NARCH 12

Major health disparities continue to impact tribal nations, yet a severe shortage of scientists who conduct tribally engaged research focusing on alleviating health disparities affecting Native American people persists. For several years, the Cherokee Nation, the University of Oklahoma (OU) system, and the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation (OMRF) have partnered to address this issue by building tribal research capacity through the Native American Research Centers for Health (NARCH) mechanism. In this cycle of NARCH funding, the partnership among Cherokee Nation, OU, and OMRF continues and, importantly for student career enhancement, expands to include the Oklahoma State University (OSU) system as a key partner for student career enhancement activities. The overall mission of Cherokee Nation NARCH is to develop a durable research capacity within the context of a tribal nation to address health problems affecting the tribal population of northeastern Oklahoma. Tribal Citizens in biomedical research are underrepresented within the senior, independent investigator pool nationally and in Oklahoma. Cherokee Nation NARCH provides a crucial opportunity to solidify the foundation for tribal capacity in health disparities research. The addition of OSU strengthens this project, as OSU has demonstrated remarkable success in educating Native American students in scientific and health professions fields, including the establishment of the first tribally affiliated medical school in the US. Cherokee Nation NARCH, therefore, provides an unprecedented environment in which a Tribe, two research-intensive universities with large Native American student populations (OU and OSU), and a biomedical research foundation (OMRF) will work synergistically to improve the health and well-being of tribal citizens.