Native Research Team student abstracts accepted for APA conference

Students who participate in the Center for Rural Health’s Native Research Team have some celebrating to do. Students submitted abstracts for 10 research posters for the American Psychological Association’s 119th Annual Conference in Washington, D.C.  All were accepted.

The students, a majority of whom are Native American undergraduates, created posters as part of their work with the School of Medicine and Health Science Native Research Team, a group of faculty, staff, and students interested in health-related research with American Indian populations. The posters are part of the Team’s work on a research project that examines if mood disorder assessment tests are accurate for use within Northern Plains tribes.

“We went ten for ten!” said Jacque Gray, who mentors the students. “They’re starting to believe they are doing quality research that has a national significance. My kids are shining.”

Members of the Native Research Team who had posters accepted were:

• Sierra Abe Davis, psychology senior and McNair Scholar from the Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikira Nation
• Sarita Eastman, psychology junior from the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate
• Kyle X. Hill, clinical psychology doctoral student from the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa
• Colleen Kagan, master’s student in clinical psychology
• Erin L. Martin, counseling psychology doctoral student from the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa
• Michael Bull Mudgett, psychology junior from the Spirit Lake Nation
• Melissa Wheeler, psychology senior from the Diné Nation in New Mexico

According to Gray, each student on the Native Research Team is working on their own project, but the overall work is a team process. The Team is a supportive opportunity where members help one another, share resources, and provide feedback to each other.

Students are funded through the Ronald E. McNair Program, the Research Experiences for UND Undergraduates summer research fellowship, and the IDeA Network for Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE) program.
The research project is a study funded by the Native American Research Centers for Health (NARCH) by the National Institute of Drug Abuse and Indian Health Service through the Northern Plains Tribal Epidemiology Center in Rapid City, South Dakota.

For more information on the INBRE grant, visit www.ndinbre.org.

Established in 1980, the Center for Rural Health is one of the nation’s most experienced rural health organizations. It has developed a full complement of programs to assist researchers, educators, policymakers, health care providers and, most importantly, rural residents to address changing rural environments by identifying and researching rural health issues, analyzing health policy, strengthening local capabilities, developing community-based alternatives and advocating for rural concerns.