# The Native Children's Research Exchange Scholars Program: Preparing the Next Generation of American Indian and Alaska Native Substance Abuse and Addition Scientists

> **NIH NIH R25** · UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER · 2022 · $211,149

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) populations face some of the most significant substance abuse
inequities of any population in the United States. The National Institutes of Health has increased efforts to
address these inequities through investing in research to understand the root causes and in studies focused on
prevention and intervention in these populations. Additional efforts include the establishment of the Tribal
Health Research Office at the NIH in 2015 and the launch of the Intervention Research to Improve Native
American Health Initiative in 2012. While gains are being made, they are incremental, slowed by many
complexities encountered in research with diverse AIAN populations. A challenge that continues to attenuate
the effectiveness of NIH's efforts is the underrepresentation of AIAN investigators at the helm of research
studies. The cadre of AIAN Principal Investigators (PIs) is growing, but AIAN PIs remain significantly
underrepresented. While there are a number of well-trained non-Native PIs who work closely with AIAN
communities, using effective Community-Based Participatory Research approaches to enhance scientific rigor
and relevance in these contexts, the potential of these studies to fully integrate scientific and cultural
knowledge throughout study design, measurement, analysis, interpretation and dissemination is undermined
by the lack of AIAN leadership. This project is designed to build on and expand the successful Native
Children's Research Exchange Scholars (NCRE) program to support the development of AIAN early career
substance abuse researchers. NCRE Scholars began in 2012 on the foundation of the NCRE network of
researchers engaged in research with AIAN children and adolescents. The NCRE network provides a platform
for connecting graduate students, post-docs, and junior faculty to senior research mentors who provide
substantive mentoring and career development support. The NCRE conferences attended by this network offer
a forum for sharing information and further building collaborative relationships. The proposed project will
support the development of the next generation of AIAN substance abuse and addiction scientists by: (1)
sustaining the NCRE Scholars program to support 10 additional Scholars in 5 Cohorts of 2 Scholars each; (2)
retaining the fundamental components of the successful NCRE Scholars program, continuing to provide
intensive mentoring to small cohorts of Scholars in connection to the NCRE network through the creation and
implementation of Tailored Career Development Plans and support of writing objectives; (3) expanding the
experiences for NCRE Scholars with the guidance of a Scholars Advisory board and by developing a
Grantwriting Workshop to be delivered in conjunction with NCRE Conferences and a structured curriculum in
the Responsible Conduct of Research with AIAN Communities; and (4) integrating a small NCRE student
mentoring effort with the NCRE Scholars program...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10476331
- **Project number:** 5R25DA050645-04
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER
- **Principal Investigator:** Michelle C Sarche
- **Activity code:** R25 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $211,149
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-09-30 → 2024-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10476331

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10476331, The Native Children's Research Exchange Scholars Program: Preparing the Next Generation of American Indian and Alaska Native Substance Abuse and Addition Scientists (5R25DA050645-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-21 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10476331. Licensed CC0.

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