The Center for Native Population Health Disparities is organized into an Administrative Core, a Training Core, and a Shared Resources Core, that includes both a Methods and Measurement Core and a Dissemination and Sustainability Core, and 5 Research Projects, Directorship ofthe Center will be shared by Dedra Buchwald, MD, Professor of Medicine and Director, Partnerships for Native Health, University of Washington, and Jeffrey Henderson (Cheyenne River Sioux), MD, MH, CEO of the non-profit, communitybased Black Hills Center for American Indian Health. Both investigators are nationally recognized for their research and leadership in areas directly relevant to all aspects of this RFA, as well as their ongoing efforts to understand and eliminate health disparities among American Indians and Alaska Native populations. Aligned with the """"""""team science"""""""" approach of this application, the Administrative Core integrates the University's strength in methods, training, and administration with the equally formidable strengths of the Black Hills Center for American Indian Health in community-based participatory research, field work, recruitment, and outreach with diverse Native populations. The Administrative Core will provide direction and support, both day-to-day and long-term, to each of the 5 Research Projects and other Cores. Accordingly, the specific aims ofthe Administrative Core are to: 1) Support the logistical and field operations of each Research Project and Core;2) Stimulate, coordinate, and monitor activities across Research Projects and Cores;3) Supervise implementation of key strategic decisions;and 4) Facilitate program planning and review. The Administrative Core staff will support a broad range of logistical operations, such as scheduling, communication, expenditures, monitoring, and human resources, across all Projects and Cores. An Executive Committee will make key strategic decisions and engage in program planning and review. The latter are conducted in concert with the National Institutes of Health program staff, and our Community Action Board, which is composed of local """"""""experts and stakeholders. Other key Administrative Core personnel at the University of Washington responsible for implementing the logistical tasks will be Janice Sabin, Ph.D., Department of Medical Education and Medical Bioinformatics;Kim Tran, B.A., Program Manager;and Michelle Xan, M.S., Senior Computer Specialist;and at the Black Hills Center for American Indian Health, Patricia Nez Henderson, MD, Vice President, and Sandra Albertson, BA, Director of Grants and Contracts, will assist Dr. Henderson.
The challenges of working with Native communities are not trivial. Few institutions possess the infrastructure on which to build and sustain a program of research on Native health disparities. Stable, continuous, culturally attuned resources are necessary to successfully mount and sustain a program of research under these conditions, carrying it past the intermittent, unforeseen shortfalls in funding that often plague research projects. Our team has the commitment and resources to successfully carry out the work of this Center.
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