Committed to research partnerships with American Indian communities to address disparities in health and the health workforce, the University of Arizona Native American Research and Training Center (NARTC) will hold its annual Winter Institute, Feb. 17-20.
“The Winter Institute is an outstanding event and exemplar of the University of Arizona Health Sciences’ commitment to supporting our diverse community and forging partnerships that will make a lasting impact on improving the health of Arizona. I welcome and strongly encourage participation in these exciting events,” said Joe G.N. “Skip” Garcia, MD, UA senior vice president for health sciences.
Open to UA students, faculty, American Indian communities and the public, the Winter Institute will be held at the UA College of Nursing, Room 117, 1305 N. Martin, Tucson. Additional locations are listed below.
With the theme, Culture is the Cure, the Winter Institute offers an array of information on health and research issues relevant to Native American populations, including:
- Wednesday, Feb. 17, 1-4 p.m.: Conducting Health Research with Native American Communities- Free cross-cultural training for researchers or students interested in working in American Indian communities. To register, please email felina@email.arizona.edu; 4:45 – 6:10 p.m.: Flandrau Science Center and Planetarium- Guest speaker is former astronaut John Bennett Herrington, PhD, retired U.S. Navy commander and a member of the Chickasaw Nation, who will speak on the importance of resilience in education, particularly the STEM fields. Admission: $10 adults; $5 under age 12; free to students with AIRCH, INMED, CAIR, NACP, NASEP or other UA STEM program; free to Native American students with CAT Card. Flandrau Science Center & Planetarium, 1601 E. University Blvd., Tucson
- Thursday, Feb. 18, 8 a.m.- 5 p.m.: Report to the Tribes: Diversifying the Health and Science Workforce- Free presentations on student research and health-care workforce development and training in STEM programs to increase research, health and science skills for American Indians;
- Friday, Feb. 19, 8 a.m.-noon: Report to the Tribes- Research to Benefit Native Communities- Free updates on current needs assessments and research projects being conducted in partnership with American Indian communities;
Friday, Feb. 19, 1-5 p.m.: Precision Medicine and the UA Biorepository- A free discussion on research, bioethics and building relationships with Native communities. Includes speakers: Malia Villegas, EdD, director, Research Policy Institute, National Congress of American Indians; Vanessa Hiratsuka PhD, MPH, senior researcher, Alaska’s Southcentral Foundation and Akinlolu Ojo, MD, PhD, new UA associate vice president for clinical research and global health initiatives; and David Harris, PhD, executive director, UA Health Sciences Biorepository. To register, please email felina@email.arizona.edu.- Saturday, Feb. 20, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.: The Power of Visual Storytelling- the Institute will offer a graphic recording workshop, the real-time capturing of dialogue in visual form to capture key points and themes. Pre-registration is $200, on site $250. Native American Research and Training Center, 1642 E. Helen St., Tucson. To register, please email felina@email.arizona.edu
The Winter Institute is offered by NARTC, a program supported by the UA Department of Family and Community Medicine since 1987.
NARTC’s five-year, $975,000 Arizona Indians into Medicine program, the Winter Institute and other efforts work to positively impact American Indian health by recruiting and training American Indian doctors. Studies show that physicians from under-represented minority backgrounds are more likely to practice in underserved communities. Currently, the UA has 18 Native American students enrolled in the College of Medicine – Tucson, a record for the University and one of the highest overall enrollment numbers in the nation.
For more information on the Winter Institute, please contact; Dr. Teshia Solomon, solomont@email.arizona.edu; 520-626-1123
About the University of Arizona Health Sciences
The University of Arizona Health Sciences is the statewide leader in biomedical research and health professions training. UAHS includes the UA Colleges of Medicine (Phoenix and Tucson), Nursing, Pharmacy and Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, with main campus locations in Tucson and the growing Phoenix Biomedical Campus in downtown Phoenix. From these vantage points, the UA Health Sciences reaches across the state of Arizona and the greater Southwest to provide cutting-edge health education, research, patient care and community outreach services. A major economic engine, the center employs almost 5,000 people, has nearly 1,000 faculty members and garners more than $126 million in research grants and contracts annually. For more information: http://uahs.arizona.edu