# The role of multicultural identity integration on well-being and Biomedical Science pathway persistence

> **NIH NIH K99** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO · 2023 · $106,794

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
 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 1% of the U.S. population, they make up only 2,220 (0.3%) of the
595,556 enrolled graduate students in Science and Engineering (S&E) programs, with even smaller
percentages persisting to faculty biomedical careers.1 These statistics demonstrate that Native scholars with
high interest in STEM careers are not integrating into their professional academic communities, and instead
are choosing to leave. Tested theories that help educators better understand the unique challenges and
assets of being a Native scholar, as well as effective interventions that support Native scholars to persist in
biomedical careers would advance the science of diversifying biomedical education. A common research
question is: When do Native scholars with high interest in biomedical careers integrate and persist in
their biomedical professional communities at rates equal to majority populations. Most research on
Natives in biomedical fields have been qualitative and often focus on negative attributes like stereotype
threat and racism. In contrast, the proposed research focuses on positive psychology, highlighting the
contextual factors and attributes of Natives that lead to integration and persistence in biomedical
professional communities. The first aim of this study utilizes existing data to validate a measure of Receiving
Kindness, a contextual factor which affirms social inclusion in biomedical professional communitie. The
second aim is to validate a psychosocial measure of professional-and-cultural identity integration as part of
the conclusion of a 2-year longitudinal study with Native scholars. In the third aim, the work from the
mentored phase will be expanded through a 9-month longitudinal study, where using my personal network of
university Native science and engineering student support programs across the nation, Native biomedical
students (N=40), Native biomedical professionals (N=40), non-Native biomedical students (N=40) and non-
Native biomedical professionals (N=40) will be compared to understand the relationship between
professional-and-cultural identity integration and receiving kindness on persistence in biomedical
professional communities for Native biomedical students. Previous research suggests that while Native
people come from diverse ecosystems and have diverse traditions, Native people share in common the
experience of having US policy encourage them, sometimes violently, to abandon their Native identities. This
research seeks to understand how Native scholars are impacted when they find themselves receiving
kindness and how this relates to their ability to hold an integrative identity in which being Native and being a
biomedical scientist are in harmony.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10723918
- **Project number:** 1K99GM151640-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO
- **Principal Investigator:** Kelsea Kanohokuahiwi Hosoda
- **Activity code:** K99 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2023
- **Award amount:** $106,794
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2023-07-01 → 2024-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10723918

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10723918, The role of multicultural identity integration on well-being and Biomedical Science pathway persistence (1K99GM151640-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10723918. Licensed CC0.

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