Center for pacific innovations, knowledge, and opportunities (piko) - the center for pacific innovations, knowledge, and opportunities (piko) will build a statewide clinical and translational research…

Center for pacific innovations, knowledge, and opportunities (piko) - the center for pacific innovations, knowledge, and opportunities (piko) will build a statewide clinical and translational research (CTR) infrastructure to improve the health of indigenous pacific people (IPP) - defined as native hawaiians, other pacific islanders, and filipinos. IPP comprise 40% of hawaii's population and have disproportionately high rates of physical and mental health conditions compared to whites and asians. They also make up a majority of hawaii's other medically underserved and vulnerable populations. Piko represents a partnership between the university of hawaii (lead), hawaii pacific university, chaminade university of honolulu, and a statewide network of practice-based organizations (PBO) and community-based organizations (CBO). Piko emphasizes the T3 (efficacy studies) to T5 (adoption and institutionalization) domains of CTR where the social determinants of health are strongly operative. Piko takes a team-science approach to transform current CTR paradigms and to accelerate CTR advances to improve IPP health. Piko comprises seven cores: administrative; professional development; pilot projects program; biostatistics, epidemiology, and research design; community engagement and outreach; clinical research and regulatory support; and tracking and evaluation. The university of hawaii committed $2 million over 5 years to piko. The overall specific aims are: specific aim 1: build a robust CTR infrastructure by establishing and implementing CTR activities within and across piko partnering institutions; by leveraging resources and expertise of other research infrastructure programs; by creating CTR registries of academic mentors, community leaders, junior investigators, and study participants; and by implementing efficient and effective administrative operations and communication strategies. Specific aim 2: strengthen and diversify the CTR workforce by identifying IPP and non-IPP investigators for CTR careers; by enhancing the mentoring and professional development of CTR investigators and community leaders; by supporting culturally responsive and scientifically meritorious CTR pilot projects; and by engaging PBO/CBO to actively participate on all aspects of CTR. Specific aim 3: disseminate and implement CTR findings by providing strategic investments in PBO/CBO to strengthen trust-based relationships; by strengthening a statewide network of PBO/CBO to serve as dissemination and implementation partners; by convening an annual conference that brings together CTR investigators and PBO/CBO stakeholders to share best practices, discoveries, and dissemination and implementation strategies; and by leveraging data science strategies to disseminate data and findings that are user-friendly, easy to understand, and accessible. By the end of this 5-year project, piko will have promoted high-impact transformative CTR to improve the health of IPP and other marginalized communities in hawaii.