The Community-Based Research Core focuses primarily on T3-T4 translational research, supporting community-campus research teams to conduct studies that respond to community-identified research issues, build community and investigator capacity in research, assure that relevant discoveries and innovations are communicated back to the community, and increase community trust in research. The Community-Based Research Core promotes research in Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, and Filipino communities that meets these characteristics:

1. the research emphasizes local relevance, i.e., the research focus comes from the community or is both of interest and relevance to the community;
2. the research processes and any interventions tested build on community strengths and resources;
3. the research facilitates partnerships between the community and the university;
4. community members are engaged as investigators as well as participants; and
5. the research is planned, implemented, and reported in ways that promote co-learning and capacity building.

Core leaders include JoAnn Tsark MPH, Kathryn L. Braun DrPH and J. Keawe Kaholokula PhD.