Texas university researcher hired as new University of Hawaii Cancer Center director

Naoto T. Ueno, a widely regarded cancer researcher and educator at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, has been approved to become the next director of the University of Hawaii Cancer Center.

At the Texas institution, Ueno is executive director of the Inflammatory Breast Cancer Research Program and is also a tenured professor of medicine.

His UH appointment was approved Thursday by the UH Board of Regents and would be effective Dec. 12.

Ueno has held various faculty and administrative positions at MD Anderson Cancer Center since 1996. He has 15 years of leadership experience and nearly 30 years of experience in research and education, particularly in stem cell transplant, gene therapy, targeted therapy and immunotherapy, a UH news release said.

Ueno’s research focus is inflammatory breast cancer, or IBC, which is considered the most aggressive and lethal form of breast cancer. The comprehensive research program and clinic devoted to IBC that he led development of has emerged as the world’s largest and most renowned for rare breast cancer, the news release said.

“Dr. Ueno possesses the leadership skills, background and experience to lead the UH Cancer Center for years to come. I am confident he will continue to advance the UH Cancer Center and their mission to reduce the burden of cancer in communities throughout Hawaii,” UH Manoa Provost Michael Bruno said in a statement.

The UH Cancer Center, an organized research unit within UH Manoa, was established as an independent research institute in 1971, and is one of only 71 research institutions designated by the National Cancer Institute. It brings about $65 million into the state economy each year.

Ueno stands to inherit an institution that has emerged from a period of controversy.

In 2014, Dr. Michele Carbone abruptly resigned as the UH Cancer Center’s head after an often tumultuous five years. Carbone was widely credited with helping to usher in the creation of the UH medical facilities in Kakaako but also was the target of multiple faculty complaints and criticism. Tom Apple, the UH Manoa chancellor who tried twice to have Carbone fired, was let go himself.

Carbone was succeeded in 2016 by Dr. Randall F. Holcombe, who spent several years rebuilding stability for the center until he left in August 2021 for a similar position at the University of Vermont. Joe Ramos and then Dr. Loic Le Marchand have served as interim directors.

Ueno said in a UH news release that his mission as director at UH would be to ensure that “every patient with cancer lives to the fullest extent.”

A cancer survivor himself, Ueno said his goal is to “prevent cancer in Hawaii and the Pacific through patient-centered cancer strategies, high-quality cancer care, research, prevention and education,” the news release said.

Because he was raised in both Asia and the U.S., Ueno said, “I have a long history of interest in Hawaii’s diverse culture and demographics. I truly believe the UH Cancer Center has a unique opportunity to build a world-class clinical and translational program that serves the community to reduce the suffering of cancer patients.”

“Dr. Ueno’s leadership experience, coupled with his ability to share common ground with cancer patients, make him uniquely qualified to improve cancer patient care in Hawaii and the Pacific,” Bruno said.

Ueno earned his Doctor of Medicine degree from Wakayama Medical College in Japan, and a doctorate in cancer biology from the University of Texas Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. He received postgraduate training through internships and fellowships with the U.S. Naval Hospital in Yokosuka, Japan; Montefiore University Hospital (internal medicine) in New York; the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (internal medicine); and the MD Anderson Cancer Center (medical oncology and stem cell transplantation).