Associate Professor
Department of Tropical Medicine, Medical Microbiology and Pharmacology
John A. Burns School of Medicine
651 Ilalo St BSB 320
Honolulu Hawaii 96813
Telephone: (808) 692-1607
E-mail : sya@hawaii.edu
Education
University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, MPH (Public Health)
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Dr.PH (Public Health)
Personal Statement
Angela Sy conducts research on cancer disparities among Asian and Pacific Islanders with a focus on colorectal cancer prevention, community engaged research and program evaluation. She works with communities represented by the U.S. Affiliated Pacific Islands: American Samoa, Republic of Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, and Republic of Palau. Angela’s research interest is in identifying, developing, implementing, and evaluating cancer prevention interventions for Asians and Pacific Islanders that are community and culturally relevant (e.g. health literacy, social networks). She is also involved with mentoring initiatives including serving as a mentor for George Washington University Cancer Center Mentorship Program where she is working with a mentee from Palau. Angela is a Co-Investigator of a NIMHD American Samoa Indigenous Partnership to Initiate Research Excellence in Colorectal Cancer Health Literacy (PI – Victor Tofaeono, MD) to increase research capacity in and to assess colorectal cancer screening literacy in American Samoa. She was formerly a Research Director of a NCI-funded Asian American Network of Cancer Research, Awareness, and Training (AANCART) with the University of California Davis and San Francisco (PIs – Moon Chen, PhD, Tung Nguyen, MD, Edward Chow, MD) randomized controlled trial to investigate lay health workers in promoting colorectal screening among Filipino, Hmong, and Korean Americans.
Research Focus
Coordinate two research training programs: T34 Maximizing Access to Research Careers and T37 Minority Health Research Training programs to promote the diversity of students in research by increasing the representation of students from racially/ethnically, geographically, and economically underrepresented backgrounds. Conduct community based participatory research with Asian and Pacific Islander community priorities.
Ongoing Projects and Opportunities for Students to Participate
- Minority Health Research Training program
- Maximizing Access to Research Careers
- Promoting COVID-19 testing among Pacific Islanders
- Promoting colorectal cancer screening among Filipinos