# NAU RISE for Native American Students

> **NIH NIH R25** · NORTHERN ARIZONA UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $562,940

## Abstract

Abstract
Native Americans and Native Alaskans have the lowest university enrollment and graduation rates of any
group in the United States and this trend holds true for those interested in STEM fields. In addition, the Native
American populations living on tribal land experience a multitude of environmentally associated health issues
such as cancer, stroke, obesity and diabetes. Therefore, the NAU RISE program will target environmental
issues on tribal land as the focus for our educational program and research experiences. This focus is
particularly appropriate because Northern Arizona University faculty are nationally recognized as experts in this
field, environmental health is a widely-expressed area of interest for NAU Native American students, the
Arizona tribes (and others throughout the country) want the members of their own community to provide this
expertise; and, lastly, tribal support is imperative to the success of Native American students.
We plan to identify a cohort of 4 undergraduate and 4 Master's Native American students (or from other
underrepresented populations) to participate in RISE-specific activities These students will be involved in
research experiences over the period of two years on issues addressing environmental health the Navajo
Nation, the Hopi reservation and/or the Yavapai Apache Nation. A summer program will be initiated that will
emphasize culturally-aligned mentorship, community connections, scientific identify formation and value
alignment. During the academic year a special course entitled Success in Research Seminar will be provided
for the RISE cohort. This course will continue to incorporate the culturally aligned mentorship and support of
the summer and also emphasize training in responsible conduct of research, research design and methods,
scientific career choices, the graduate school application process, and surviving graduate school. As the
students progress into the second year of support they will master the analysis of research results, reading and
interpreting the literature, scientific writing skills and presentation of results at professional conferences. These
students will also provide peer-support to the new cohort. All students will be directed to courses offerings in
statistics, applied indigenous studies, environmental and/or health sciences and computer science.
As a result, the RISE program at NAU will provide educational activities that will enhance the diversity of the
biomedical, behavioral and clinical research workforce through enhanced retention and successful graduate
student experiences for Native American students.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9876996
- **Project number:** 5R25GM127199-03
- **Recipient organization:** NORTHERN ARIZONA UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Catherine R Propper
- **Activity code:** R25 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $562,940
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-05-01 → 2023-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9876996

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9876996, NAU RISE for Native American Students (5R25GM127199-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-21 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9876996. Licensed CC0.

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