# Community Engagement and Outreach Core

> **NIH NIH U54** · MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY - BOZEMAN · 2020 · $827,916

## Abstract

CEOC Abstract Summary 
 The goal of the Community Engagement and Outreach (CEO) Core is to provide expert guidance in 
community-based participatory research (CBPR) approaches and regional support to navigate the 
development of respectful research partnerships with American Indian and Alaska Native (AI-AN) people in 
Montana and Alaska. Significant health disparities exist in AI-AN communities, and community-based 
partnerships that engage community members in all phases of clinical and translational research enhance 
research efficacy. CBPR builds trust in researchers, boosts recruitment and retention in clinical research, 
results in efficacious approaches to advance community health, and fosters translation of new knowledge into 
clinical practice that leads to sustainable health improvements. 
 The American Indian-Alaska Native Clinical and Translational Research Center (AI-AN CTRC) CEO 
Core is led by a multidisciplinary team of investigators with extensive CBPR proficiency. The Core will leverage 
their knowledge to operationalize CBPR principles into respectful community-engaged research practice by 
mentoring and supporting early-stage and established investigators as they cultivate clinical and translational 
research partnerships with AI-AN people in both rural and urban areas of Montana and Alaska. 
 In Specific Aim 1, the CEO Core leadership team will develop an innovative case study curriculum of 
AI-AN CBPR experiences to facilitate education, training, and mentoring of investigators new to community- 
engaged research. Case studies present a challenge or dilemma in a realistic context and are widely used in 
educational settings to help students bridge the gap between “book learning” and practice. Case studies based 
upon the CEO leadership team’s prior experiences will provide background and raise awareness of many of 
the challenges and rewards of working closely with AI-AN communities. In Specific Aim 2, the CEO Core 
leadership team and regional Clinical Research Navigators will support investigators in the development and 
implementation of culturally appropriate translational research with AI-AN communities. The case studies 
(Specific Aim 1) will strengthen the one-on-one mentoring interactions (Specific Aim 2) with new investigators 
unfamiliar with tribal sovereignty, AI-AN cultural norms, community structures, and CBPR principles, thus 
creating a rich experience-based learning environment. In Specific Aim 3, the CEO Core will work with the 
Evaluation Core to assess the progress of the CEO Core in achieving its goals and identify any needed 
procedural and/or organizational changes to support the Center’s overall goals. 
 Community engagement is critical in AI-AN health research, and the CEO Core is well integrated 
throughout the AI-AN CTRC. The CEO Core will work with other CTR Cores to develop training programs for 
new investigators and will be an important source of mentors for the Center.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10011845
- **Project number:** 5U54GM115371-05
- **Recipient organization:** MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY - BOZEMAN
- **Principal Investigator:** SCARLETT H HOPKINS
- **Activity code:** U54 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $827,916
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2016-08-01 → 2024-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10011845

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10011845, Community Engagement and Outreach Core (5U54GM115371-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10011845. Licensed CC0.

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