Developing tribal researchers to improve health in tribal communities: NW narch (narch 14) - overall project summary - developing tribal researchers to improve health in tribal communities: NW narch…

The National Institutes of Health National Human Genome Research Institute awarded the Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board $500,000 on September 1, 2026, under the Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.855) to support the Northwest Native American Research Center for Health (NW NARCH), a tribal-academic partnership designed to develop tribal research capacity and address critical tribal health issues.

NW NARCH operates as a collaborative effort between the Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board, Oregon Health & Science University, and Portland State University, representing 43 federally recognized Northwest tribal communities across Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. The center addresses documented health status gaps between Northwest tribal populations and other groups, including increases in chronic disease conditions over the past two decades. The project supports the development of tribal researchers who possess cultural competency and sensitivity to unique tribal health concerns, fostering trust in research processes and enabling more successful health interventions within tribal communities.

The award period runs from September 1, 2026, through July 31, 2031, with place of performance in Portland, Oregon. The funding seeks to continue and strengthen the existing tribal-academic partnership infrastructure that supports tribal research capacity-building and addresses critical tribal health priorities.

Developing tribal researchers to improve health in tribal communities: NW narch (narch 14) - overall project summary - developing tribal researchers to improve health in tribal communities: NW narch three premises underlie the development of the northwest native american research center for health (NW narch). First, despite longstanding efforts by tribal, federal, and state health care programs, available data show significant health status gaps between NW tribal people compared to other groups. NW tribal leaders are concerned that their health status is getting worse-a fear substantiated by increases in key chronic disease conditions over the past 20 years. Second, while carefully implemented health research can improve community health, many tribal communities remain distrustful because of negative experiences with non- tribal researchers who did not respect community needs or involve tribal members in the research process. Third, health research completed by highly skilled tribal researchers who are sensitive to the cultural and unique health concerns of northwest and other tribal communities can foster trust and lead to more successful research initiatives and interventions, ultimately improving tribal health. We currently lack the critical mass of tribal researchers necessary to accomplish this task. In response, the northwest portland area indian health board (npaihb) established NW narch to form a tribal-academic partnership aimed at improving tribal health through research. With this application, we seek to continue and strengthen this partnership. Represented by the npaihb, the 43 NW tribal communities have a long-standing history of coordinated efforts to improve their health status. Our tribal-academic partnership with oregon health & science university and portland state university has fostered a robust infrastructure designed to build tribal research capacity and address critical tribal health issues. Tribal npaihb delegates and the NW narch community and scientific advisory board have directed US to pursue 2 career enhancement projects and 1 research project. In this application, we propose 1) to continue an enhanced summer research training institute (srti) aimed at developing research skills of tribal health professionals and students from diverse settings 2) to continue the applied biostatistics and data science track (abds) to train tribal researchers with enhanced quantitative skills 3) to implement a youth first responder project focused on tribal 12-year-olds. We trust that we will have a substantial impact on tribal communities by increasing the number of well-trained tribal people who can lead health and biomedical research relevant to the tribes, while also building tribal emergency capacity by training future generations of first responders. Our goals align with the NIH strategic plan for tribal health research FY 2019-2023 and the narch national program.