# Encouraging Excellence: Health Science Education in Native American Communities

> **NIH NIH R25** · UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA MEDICAL CENTER · 2024 · $270,000

## Abstract

The University of Nebraska Medical Center will continue to leverage the trust and
cooperative spirit we have garnered working with tribal schools and communities in
Nebraska and South Dakota. We will develop, implement, and evaluate science
curriculum, outreach activities, and training experiences targeting Native American
students and their teachers in grades K-12. The long-term goals of this project are to
promote student interest in the sciences, foster a more science-literate public,
and ultimately to increase the number of Native Americans entering health and
science careers. Improving science and math instruction in the classrooms serving our
Native American partners is key to this project. This objective will be accomplished by
creating and adapting hands-on, age-appropriate lessons. Through summer workshops,
mentoring, and in-service education, teacher support will facilitate the implementation of
novel science and math education strategies for use in tribal schools. Student
engagement will be enhanced through summer experiences from science camps for
middle school to longer-term enrichment programs for select high school students.
Reaching beyond the classroom to parents and communities is also critical to the
success of this project. Community programs will be designed to give parents and
elders the sense of excitement that students feel when doing science. Ancillary benefits
will include promoting educational opportunities, healthy living, and improving health
literacy. Professional evaluations will be made at all stages, with major emphasis being
placed on evaluating the educational and community impact of the project. Research
techniques will include baseline and post measures of attitudes and subject content,
participant evaluation questionnaires, and student retrospective pretests. Advancing the
health of Native American communities is the ultimate aim of every aspect of this
project. Improved science teaching and heightened awareness of health careers will
encourage students to enter these careers and hope to bring these skills back to their
communities. Public outreach that increases health literacy and healthy living will
promote better personal health decisions.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10797015
- **Project number:** 5R25GM142096-04
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA MEDICAL CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** Liliana Bronner
- **Activity code:** R25 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $270,000
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2021-04-25 → 2026-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10797015

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10797015, Encouraging Excellence: Health Science Education in Native American Communities (5R25GM142096-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10797015. Licensed CC0.

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