# Native Biomedical Scholar: Professional & Cultural Identity Integration

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO · 2021 · $19,125

## Abstract

PARENT GRANT ABSTRACT
Strong demographic evidence shows that Native students are not integrating into STEM professional
communities at the same rate as majority students. While Native people (Native American/Alaskan
Native/Native Hawaiian) make up nearly 2% of the U.S. population according the most recent U.S. Census,
they make up only about 0.01% of enrolled undergraduate students (NSF, 2014) and 3,014 (.5%) of the
601,883 enrolled graduate students in Science and Engineering (S&E) programs, with even smaller
percentages persisting to faculty STEM careers (NSF, 2017). Why don’t Native scholars with high interest in
biomedical careers integrate into their STEM professional communities at rates equal to majority populations?
At this time, most research regarding Native STEM scholars has been qualitative, involving in-depth interviews
with those who persevere. To broaden the research, the parent grant builds on research regarding the
Tripartite Integration Model of Social Influence (TIMSI) (Kelman,1958, 2006; Estrada et al., 2011), Native
American culture, and integrative identity, to conduct a prospective propensity score matched longitudinal
study to compare the short-, medium-, and long-term outcomes of three groups of emerging Native biomedical
scholars (N=162). The groups include: (A) No Treatment Comparison group (matched Native scholars
engaged in the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) community), (B) Modified
Treatment group (matched Native scholars engaged in the AISES community + online professional
development intervention), and (C) Full Treatment group (matched Native scholars engaged in the AISES
community + complete professional development intervention). The primary aim of this study is to test the
efficacy of an online intervention that “scales up” key aspects of an intensive professional development
intervention relative to a control group. The second aim is to understand the mechanisms that explain the
intervention effects. We will assess the degree to which key psycho-social factors (i.e., [i] efficacy, identity, and
values [measures of integration into professional communities], [ii] Native scholars’ professional-and-Native
identity integration, and [iii] perceptions of communal value affordances in biomedical careers) mediate the
relationship between the group differences and long-term integration into the professional community, greater
career persistence, and higher rates of mentorship of future Native scholars. The hypothesis-driven design of
this study is providing results that inform the biomedical community regarding factors and mechanisms that are
most likely to influence and foster a sustained career in the biomedical research workforce. Further, this study
provides a generalizable example of how to add value to existing interventions (at less cost than the parent
intervention) for larger populations of students. Useful and meaningful findings will be made available in
formats that are supportive to...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10368502
- **Project number:** 3R01GM138700-01S1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO
- **Principal Investigator:** Mica Beth Estrada
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $19,125
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2020-08-04 → 2023-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10368502

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10368502, Native Biomedical Scholar: Professional & Cultural Identity Integration (3R01GM138700-01S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10368502. Licensed CC0.

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