The 15th cohort of the Native Children’s Research Exchange (NCRE) Scholars Program includes four Ph.D. candidates conducting child development and substance use prevention research with Native American communities across the country. This year’s Scholars’ work emphasizes the intersection of substance use with the carceral system, Native youth and young adult well-being, and suicide prevention.
A cohort kick-off meeting takes place Oct. 12-16, in Juneau, Alaska. It will include career development planning and cultural and community connections with Alaska Native youth-, family-, and community-serving programs. Cohort 14 Scholars will participate in a parallel scholarly writing retreat, allowing Scholars from both cohorts to meet and connect.
The newest cohort members are:
- Abaki Beck, an enrolled member of the Little Shell Band of Chippewa Indians and a descendant of the Blackfeet Tribe, a Ph.D. candidate in public health at the University of Minnesota
- Sienna Strong-Jones, an enrolled member of Red Lake Nation (Bear Clan) and a Ph.D. candidate in the human development and family studies program at The Pennsylvania State University
- Grace Walker, of the Cherokee Nation, a Ph.D. candidate in the clinical psychology program at Oklahoma State University and the associate director of therapy services at Oklahoma State University’s Psychological Services Center
- Megan Wynecoop, of the Spokane Tribe of Indians, a Ph.D. candidate in health services and population health at the University of Washington with an emphasis in health economics
Since 2012, NCRE Scholars has provided career development and mentorship to 45 emerging Native child development scholars, building an essential pipeline of researchers who have long been underrepresented in the field.
“Over these 15 cohorts, we’ve seen how investing in Native scholars creates lasting benefits for Native communities and the child development and substance use research field as a whole,” said Michelle Sarche, a program co-lead and senior director of Tribal research, policy, and partnerships at the Buffett Early Childhood Institute at the University of Nebraska. “These scholars bring deep cultural knowledge, strong community partnerships, and innovative ideas to some of today’s most pressing health challenges. We’re thrilled to support this outstanding new cohort as they build careers that will make significant contributions to Native health research for years to come.”
Scholars are Ph.D. students, postdoctoral researchers, and junior investigators with backgrounds in psychology, sociology, neuroscience, public health, and other disciplines. They represent American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and other Indigenous communities. Scholars from past cohorts include Tribal leaders, psychologists, scientists, university faculty, a Tribal epidemiologist, and more.
The program is funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse and is led by Sarche, Jerreed Ivanich, principal investigator at the Laureate Institute for Brain Research, and Nancy Whitesell, professor at the Centers for American Indian and Alaska Native Health at the University of Colorado Anschutz.
“The NCRE Scholars family continues to grow,” Ivanich said. “We could not be more thrilled to welcome these promising scholars. Each one is poised to make a meaningful contribution to the field and to Native communities.”
Over the course of 18 months, Scholars work with program leaders to create career development plans that include developing a research paper or grant application. They also participate in training opportunities, conduct data collection and/or analyses, present research at national conferences, and join an international research community dedicated to Native child, family, and community health and thriving.
