Biography
Dr Sela V. Panapasa is an Associate Research Scientist at the Institute for Social Research, United States. An active researcher and leader in developing scientific research methods to address data limitations and persistent health inequities in hard-to-survey populations, she has extensive experience conducting, analyzing, disseminating, and translating findings from mixed-methods research projects on Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NHPI) populations in the United States and independent Pacific nations. Dr Panapasa’s work has influenced policy development for these populations, from greater coverage of NHPI populations in the US Census to the use of racial categories in the American Community Survey and technical assistance in Pacific data collections. She developed and administered the successful collection of epidemiology as part of the Pacific Islander Health Study (PIHS), leading to a collaboration with the NCHS to develop and implement the 2014 NHPI National Health Interview Survey (NHPI NHIS). Dr Panapasa is the PI on 'Mechanisms of Diabetes and Diabetic Complications in a Multiethnic Population and a co-investigator for the Guam National Health Interview Survey (GNHIS)'.