# American Indian/Alaskan Native Think Tank

> **NIH NIH P30** · UTAH STATE HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM--UNIVERSITY OF UTAH · 2024 · $99,983

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) has set out to deliver a cancer-free frontier across the Mountain West and
beyond. Our Cancer Center’s impact extends throughout the 5-state Mountain West (Idaho, Montana, Nevada,
Utah, Wyoming), a region not served by any other National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated Cancer Center.
The Mountain West is home to over 10,000,000 people, including more than 40 American Indian Tribal
Nations. Dr. Monica Bertagnolli, Director of the National Institutes of Health, recently noted that American
Indians in the United States have the very worst cancer outcomes – they have not benefited from the advances
that have improved outcomes for nearly every other population in the country.
HCI has a long-standing commitment to serving these populations, as evidenced by our 22-year-old American
Indian Program. Through our American Indian Program, HCI is poised to build upon current tribal relationships
to listen and learn from local tribal members to understand what we are missing and how we can increase
American Indian and Alaskan Native (AI/AN) survival rates, improve community interventions, and transform
the way health research is perceived and conducted in tribal communities.
The objective of this supplement is to advance knowledge and build relationships to improve cancer-related
outcomes for AI/AN populations. We will accomplish this by establishing and convening an initial meeting of an
AI/AN Think Tank at HCI with the goal of bringing key stakeholders and partners to the table for listening,
discussion, and learning about the critical lack of medical options available to AI/AN populations and
determination of potential solutions through: new research avenues directed specifically toward these
populations, retraining current workers, and training the next generation of researchers to tackle these urgent
issues. This Think Tank will accomplish the following Specific Aims: 1) Determine the key cancer health issues
within AI/AN communities that research can help address, 2) Understand how to combine traditional ways of
knowing with Western science to develop innovative solutions, and 3) Develop sustainable interventions that
will increase the cancer survival rate for AI/AN populations.
This work will be driven by the AI/AN Tribal members, but fully supported and endorsed by 13 NCI-designated
Cancer Centers, who have convened to form a consortium of Centers that are highly supportive of and
engaged with AI/AN communities.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 11128040
- **Project number:** 3P30CA042014-35S4
- **Recipient organization:** UTAH STATE HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM--UNIVERSITY OF UTAH
- **Principal Investigator:** CORNELIA M ULRICH
- **Activity code:** P30 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $99,983
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2024-05-01 → 2025-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11128040

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 11128040, American Indian/Alaskan Native Think Tank (3P30CA042014-35S4). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/11128040. Licensed CC0.

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