# Alaska Native Collaborative Hub for Resilience Research (ANCHRR)

> **NIH NIH U19** · UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA FAIRBANKS · 2021 · $1,081,351

## Abstract

Alaska experiences among the highest rates of suicide in the nation and impacts most severely upon Alaska
Native (AN) youth and young adults. The proposed Alaska Native Collaborative Hub for Research Resilience
(ANCHRR) is in response to RFA-17-350 Collaborative Hubs to Reduce the Burden of Suicide Among
American Indian and Alaska Native Youth (U19). The goals of the proposed ANCHRR are to: a) establish a
central hub for Alaska that anchors and supports our collective efforts in reducing the burden of AN youth
suicide; b) utilize scientific tools to recognize and build AN community-level strengths and protections against
suicidal and other co-occurring adverse behaviors through a multilevel model of youth resilience that translates
into community practice; and c) develop and sustain capacity to conduct research and use scientific tools to
promote and increase Alaska Native youth and community wellbeing. The ANCHRR builds on our established
tribal partnerships in the three regions of Alaska with the highest need for effective, culturally congruent and
community-based suicide prevention. Drs. Rasmus and Allen have been working collaboratively with Yup’ik
communities in the Yukon Kuskokwim region and Dr. Wexler has been doing community-based participatory
research in Northwest Alaska (NWA) for 20 years. Both research teams have spent this time partnering with
tribal communities and developing evidence-based and self-determined suicide prevention initiatives that
reflect local, AN understandings and values, strengthen community systems of support, and build local
capacity for strategic prevention practice. The collaborative hub will extend this successful partnership model
to include all of the tribal health regions across the state. With relevance for all of rural Alaska, the Alaska
Native Resilience Study will provide important insights into the community level factors—institutions, traditions,
resources and leaders—and mechanisms—the community perceptions, practices and norms—that increase
resilience from suicide and reduce risk. The resulting Alaska Community Resilience Mapping (AK-CRM) Tool
will provide a user-friendly, visual representation of the community-level protective factors and processes, and
will engage Alaskan community members in identifying the community-level protective factors in their
community and will offer scientifically-based recommendations for action. In this way, ANCHRR’s proposed
activities translate results from the research study into practical suggestions for tribal leaders, local
practitioners and policy makers, to maximize its public health impact.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10166937
- **Project number:** 5U19MH113138-05
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA FAIRBANKS
- **Principal Investigator:** JAMES R. ALLEN
- **Activity code:** U19 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $1,081,351
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-06-01 → 2025-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10166937

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10166937, Alaska Native Collaborative Hub for Resilience Research (ANCHRR) (5U19MH113138-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10166937. Licensed CC0.

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