Our recently established lab is constantly engaging in new research endeavors. Our research aims to be responsive to the needs of the communities our researchers work with. Below is a list of our current projects.

• COVID-19 Economic Impact

• COVID-19 Education Impact on Rural Communities 

• QTPI Health

Settler colonialism and systemic racism have had a direct impact on the health and wellness of Pacific Islander and indigenous communities living in the United States (McKinley et al 2021; Spencer et al, 2020; Kaholokula; Walters et al 2018). Settler colonialism, in contrast to colonialism, seeks to eliminate indigenous peoples through the destruction of cultural practices, the destruction of their knowledge systems, and destruction of their political systems (Veracinni, 2011) ultimately allowing settlers to make ownership claims to indigenous lands, culture, and resources (Arvin, 2019). Settler colonialism impacts indigenous peoples' ability to carry out Original Instructions — the practices, protocols, and responsibilities to culture, community, and environment passed from generation to generation (Walters et al 2018). Settler colonialism is also persistent within scientific practices we conduct today. For example, the ways we we racialize and categorize indigenous people in health and social science research often serve to erase and "asterisk" indigenous peoples while simultaneously claiming that they are "at risk" for health and social disparities (Tuck and Yang, 2012). The ways in which research has racialized and categorized Pasifika peoples has served as a means to establish settler colonial control over Pasifika peoples (Arvin, 2019) and creates impacts on modern social and health policy, research, and intervention (Samoa et al., 2020). 

Our lab utilizes indigenist, decolonizing, and community-based participatory research practices to explore the mental, physical, social, and spiritual components of health and wellness of Pacific Islander communities, indigenous communities, and communities of color. We utilize these research methodologies in hopes to design, conduct, and disseminate research that advances socially just and equitable health for Pacific Islander, Indigenous, and communities of color.