Our Team

The researchers, clinicians, and staff innovating cancer and metabolic-risk detection at SRL.

John A. Shepherd, PhD

John A. Shepherd, PhD

Principal Investigator · Interim Deputy Director & Chief Scientific Officer, UH Cancer Center · B.H. and Alice C. Beams Endowed Professor in Cancer Research

Leads research on imaging biomarkers for breast cancer, obesity, and osteoporosis using advanced machine-learning techniques. Directs the Hawaiʻi Pacific Islands Mammography Registry (HIPIMR) and has been continuously NIH-funded since 2005.
Leila Kazemi

Leila Kazemi

SRL Program Manager

Certified senior CRC manager with expertise in MRI and bone densitometry. A decade of research experience and contributions to major studies including NHANES and NIH R01 projects.
En Yong Liu

En Yong Liu

Exercise Physiologist · Body Composition Lab Manager

Manages the Body Composition Lab. Background in Kinesiology with an emphasis in Neuromuscular Science. Interests include body-composition assessment via 3D optical imaging and fitness tracking.
Thomas Wolfgruber

Thomas Wolfgruber

Postdoctoral Researcher

Data scientist and software engineer focused on mammography for risk detection using machine learning. Contributes across the lab’s scientific and technical operations.
Jonathan P. Bennett, PhD

Jonathan P. Bennett, PhD

Junior Researcher

Holds degrees in biology, psychology, and kinesiology, with a PhD in nutritional sciences. Chairs the International Society for Clinical Densitometry's Body Composition section. Research examines multicompartment body-composition modeling across medical settings, athletes, and the lifespan, with current funding from the Thrasher Research Fund to validate a tablet-based optical scanner for infant body composition.
Dustin Valdez

Dustin Valdez

Postdoctoral Researcher

Postdoctoral researcher applying deployable imaging, epidemiology, and interpretable AI to cancer prevention and risk stratification in medically underserved, multiethnic populations. Holds a PhD in Nutritional Sciences; doctoral work on breast cancer disparities among Native Hawaiian women now extends to metabolic-associated liver disease and hepatocellular carcinoma.
Valerie Saiki

Valerie Saiki

DXA Technologist & Clinical Study Coordinator

Certified radiologic technologist (Oʻahu) working at SRL as DXA technologist and clinical study coordinator.
Arianna Bunnell

Arianna Bunnell

PhD Student

Computer Science PhD student at the University of Hawaiʻi with undergraduate degrees in Statistics and Computer Science. Applies deep learning to breast ultrasound imaging for cancer detection.
Lydia Sollis

Lydia Sollis

PhD Student

PhD in Computer Science at UH Mānoa, with prior degrees in Exercise Science and Computer Science. Specializes in machine learning for healthcare, including screening tools for autism and Parkinson’s Disease.
Pavel Bushuyeu

Pavel Bushuyeu

PhD Student

PhD student in Computer Science at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, with prior experience in product management in the tech industry. Research focuses on multimodal AI and its application to cancer risk assessment.

Alumni

Former SRL members who have moved on to next chapters.

Steven D. Buchthal

Steven D. Buchthal

Postdoctoral Researcher

Research focused on body-composition assessment and metabolic health across diverse populations, including adiposity patterns, liver fat distribution, and relationships to glucose metabolism and diabetes risk in multiethnic cohorts.
Devon Cataldi, PhD(c), ATC

Devon Cataldi, PhD(c), ATC

Researcher

PhD candidate in Kinesiology and Rehabilitation Science, with degrees in Athletic Training and Corrective Exercise. Research centered on body composition and human performance.
Laarni Igawa

Laarni Igawa

Clinical Research Coordinator

Background in Public Health with a focus on epidemiology, and extensive laboratory experience in infectious-disease research.
Nisa Kelly

Nisa Kelly

Clinical Research Coordinator

Background in biochemistry and medical health sciences; coordinated the Shape Up! Studies. Co-author on publications examining optical imaging for pediatric body composition.
Lambert Leong

Lambert Leong

PhD Student

Completed his PhD in Molecular Bioscience and Bio-Engineering at the University of Hawaiʻi. While at SRL, focused on breast imaging and applying ML/AI to cancer risk analysis and detection.
Abdur Rasool, PhD

Abdur Rasool, PhD

Postdoctoral Fellow

PhD in computer applied technology from the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology. Expertise spans AI, bioinformatics, breast cancer, computer vision, autism, and DNA data storage, with over 35 peer-reviewed publications.
Michael C. Wong

Michael C. Wong

Postdoctoral Researcher (T32, completed)

Completed his T32 postdoctoral fellowship in the Shepherd Research Lab analyzing optical imaging data from the Shape Up! study. Background in nutritional sciences.
Nusrat Zaman Zemi

Nusrat Zaman Zemi

Research Associate, UH Cancer Center

Completed her MSc in Electrical and Computer Engineering at UH Mānoa within the Shepherd Research Lab, working on software and hardware for breast ultrasound imaging. Now a Research Associate at the UH Cancer Center.

Past Lab Members

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