Jeanelle Sugimoto-Matsuda

Dr. Jeanelle Sugimoto-Matsuda is an Associate Professor at the University of Hawai‛i at Mānoa, Office of Public Health Studies (OPHS), within the Social and Behavioral Health Sciences Specialization.  She is also Graduate Chair for OPHS’ MPH/MS programs.  Her research focuses on mental and behavioral health, including suicide prevention, bullying and violence prevention, and health policy/advocacy and systems-building.  She is part of the Steering Committee of the Prevent Suicide Hawaiʻi Taskforce, the State’s network of agencies and community members leading suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention work.  Dr. Sugimoto-Matsuda has extensive experience in systems and policy development, mostly in suicide prevention.  At present she serves as Principal Investigator for three extramural awards – 1) The Hawaii’s Caring Systems Initiative for Youth Suicide Prevention (SAMHSA Garrett Lee Smith grantee, Cohort 16), focused on strengthening processes and capacity to bolster Hawaii’s suicide prevention system; 2) The Prevent Suicide Hawaiʻi Taskforce’s gatekeeper training initiative, supported by Hawaiʻi State Department of Health (DOH), through which Dr. Sugimoto-Matsuda and her team coordinate suicide prevention trainings across the State, as well as provide support and consultation for the State’s trainer network; and 3) A statewide needs assessment on youth mental health, sponsored by the DOH Child and Adolescent Mental Health Division.