New UAF research center moves science from bench to bedside

August 2, 2016

Photo courtesy of Bert Boyer. Professor Bert Boyer, right, and researcher Scarlett Hopkins, will lead a new UAF research center funded by the National Institute of Health focusing on �Ӱ�ԭ�� Native and American Indian health disparities.

�Ӱ�ԭ�� and Montana have formed a collaborative clinical and translational research center to address the health priorities of �Ӱ�ԭ�� Native and American Indian people.

Led by Professor Allen Harmsen at Montana State University, in collaboration with the University of �Ӱ�ԭ�� Fairbanks, the center's primary goal is to increase the number of scientists who can work effectively with indigenous people. The center is funded with a five-year, $20 million award from the National Institutes of Health.

“The people we want to attract are scientists in �Ӱ�ԭ�� and Montana who have maybe thought that their work could be clinical or translational, meaning working with humans, but don’t know how to transition their science in that direction,” said the new center's co-program director, Bert Boyer. He also directs the Center for �Ӱ�ԭ�� Native Health Research at the UAF Institute of Arctic Biology.

Other collaborators include the �Ӱ�ԭ�� Native Tribal Health Consortium, �Ӱ�ԭ��’s Southcentral Foundation, University of �Ӱ�ԭ�� Anchorage, University of Montana and the Blackfeet Community College in Montana.

The center will provide mentoring, training and research opportunities, including project funds, to scientists in �Ӱ�ԭ�� and Montana working in five core areas: professional development, pilot research projects, epidemiology and biostatistics, research design and evaluation, and community engagement and outreach.

American Indian and �Ӱ�ԭ�� Native communities are reported to experience the most significant health disparities of any ethnic or racial group in the United States.

“Our goal is to build both �Ӱ�ԭ��’s and Montana’s capacity to successfully address the health priorities of American Indian and �Ӱ�ԭ�� Native people,” said Boyer. “Through the Center for �Ӱ�ԭ�� Native Health Research, we have developed considerable expertise in community-based participatory research in �Ӱ�ԭ��.”

UAF will lead the community engagement and outreach core.

“The UAF core will provide guidance in community-based participatory research and offer regional support to navigate the development of respectful research partnerships with American Indian and �Ӱ�ԭ�� Native people in Montana and �Ӱ�ԭ��,” said Scarlett Hopkins, a researcher at CANHR.

Hopkins will lead a team of site directors at the University of Montana, Montana State University, Blackfeet Community College and Southcentral Foundation in developing an innovative case study curriculum. The curriculum, based on American Indian-�Ӱ�ԭ�� Native research experiences from study sites in �Ӱ�ԭ�� and Montana, will be designed for scientists new to community-engaged research.

“Regional clinical research navigators will support investigators in the development and implementation of culturally appropriate translational research with American Indian and �Ӱ�ԭ�� Native communities,” said Hopkins.

The center will also seek to partner academic institutions that do not have medical schools with Native healthcare institutions to further encourage collaboration between academic and medical researchers.

“We anticipate this collaboration will grow sustainable programs in �Ӱ�ԭ�� and Montana that will result in improved health of the communities we strive to serve,” said Boyer.

ADDITIONAL CONTACTS: Bert Boyer, professor, director, Center for �Ӱ�ԭ�� Native Health Research, Institute of Arctic Biology, University of �Ӱ�ԭ�� Fairbanks, bboyer@alaska.edu, 907-474-7733. Scarlett Hopkins, director, community engagement and clinical support core, Center for �Ӱ�ԭ�� Native Health Research, Institute of Arctic Biology, University of �Ӱ�ԭ�� Fairbanks, sehopkins@alaska.edu, 907-474-5693.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute Of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number U54GM115371. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.