Mapuana Antonio

Dr. Mapuana Antonio is an Associate Professor, head of the Native Hawaiian and Indigenous Health (NHIH) Master of Public Health Program, and the inaugural Queen Liliʻuokalani Endowed Professor in Native Hawaiian Culture at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. Dr. Antonio is a Native Hawaiian scholar from Wahiawa, Oahu and is dedicated to advancing the health and wellbeing of Native Hawaiians and Indigenous peoples. Her research takes a strengths-based and holistic approach by bettering the physical, mental, and spiritual health and wellbeing of Native Hawaiians, with a focus on resilience. Her research expands on definitions of health and resilience to better align with Native Hawaiian worldviews, while addressing core structural and socio-cultural determinants of health. Dr. Antonio is a co-lead of the NHIH Summer Health Academy, which is highlighted in today’s panel. In addition to the Summer Health Academy, Dr. Antonio is the Principal Investigator (PI) of the Ola HAWAII and PIKO pilot studies Ke Ola O Ka 'Āina, which explores the role of ‘Āina and ‘Āina connectedness in Native Hawaiian health and resilience, and most recently, a co-Principal Investigator of Project Mōkiha, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Interdisciplinary Research Leader (IRL) Program. She has training and background in psychology, public health, Native Hawaiian and Indigenous Health, community-based participatory research approaches, qualitative research, and quantitative research including psychometrics.