Researchers at the University of Arizona and Dine College are partnering to try to get more Navajo students into biomedical sciences.
The schools recently were awarded a $1.3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health.
Kathleen Rogers and Roberta Diaz Brinton from UofA and Fred Boyd from Dine College will develop a training program for Navajo students to further their studies in neuroscience.
They say Native Americans make up 0.5% of the workforce in biomedical sciences — the lowest of any minority group.
The students will work with Navajo elders while learning science research methods. The researchers say the approach recognizes that Native American students might have different perspectives in trying to address health disparities.
