UH Med Now

The University of Hawaiʻi (UH) MD Class of 2015 learned so much in its four years at the John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM), committing to memory six more bits of advice at their Convocation Ceremony on May 17 must have been a breeze.

The advice was well worth listening to; it came from Dr. Griffin Rodgers, a brilliant researcher and the current Director of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)–one of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Dr. Rodgers is widely recognized for his contributions to the development of the first effective — and now FDA approved — therapy for sickle cell anemia.

Dr. Rodgers meets with Kakaʻako researchers on May 18, 2015.

“Talk story” session with Dr. Rodgers, Director of the National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney Diseases at NIH.

He was invited to deliver the commencement address by Dean Jerris Hedges, MD. While he was in town, Dr. Griffin also managed to spend hours with researchers at Kakaʻako, “talking story” and offering advice linked to their own efforts to seek out new therapies or cures.