John A. Shepherd, PhD
Principal Investigator · Chief Scientific Officer, UH Cancer Center · Co-Director, PAC-AID · B.H. and Alice C. Beams Endowed Professor in Cancer Research
Dr. Shepherd is the Chief Scientific Officer of the University of Hawaii Cancer Center, co-director of PAC-AID — the Pacific Center for Artificial Intelligence and Data Science in Medicine — and the B.H. and Alice C. Beams Endowed Professor in Cancer Research at the John A. Burns School of Medicine. He is also a Fulbright Scholar, a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), a fellow of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM), and a former President of the International Society for Clinical Densitometry. He received his PhD in Engineering Physics from the University of Virginia and then completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biophysics at Princeton University. From there he went on to develop body composition and bone density algorithms for a major women’s health company and his patents are the basis for the accuracy of that company’s body composition algorithms. He then joined the Radiology Department of the University of California San Francisco and led his research group for 19 years studying a wide variety of imaging biomarkers for breast cancer, obesity, and osteoporosis using advanced machine-learning techniques. For the past 8 years, he has been with the University of Hawaii Cancer Center where he is the Director of the Hawaii Pacific Islands Mammography Registry which is currently monitoring over 125k women for developing breast cancer risk models in this population with high disparity and underrepresentation. He also co-hosts the biennial International Breast Density and Risk Assessment Workshops with the next workshop to be held on the Island of Maui in June, 2027. He has been continuously funded by the NIH since 2005, led 6 R01-funded studies, and published over 400 peer-reviewed publications that have been referenced over 30,000 times. Lastly, he is an avid surfer, cyclist, and island ridge hiker!
Publications (435)
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Effects of a powdered meal replacement on body composition in individuals with excess body weight: Comparison across multiple measurement techniques
Montenegro J, Bennett JP, Siervo M, Oliveira L, Berg A, Sharma AM, Mereu L, Shepherd J, Walter J, Prado CMM
Nutrition, 2027· doi:10.1016/j.nut.2026.113436 -
Avatar generator: a tool for prediction of three-dimensional humanoid avatars from manual anthropometric measurements
Minetto MA, Boccardo M, Cappuccio A, Andrighetti M, Busso C, Basso S, Shepherd J, Heymsfield SB, Pietrobelli A, Botter A
Frontiers in Nutrition, 2026· doi:10.3389/fnut.2026.1906710 -
Feasibility and clinical utility of digital anthropometry for precise assessment of outcomes after post-bariatric reconstructive plastic surgery
Minetto MA, Margara A, Quilico E, Busso C, Graziano C, Shepherd J, Heymsfield SB, Pietrobelli A
Frontiers in Surgery, 2026· doi:10.3389/fsurg.2026.1728844 -
Mobile applications for body composition estimation: functionality, current findings, and future directions
Poltronieri TS, Silva BRD, Bennett JP, Heymsfield SB, Shepherd J, Prado CMM
Nutrition, 2026· doi:10.1016/j.nut.2026.113299 -
Consumer Technologies for Personalized Health: Feasibility of Five‐Compartment Body Composition Self‐Assessment Using Mobile Devices
Bennett JP, Wong MC, Liu YE, Kelly NN, Quon BK, Shepherd J
Obesity, 2026· doi:10.1002/oby.70200 -
Innovative digital approaches to characterize core factors of patients with late-stage knee osteoarthritis: a cross-sectional study
Minetto MA, Quilico E, Massazza F, Oprandi G, Busso C, Gasparini G, Pietrobelli A, Shepherd J, Heymsfield SB
Frontiers in Digital Health, 2026· doi:10.3389/fdgth.2025.1709182 -
The association of the gut microbiome with intermediate markers of breast cancer risk–mammographic density and blood steroid hormones–in the multiethnic cohort study
Maskarinec G, Laxamana MA, Lim U, Hullar MA, Lampe JW, Shepherd JA, Franke AA, Wilkens LR, Le Marchand L
Cancer Treatment and Research Communications, 2026· doi:10.1016/j.ctarc.2026.101497 -
International breast density and cancer risk assessment workshop: advances, challenges, and emerging solutions, a summary from the 11th IBDW, Kaua‘i 2025
Shepherd J, Bertrand KA, Strand F, Vachon C, Kerlikowske KM
Breast Cancer Research, 2026· doi:10.1186/s13058-026-02323-7 -
Geometry of the proximal femur during growth and its contribution to childhood fractures in healthy children
Zemel BS, Mitchell JA, Kelly AT, Weber DR, McCormack SE, Lappe JM, Oberfield SE, Duren DL, Shepherd J, Cataldi D, Grant SFA, Kalkwarf HJ
Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, 2026· doi:10.1093/jbmr/zjag079 -
Association between trajectories of body fatness during childhood and puberty and post-pubertal breast composition in the growth and obesity Chilean cohort study
Pereira A, Rosende PF, Shepherd J, Corvalán C, Garmendia ML
Breast Cancer Research, 2026· doi:10.1186/s13058-026-02250-7 -
Monitoring growth and body composition in children with 3-dimensional optical imaging: a pilot observational study
Bennett JP, Wong MC, Tian IY, Bowen A, Liu YE, Kelly NN, Ramirez S, Chow D, Pujades S, Garber AK, Maskarinec G, Heymsfield SB, Shepherd J
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2026· doi:10.1016/j.ajcnut.2026.101256 -
Abdominal posture biases 3D optical imaging measurements while bioelectrical impedance analysis remains unaffected
Balmores DM, Liu YE, Kelly NN, Shepherd J, Bennett JP
Clinical Nutrition ESPEN, 2026· doi:10.1016/j.clnesp.2026.103131 -
Using mobile applications for body composition analysis: A technical review of an artificial intelligence-based tool
Poltronieri TS, Silva BRD, Bennett J, Heymsfield SB, Shepherd J, Prado CM
Clinical Nutrition ESPEN, 2026· doi:10.1016/j.clnesp.2026.103105 -
Methodological standards for body composition assessment—an expert-endorsed guide for research and clinical applications: bioimpedance, dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, computerized tomography, and ultrasound methods
Prado CMM, Gonzalez MC, Norman K, Orsso CE, Barazzoni R, Cederholm T, Compher CW, Jensen GL, Abe T, Barbosa-Silva TG, Bennett JP, Carmichael OT, Earthman CP, Evans WJ, Fields DA, Genton L, Hu P, Ka...
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2026· doi:10.1016/j.ajcnut.2026.101283 -
Maternal and neonatal outcomes of vitamin D supplementation in hypovitaminosis D pregnancy: preg-D randomized trial
Chakhtoura M, Nassar AH, Ajjour S, Rahme M, Assaad M, Nabulsi M, Charafeddine L, Mahfoud Z, Tfaily N, Diab T, Al-Tayeh R, Zeitoun A, Shepherd J, Cavalier E, Cooper C, Harvey NC, Eid J, Chlela M, Fu...
The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 2026· doi:10.1210/clinem/dgag245 -
An Integrated Academic Oncology Ecosystem for Hawaiʻi and the U.S.-Affiliated Pacific Islands
Lim SJS, Yamauchi H, Yamauchi T, Sumida K, Shepherd J, Shomaker TS, Buenconsejo-Lum LE, Ueno NT
Cancers, 2026· doi:10.3390/cancers18091441 -
Ethnic Mixture and Body Mass Index as Modifiers of Breast Cancer Risk among Native Hawaiian Women: Insights from the Multiethnic Cohort
Valdez D, Abe JV, Bohmann P, Bogumil D, Wilkens LR, Marchand LL, Haiman CA, Shepherd JA, Maskarinec G
Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention, 2026· doi:10.1158/1055-9965.epi-25-1101 -
The impact of different body surface area prediction equations on ventricular dilatation prevalence in youth soccer players
Minetto MA, Toso E, Vecchia FD, Ferraris A, Magistrali M, Alunni G, Busso C, Pietrobelli A, Shepherd J, Heymsfield SB
Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine, 2025· doi:10.3389/fcvm.2025.1627460 -
Paving the way for improved action: how nuclear techniques can advance the assessment of malnutrition
Shertukde SP, Padmanabha R, Chung ST, Gaudichon C, Jones KS, Kelly P, Krebs NF, Kurpad A, Lamers Y, Lopez-Teros V, Melse-Boonstra A, Pereira FC, Prado CM, Roberts SB, Shepherd J, Winichagoon P, Wel...
The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2025· doi:10.1016/j.ajcnut.2025.06.003 -
Visual demonstration of weight loss and health risk improvement with a dual GIP and GLP-1 receptor agonist
Ramirez S, Yang R, Habibovic M, Kennedy S, Bennett JP, Shepherd JA, Thomas DM, Heymsfield SB
International Journal of Obesity, 2025· doi:10.1038/s41366-025-01842-1 -
Deep Learning Enables Large-Scale Shape and Appearance Modeling in Total-Body DXA Imaging
Bunnell A, Cataldi D, Glaser Y, Wolfgruber T, Heymsfield SB, Zonderman AB, Kelly TL, Sadowski P, Shepherd J
Lecture notes in computer science, 2025· doi:10.1007/978-3-032-06774-6_20 -
High dietary total energy intake and energy density are associated with girls’ breast density during puberty
Carrasco C, Garmendia ML, Martínez-Arroyo A, Shepherd J, Pereira A
European Journal of Nutrition, 2025· doi:10.1007/s00394-025-03755-1 -
Bone Mineral Content, Growth, and Renal Health of Infants With Perinatal Exposure to Maternal Dolutegravir Versus Efavirenz and Tenofovir Disoproxil Fumarate Versus Tenofovir Alafenamide: The Randomized IMPAACT 2010 (VESTED) Trial
Mbengeranwa T, Ziemba L, Brummel SS, Johnston B, Cassim H, Theron G, Ngqawana Z, Wabwire D, McCarthy K, Shepherd J, Lockman S, Chinula L, Stranix‐Chibanda L, investigators FTISTA
JAIDS Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, 2025· doi:10.1097/qai.0000000000003656 -
Pediatric Lateral Distal Femur Reference Ranges for Ages 1 to 18 years
Zemel BS, Shepherd J, Kazemi L, Kelly A, Stallings VA, Kecskemethy HH, Weber DR, Wasserman H, Kalkwarf HJ
Journal of Clinical Densitometry, 2025· doi:10.1016/j.jocd.2025.101594 -
Increased adiposity and impaired sleep are associated with severity of greater trochanteric pain syndrome: a cross-sectional study
Minetto MA, Busso C, Andrighetti M, Quilico E, Shepherd J, Heymsfield SB, Pietrobelli A
Frontiers in Medicine, 2025· doi:10.3389/fmed.2025.1718267