2025 AAIP Academic Career Development Workshop

Project Summary / Abstract This supplemental application to the NIDDK R25 Native American Research Internship (NARI) program proposes support for an Academic Career Development Workshop at the 2025 Association of American Indian Physicians (AAIP) Annual Meeting. The workshop will provide NARI alumni and American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) undergraduate and post-baccalaureate students with research education resources as they pursue medical and graduate school, and early-career development as physician scientists and biomedical researchers. The workshop is designed to offer targeted mentorship, culturally grounded career guidance, and exposure to NIH-supported research pathways. It will build on the success of the 2024 AAIP Academic Career Development Workshop, which demonstrated strong engagement and positive outcomes among AI/AN trainees. The 2025 program will feature sessions led by NIH leadership, Indigenous faculty, and NARI alumni. Topics will include mentorship strategies, graduate and medical school preparation, NIH funding mechanisms, and research careers in diabetes, obesity, and metabolism. Participants will engage in roundtable discussions, keynote presentations, and interactive networking opportunities designed to foster long-term engagement with biomedical research and strengthen connections across NARI alumni cohorts. The supplement will support travel, lodging and per diem for NARI alumni and other eligible AI/AN students, participation by NARI staff, and evaluation of workshop outcomes. Interactive discussions with AI/AN physician leaders and NIH program officers will promote culturally sensitive dialogue and peer mentorship. This initiative complements the parent R25 award by expanding its reach and impact, strengthening the pathway of AI/AN scientists, and advancing NIDDK’s commitment to increasing AI/AN representation in the biomedical workforce. It will also serve as a model for integrating research career education with Indigenous values and community engagement.