Nationally, American Indians and Alaska Natives have the second-highest economic burden per person ($12,351) from health disparities in the United States, with most of this burden (74%) being attributable to premature deaths.
Dr. Karina Walters, an enrolled member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, joined the NIH Tribal Health Research Office as director on April 24, 2023. Learn about Dr. Walters in this issue of the NIH Record newsletter.
Session II of the NIEHS Superfund Research Program (SRP) Progress in Research webinar series will feature SRP-funded projects from the University of New Mexico SRP Center (collaborating with Indigenous partners from Navajo Nation and Laguna Pueblo), and Columbia University Northern Plains SRP Center (collaborating with Tribal communities from North and South Dakota) that focus on the health risks associated with exposure to hazardous metals. Learn more and register for the live webinar on Friday, May 5, 2023, from 12 to 2:00 p.m. E.D.T.
The Honoring Health newsletter provides THRO-curated Tribal health research news and information from across NIH. Check out the Spring 2023 issue to learn about THRO’s new director, Long COVID resources, funding and training opportunities, research highlights, and more.
NIH is funding studies on the use of wastewater testing to monitor SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, including in Tribal communities. Dr. Otakuye Conroy-Ben (Oglala Lakota) and her colleagues hope that the groundwork she has done will offer a template that any Tribe with wastewater treatment can use to monitor COVID-19 on their own.
NIH announces the selection of Karina L. Walters, Ph.D., M.S.W., an enrolled member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, as director of THRO.
The NIH National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) encourages SBIR/STTR Program applications from entrepreneurs of all backgrounds, including American Indian and Alaska Native business owners.
The Western Region Universities Consortium (WRUC), funded by the NIEHS Worker Training Program, partners with Tribal entities in the Southwest, Pacific Northwest, and Alaska to provide training on hazardous waste, hazmat transport, and emergency response, specifically in underserved and remote Tribal communities. Learn more about environmental training and job pathways for unemployed residents of rural Alaska communities disproportionately impacted by environmental health exposures.
NIH hosts its annual TAC meeting, including virtual presentations from leaders across NIH and others involved in Tribal health research.
THRO and NIEHS hosted a Native American Heritage Month virtual lecture about NIEHS-funded environmental health research in Alaska with co-presenters Viola “Vi” Waghiyi and Pamela Miller, of the Alaska Community Action on Toxics. Hear stories about the region and learn how this collaborative research began as the presenters discuss their decades of experience conducting community-based participatory research with local Tribes, including how their work has been informed by traditional and community knowledge, a summary of findings, and policy actions and interventions to protect health.