Vanessa Cunanan

vcunanan@hawaii.edu

(808) 956-5742

Biomed D-104G

Vanessa Cunanan, PhD

Instructor

Academic Degrees

  • BA (Psychology), Marymount Manhattan College
  • MPH (Epidemiology), University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa
  • PhD (Epidemiology), University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa

Born and raised in the Philippines, Dr. Cunanan received her bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Marymount Manhattan College and is a proud alumnus of the Office of Public Health Studies where she received her MPH and PhD degrees in Epidemiology. She is also the Project Coordinator, Clinical Core of the Kuakini Honolulu Heart Program, a NIH Center of Biomedical Research Excellence grant. Her research focus is chronic diseases in underserved minorities. She lives in Honolulu with her husband, 3 children, and 2 dogs.

Selected Publications

Peer-reviewed Publications

2021       Guerrero APS, Cunanan VL. Kylo Ren Was Redeemed: Star Wars Fans Rejoice and So Should Psychiatric Educators. Academic Psychiatry 2021; 16:1–4. doi: 10.1007/s40596-021-01527-7. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 34529265; PMCID: PMC8444533.

2009       Guerrero APS, Nishimura ST, Chang JY, Ona C, Cunanan VL, Hishinuma ES. Low Cultural Identification, Low Parental Involvement, and Adverse Peer Influences as Risk Factors for Delinquent Behavior among Filipino Youth in Hawai‘i.  International Journal of Social Psychiatry published on July 17, 2009 as doi:10.1177/0020764009102772

2009       Cunanan VL.  Dementia Protective Factors:  A Discussion.  Hawai‘i Journal of Public Health 2(1):  74-83. 

2007      Cunanan VL, Guerrero APS, Minamoto L. Filipinos, and the Myth of the Model Minority.  Journal of Ethnic and Cultural Diversity in Social Work 2007; 15(1-2):  167-192.

2006       Guerrero APS, Hishinuma ES, Andrade NN, Nishimura ST, Cunanan VL.  Correlations among Socioeconomic and Family Factors and Academic, Behavioral, and Emotional Difficulties in Filipino Adolescents in Hawaii. International Journal of Social Psychiatry 2006; 52(4):  343-359.