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Leadership

HSCO Board of Directors

President

Michael E. Carney, MD

Michael E. Carney, MD

Thomas S. Kosasa Endowed Professor; Division Chief

John A. Burns School of Medicine; University of Hawaii Cancer Center

Honolulu, HI

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Michael E. Carney, MD, is a Thomas S. Kosasa Endowed professor and division chief in gynecologic oncology at the John A. Burns School of Medicine and University of Hawaii Cancer Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. He specializes in complex and minimally invasive surgery, treating gynecologic cancers with surgery and chemotherapy, in addition to research including clinical, epidemiologic, and genetic investigations for gynecologic cancers. Dr. Carney is the current president of the Hawaii Society of Clinical Oncology.

A graduate of Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine, he completed his residency in obstetrics and gynecology at Duke University. His fellowship was in gynecologic oncology at Duke University.

Vice President

Shane Morita, MD, MS, PhD, FACS

Shane Morita, MD, MS, PhD, FACS

Program Director, Surgical Oncology

The Queen's Medical Center

President-Elect

Ryon K. Nakasone, MD, MBA, FACP

Ryon K. Nakasone, MD, MBA, FACP

Medical Oncologist

Hawaii Oncology, Inc.

Honolulu, HI

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Ryon K. Nakasone, MD, is a medical oncologist practicing in both the Kuakini Health System, and The Queen's Medical Center. He treats a wide variety of malignancies but does have a focused interest in prostate cancer, lung cancer, and colon cancer. Dr. Nakasone earned his medical degree at the John A. Burns School of Medicine and did his fellowship training at Scripps Green in San Diego. In addition to patient care, Dr. Nakasone serves on multiple boards including the Hawaii Society of Clinical Oncology and the Hawaii chapter of the American College of Physicians. Dr. Nakasone is also actively involved in training and educating future generations of physicians at the John A. Burns School of Medicine and the University of Hawaii Internal Medicine Residency Program.

Secretary

Kelly Shimabukuro, MD

Kelly Shimabukuro, MD

Medical Oncologist

Kaiser Permanente Hawaii Region

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Kelly Shimabukuro, MD, is a member of several professional organizations, including the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the American Society of Hematology. Additionally, she has a background in HIV malignancies and served as a member of the AIDS Malignancy Consortium. At the International Conference on Malignancies in AIDS and Other Acquired Immunodeficiencies, Dr. Shimabukuro presented her clinical research on AIDS-associated Kaposi Sarcoma.

Treasurer

Nicolas A. Villanueva, MD

Nicolas A. Villanueva, MD

Hematologist/Medical Oncologist

The Queen's Health Center

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Nicolas Alan Villanueva, MD, is a hematology and medical oncology specialist at The Queen’s Health Systems. He is a 2013 graduate of the University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine. Dr. Villanueva is trained to evaluate and treat a wide range of both solid and hematologic cancers, and benign hematologic conditions. His research interests are in lung cancer, particularly in non-smokers.

Immediate Past President

Keola K. Beale, MD

Keola K. Beale, MD

Hematology and Medical Oncology

Kaiser Permanente Moanalua Medical Center

Honolulu, HI

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Keola K. Beale, MD, is a board-certified hematology and oncology specialist in Honolulu, Hawaii. Dr. Beale was inspired to become an oncologist after losing both his father and grandfather to cancer during his medical training. An avid researcher, he participates in Kaiser Permanente's large oncology clinical trials program. He strives to communicate with his patients in an informative and empathetic manner, treating every patient as he would a loved one.

He received his medical degree at University of California School of Medicine in San Francisco, California.

Board Members

Susie Chen, MD

Susie Chen, MD

Radiation Oncologist

Pacific Radiation Oncology, LLC

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Susie Chen, MD, is a radiation oncologist affiliated with the Kapiolani Medical Center for Women & Children, Pali Momi Medical Center, and Straub Medical Center. She has extensive training in a variety of radiotherapy types, including low dose rate and high dose rate brachytherapy, nongynecologic brachytherapy, orthovoltage therapy, electron therapy, conventional stimulation, and 4D CT simulation.

Benjamin Falit, MD, JD

Benjamin Falit, MD, JD

Medical Director, Radiation Oncologist

Pacific Cancer Institute of Maui

Wailuku, HI

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Benjamin Falit, MD, JD, is the medical director of the Pacific Cancer Institute and a radiation oncology specialist, in Wailuku, Hawaii. He is trained in the use of novel, more precise radiation delivery techniques, including intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) and stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT). Dr. Falit has published and been an invited speaker on several panels related to health care policy and economics. After residency, Dr. Falit practiced in the greater Boston area as an attending radiation oncologist at Lowell General Hospital and Wentworth Douglass Hospital and joined the Pacific Cancer Institute in 2016. He is also board certified and a diplomat of Radiation Oncology by the American Board of Radiology.

Dr. Falit received a BA in Psychology from Brandeis University in Waltham, MA, and medical degree from the Yale School of Medicine at Yale University in New Haven, CT. After completing an internship in internal medicine at Yale New Haven Hospital, he trained at the Harvard Radiation Oncology Program in Boston where he saw patients at Massachusetts General Hospital, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Brigham and Women's Hospital.

Tamie L. Kerns, DO

Tamie L. Kerns, DO

Kaiser Permanente Hilo Clinic

David Tamura, MD

David Tamura, MD

Medical Oncologist

Hawaii Cancer Care

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David Tamura, MD, is a credentialed provider with MD Anderson Cancer Network, providing clinical care at The Queen's Medical Center in Hawaii. His areas of expertise include hematologic, gastrointestinal, and genitourinary malignancies. In addition to his clinical practice, he educates students and house staff from the University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine, and is actively involved in clinical research at the University of Hawaii Cancer Center.

UHCC & Membership Liaison

Stephanie J. Si Lim, MD, MBA

Stephanie J. Si Lim, MD, MBA

Assistant Researcher, Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology

University of Hawai'i Cancer Center |Kapi'olani Medical Center for Women & Children

Honolulu, HI

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Dr. Stephanie Si Lim, MD, is an assistant researcher in pediatric oncology at University of Hawaii Cancer Center and an attending physician at Kapi'olani Women's & Children's Hospital in Honolulu, Hawaii. Her overall research goal is to better understand ethnic disparities within the field of immunotherapy and cancer care disparities within the Hawaiian Islands. Clinically, she is also hoping to introduce chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy to patients, with the goal of providing the best cancer care to residents of Hawaii.

She graduated from Georgetown University School of Medicine and completed both her residency and fellowship training at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.