# Student Enhancement Project

> **NIH NIH S06** · DINE' COLLEGE · 2020 · $637,425

## Abstract

Principal Investigator/Program Director (Last, First, Middle): Bauer, Mark C.
DESCRIPTION: State the application’s broad, long-term objectives and specific aims, making reference to
the health relatedness of the project. Describe concisely the research design and methods for achieving
these goals. Avoid summaries of past accomplishments and the use of the first person. This abstract is
meant to serve as a succinct and accurate description of the proposed work when separated from the
application. If the application is funded, this description, as is, will become public information. Therefore, do
not include proprietary/confidential information. DO NOT EXCEED THE SPACE PROVIDED.
Significant disparities separate Native populations from the health and health infrastructure enjoyed by the
general U.S. population. To develop culturally relevant approaches to building healthy communities, more
Native health professionals and researchers are needed for Native Nations to exercise their sovereignty, role
and responsibilities to achieve health equity. Yet, for aspiring health professionals on rural reservations,
education and training opportunities are limited. The Navajo Native American Research Center for Health
Partnership’s Student Enhancement Project will build and institutionalize an educational enhancement
program to develop the human infrastructure needed to conduct evidence-based health research relevant and
essential to improve the well-being of the Navajo people. The Student Enhancement Project builds on Diné
College’s demonstrated ability to collaborate with institutions of higher education to enhance the Navajo
Nation’s professional health research capacity by training Navajo students, practitioners, and researchers.
Using a “educational pipeline approach” to resources within the Navajo Nation, the specific aims of this
project are to: 1) increase the number of high school students who enter a health-related post-high school
education or training program; 2) increase the number of undergraduate students who complete a public
health degree that highlights health research methods; and 3) increase the number of public health and
health educators, administrators and practitioners working for the Navajo Department of Health, Indian Health
Service and Diné College who complete graduate-level courses and/or achieve an MPH. To achieve these
aims, the Student Enhancement Project will build on existing academic partnerships and coordinate with the
Navajo NARCH’s Administrative Core and Research Project PIs to provide three educational opportunities: a)
a service learning program for high school students; b) a Diné College bachelor level degree in public health,
building on the existing associate degree and expanding on the Diné College’s 10-week Summer Research
Enhancement Program and c) a University of Arizona MPH degree with a concentration in Indigenous Health
offered through a hybrid of online and face-to-face courses on the Diné College campus. Eval...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10003360
- **Project number:** 5S06GM123550-04
- **Recipient organization:** DINE' COLLEGE
- **Principal Investigator:** MARK C BAUER
- **Activity code:** S06 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $637,425
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-09-15 → 2022-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10003360

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10003360, Student Enhancement Project (5S06GM123550-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10003360. Licensed CC0.

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