A native of the Marshall Islands, Dr. Neal Palafox received his M.D. degree from the University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine in 1980; served in a Family Practice residency at the University of California, Los Angeles, in 1983; and earned a Master of Public Health degree from Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health in 1993. He is the Principal Investigator for the NCI's Pacific Cancer Initiative, conducting needs assessments of cancer-related health resources. He currently serves as Chair of the Department of Family Practice and Community Health at the University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine and as Director of the Family Practice Residency program. He is on the active medical staff at Wahiawa General Hospital. Dr. Palafox is also an associate researcher with the Medical Treatment Effectiveness Program in Hawaii and Principal Investigator on a Federal grant to provide care for the people of the Republic of the Marshall Islands who were exposed to radioactive fallout from nuclear weapons testing.
