hawaiʻi Center for AIDS. She is a physician trained in Pediatrics, Internal Medicine, and Infectious Diseases. She has led many clinical trials in HIV antiretroviral therapy as the Hawaiʻi site Principal Investigator. In addition, she has been awarded numerous research grants from NIH to conduct research in HIV chronic comorbidities including studies of HIV dementia and cardio-metabolic complications.
Dr. Shikuma's publications in US National Library of Medicine
Co-Investigator, Hawaiʻi Center for AIDS
Professor, Department of Medicine
Clinical Professor, Department of Pediatrics
Dr. Chow joined the faculty at the John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM) in 2000 as a clinical investigator at the Hawaiʻi Center for AIDS. He earned his medical degree from the State University of New York Health Science Center at Brooklyn and completed a Combined Internal Medicine and Pediatrics Residency at Bridgeport Hospital, affiliated with Yale Medical School, where he served as Chief Resident. He went on to study Preventive Medicine at the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health, earning a Master of Public Health in International Health. Dr. Chow later received his PhD in Clinical Research from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.
His research and academic interests focus on the effects of HIV and antiretroviral therapy on the autonomic nervous system, cardiovascular function, and glucose and liver metabolism. He is board certified in both Internal Medicine and General Pediatrics, and is also certified in HIV Medicine by the American Academy of HIV Medicine.
Dr. Chow's publications in US National Library of Medicine and ORCID
Investigator, Hawaiʻi Center for AIDS
Associate Professor, Department of Tropical Medicine, Medical Microbiology, and Pharmacology
Dr. Juwon Park is an Associate Professor in the Department of Tropical Medicine, Medical Microbiology and Pharmacology at JABSOM. She received her Ph.D. in the Interdisciplinary Cancer Biology Program at Seoul National University, South Korea, before moving to Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, where she trained in tumor microenvironment and immunology. In 2020, she joined HICFA as a research team member, allowing her to pursue translational research focused on the impact of neutrophils in HIV-associated comorbidities. Her primary research interests focus on tissue-resident cells(endothelial cells, epithelial cells, and fibroblasts) and innate immune cell interactions in infectious diseases, such as HIV and COVID-19 and their associated post-infectious complications. Her research aims to bridge clinical and basic science to enhance our understanding of emerging and re-emerging infections through immunological approaches.
Dr. Park's publications in US National Library of Medicine
Investigator, Hawaiʻi Center for AIDS
Assistant Professor, Department of Tropical Medicine, Medical Microbiology, and Pharmacology
Dr. Iain MacPherson is Assistant Professor in the Department of Tropical Medicine, Medical Microbiology and Pharmacology at the University of Hawaiʻi. He received his BSc from Acadia University (Nova Scotia, Canada) and went on to earn his PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of British Columbia where he studied enzyme structure/function using directed evolution and x-ray crystallography. Dr. MacPherson was post-doctoral fellow at Brandeis University and Ludwig Maximilian University before joining the University of Hawaiʻi. His current research focuses on two main areas: aptamers, which are short pieces of RNA and DNA that have antibody-like binding function, and HIV vaccine design; specifically, engineering immunogens that elicit a specific class of broadly HIV-neutralizing antibodies called VRC01.
Dr. MacPherson's publications in US National Library of Medicine
Investigator, Hawaiʻi Center for AIDS
Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine
Christine Akamine, MD, is an infectious disease specialist who is board certified in infectious diseases and internal medicine. She completed her medical education at Loma Linda University School of Medicine in 2015, followed by an internal medicine residency at Loma Linda University Health and an infectious disease fellowship at Baylor College of Medicine where she also served as chief fellow. Dr. Akamine was an investigator at Baylor College of Medicine's Vaccine Research Center, where she participated in multicenter vaccine clinical trials during the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Akamine is currently an Assistant Professor of Medicine and an investigator at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, John A. Burns School of Medicine, where she participates in investigator-led research and clinical trials in infectious diseases. Her research interests include emerging infectious diseases, HIV, SARS-CoV2, and vaccinology.
Dr. Akamine's publications in US National Library of Medicine
Investigator, Hawaiʻi Center for AIDS
Adjunct Faculty, Department of Tropical Medicine, Medical Microbiology, and Pharmacology
Dr. Agsalda-Garcia received her Bachelor of Science and Master Degrees in Cell and Molecular Biology from Tulane University. She returned back home to Hawaiʻi to obtain her PhD in Biomedical Sciences in the Department of Cell and Molecular Biology at the University Hawaiʻi. She performed her postdoctoral training at the Hawaiʻi Center of AIDS where she continues to serve as an Investigator and as an adjunct faculty in the Department of Tropical Medicine, Medical Microbiology, and Pharmacology. Her research interests include childhood cancers and HIV-associated diseases including neurocognitive disorders, cardiovascular disease, and anal dysplasia. Her studies aim to utilize novel techniques and assays to characterize biomarkers that are involved in the mechanisms that drive these diseases.
Dr. Agsalda-Garcia's publications in US National Library of Medicine
Investigator, Hawaiʻi Center for AIDS
Adjunct Faculty, Department of Medicine
Dr. Souza is a clinical research pharmacist with The Queen’s Medical Center’s Investigational Drug Service and serves as an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the John A. Burns School of Medicine. He completed his PharmD at the University of the Pacific and residency at the VA Medical Center West Los Angeles. With more than 34 years of experience managing clinical trials, he also precepts the research learning experience for the ASHP-accredited Pharmacy Practice Residency at Queen’s. In addition, Dr. Souza supports the Hawaiʻi Center for AIDS as its research pharmacist, where he contributes expertise in clinical-trial operations and HIV cure investigations, with research interests in molecular modeling.
Dr. Souza's publications in US National Library of Medicine
Junior Investigator, Hawaiʻi Center for AIDS
Adjunct Faculty, Department of Tropical Medicine, Medical Microbiology, and Pharmacology
Dr. Alan Garcia is a biomedical researcher and educator. He holds a Ph.D. and M.S. in Biomedical Sciences from the University of Hawaiʻi and a B.S. in Biology from Chaminade University of Honolulu. Dr. Garcia currently serves as an Junior Investigator at the Hawaiʻi Center for AIDS and as Adjunct Faculty in the Department of Tropical Medicine, Medical Microbiology, and Pharmacology at the John A. Burns School of Medicine. He also teaches Biology, Microbiology and Immunology at Kapiʻolani Community College, University of Hawaiʻi.
Dr. Garcia’s research focuses on the immune response in HIV, particularly the interaction between the immune system and the virus. His work explores how this interaction contributes to HIV-related comorbidities, with a specific interest in the role of the viral protein gp120 in cardiovascular disease.
Dr. Garcia's publications in US National Library of Medicine
Investigator, Hawaiʻi Center for AIDS
Associate Professor/Adjunct Faculty, Department of Tropical Medicine, Medical Microbiology, and Pharmacology
Dr. Kallianpur joined the faculty of the John A. Burns School of Medicine in 2005 after working in the physical sciences. She received a Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Texas at Austin and later earned her M.S. in Biomedical Sciences (Clinical Research) at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Since 2008 she has worked as an investigator in the Hawaiʻi Center for AIDS and the Department of Tropical Medicine, Medical Microbiology and Pharmacology. Her research has used magnetic resonance imaging to examine the effects of HIV disease and antiretroviral therapy on brain structure and function. She has studied HIV-associated brain atrophy, neurocognitive impairment, and brain structural and functional connectivity in relation to HIV blood reservoirs, cannabis use, depressive symptoms, and physical frailty. Her recent work has focused on identifying predictors of cognitive decline in healthy aging and Alzheimer's disease
Dr. Kallianpur's publications in US National Library of Medicine and Research Gate
Investigator, Hawaiʻi Center for AIDS
Postodocral Fellow, Department of Tropical Medicine, Medical Microbiology, and Pharmacology
Michael Honda, PhD, received his PhD in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry from the Molecular Biosciences and Bioengineering department at the University of Hawaiʻi at Manoa. His research interests are in long COVID and HIV reservoir.
Dr. Honda's publications in Google Scholar
Investigator, Hawaiʻi Center for AIDS
Department of Tropical Medicine, Medical Microbiology, and Pharmacology
Kellyan Nguyen, PharmD, earned her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Washington State University and received residency training at the VA Puget Sound Health Care System and University of Washington Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center. Dr. Nguyen is a clinical pharmacist specialized in investigational drugs and research at The Queen’s Medical Center. She also is an inpatient pharmacist at Hawaiʻi Pacific Health – Straub Benioff Medical Center. Dr. Nguyen joined the John A. Burns School of Medicine faculty in 2025 where she serves as an investigator at the Hawaiʻi Center for AIDS. Her research interests include HIV- associated diseases and chronic complications, antiretroviral and infectious disease pharmacotherapy, hematology (blood cancers and disorders) and oncology (solid tumors), and tropical medicine. She has engaged in research both nationally and internationally, and her community and public health work has merited numerous accolades.
Kellyan's publication from the JABSOM MHIRT program