Cancer Faculty Members Recognized
(Fall 2004)

Dr. Jean Hankin, professor and researcher emerita of the Cancer Research Center of Hawai‘i, received the American Society for Nutritional Sciences’ (ASNS) highest honor. Dr. Hankin was named a Fellow at the ASNS’ Experimental Biology meeting in Washington, DC in April 2004. She is the first person from Hawai‘i selected for this distinction. Only 10 nutritionists are chosen each year for this prestigious honor.

Dr. Hankin is recognized nationally and internationally as a pioneer in the development of dietary assessment methods in multiethnic populations. She was primarily responsible for developing a dietary questionnaire with pictures of portion sizes in the early 1980s for use in cancer research studies. In addition, Dr. Hankin developed an extensive food composition table to analyze results. These tools for collecting accurate dietary data are being used for the ongoing 215,000-participant Hawai‘i and Los Angeles Multiethnic Cohort Study of Diet and Cancer. Although she is retired, Dr. Hankin continues to serve as a consultant on nutrition studies.

Dr. Hankin worked at the Cancer Center from 1983 to 1998, retiring as a nutrition researcher and professor of public health. She has been researcher emerita since 1999.

Dr. Randal K. Wada, a Cancer Research Center researcher and medical director of the Hawaii Bone Marrow Donor Registry, was named to the Board of Directors of the National Marrow Donor Program for a two-year term. Dr. Wada was selected for his leadership and expertise in the field.

The National Marrow Donor Program is a nonprofit organization that facilitates life-saving blood stem cell transplants for patients who do not have a donor in their family. It provides products and services that bring patients and donors together through life-saving technology. The program manages the world’s largest registry of volunteer stem cell donors and cord blood units. Its goal is to increase access to transplantation through research, advocacy, and public and professional education.