This component of the application seeks to build the infrastructure for a partnership between the Cherokee Nation and the Stephenson Cancer Center. It builds on two years of consistent discussion regarding cancer research and training priorities, with careful attention to the need for community input into the planning, priority setting, implementation, and evaluation of the partnership activities. The Administrative Core also establishes shared leadership between the participating institutions, an Internal Advisory Committee, and procedures for regular communication and decision making within the partnership. The shared activities of the partnership include pilot research on tobacco and cancer as well as training of new investigators and both graduate and undergraduate students. These research and training activities are integrated and mutually reinforcing, with the ultimate goal of providing the Cherokee Nation with the capacity it needs to pursue independent research in tobacco-related cancer disparities. There are three specific aims: 1) to establish a joint leadership structure, with appropriate administrative support, to ensure the integration of the diverse pieces of the collaborative; 2) in collaboration with Cherokee communities and an Internal Advisory Committee, to conduct a rigorous process of planning, priority setting, implementation, and evaluation for both pilot research and training and education; 3) to work with participants in the Collaborative to establish funding for sustainability for both research and training and education in order to ensure sustainability in the efforts to address cancer disparities at the Cherokee Nation. As a feasibility grant, our major goal is to build the foundation for successful work in the future. The administrative core proposed herein is essential to this effort.
. Partnerships between American Indian communities and universities require vigilant attention to community engagement, power sharing, and open communication. The administrative core of this partnership seeks to provide the infrastructure for this work in the context of cancer disparities.
| Comiford, Ashley L; Rhoades, Dorothy A; Spicer, Paul et al. (2018) E-cigarettes and Tobacco Exposure Biomarkers among American Indian Smokers. Am J Health Behav 42:101-109 |
