# Factors Influencing Scientific Research Careers among American Indians

> **NIH NIH R35** · UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA · 2020 · $350,784

## Abstract

Project Abstract
Even compared to other underrepresented groups, the American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN)
population is not well represented in STEM and disappointingly, are not always detailed in comparisons
of workforce data because of their small numbers. Interventions to address risk factors of AIAN students
have frequently been atheoretical, lacking in systematic evaluation, and developed without focus on
explicit cultural terms that enable students to create a positive bicultural identity as scientists. The most
recent data from Diverse Issues in Higher Education underscores the unique role of the University of
Oklahoma in the higher education of American Indian students, as one of the top institutions in the
nation in terms of the highest number of American Indian bachelors’ degree recipients. Thus, this
proposal provides several points of innovation with regard to prediction of academic perseverance and
career success in biomedical and behavioral research careers among AIAN students, building on a
previous NIGMS-supported study using Social Cognitive Career Theory. The current proposal aims to
collect additional longitudinal survey data on AIAN and comparison group participants to establish full
sets undergraduate experience and graduation information on several cohorts of students and to
comprehensively analyze the time-variant factors in this data. In addition, this proposal explores the
unique concerns of AIAN students through qualitative and quantitative methods in order to determine
their potential as levers of change in policy as well as development of programming to increase
engagement and persistence in STEM majors, with the intention of developing and evaluating the
effectiveness of these activities in a future grant proposal. The goal of increasing the number of AIAN
STEM majors and AIAN biomedical/behavioral research scientists would benefit from additional context
to create a more sustainable outcome that considers the intersection between student interests and
ability, community needs, and industry skill gaps. Thus, this project will seek input from a Tribal
Education Alliance composed of tribal education departments and other tribal professionals, industry
groups in proximity to areas with high AIAN populations, and continued discussions with AIAN
undergraduate and graduate students. Our needs assessment will address the question of gaps between
student skills and education and the needs of tribal and Oklahoma employers in STEM fields. These
efforts are intended as a basis on which future funding proposals will be written to pilot and evaluate
interventions at the focal institution, with the goal of ultimately scaling these interventions to other
institutions, including higher education, K-12, and tribal communities, as appropriate.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9937745
- **Project number:** 5R35GM127107-03
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA
- **Principal Investigator:** Lori Anderson Snyder
- **Activity code:** R35 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $350,784
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-06-01 → 2023-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9937745

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9937745, Factors Influencing Scientific Research Careers among American Indians (5R35GM127107-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-21 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9937745. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*