FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – Students who are part of the Native American Cancer Prevention program, sponsored by the National Cancer Institute, presented their research Aug. 1 at Northern Arizona University.
Back row from left: Tiffani Begay, Lucio Sanchez, Filbert Yazzie, Jeremy Ashley, Tanner Cook, Crystal Yazzie, Alec Perkins, Amber Howard, Adam Bradley. Middle row from left: Jennifer Daw, Winifred Tsosie, Amber Laughter, Mikayla Williams, Roselynda Conn, Courtney Joe, Richelle Thomas. Front row from left: Eleanor Miller, Ashley Young, Monique Tsosie, Denise Brown, Carol Saenz, Netallia Tsosie. Photo/Jani Ingram
Most of the students are participating in a Native American Cancer Prevention program. But there were also students participating from a program called Bridges to Baucalaurette, which the National Institute of Health sponsors and from a National Science Foundation program focused on providing research experiences for undergraduates in environmental science.
The students in the Native American Cancer prevention program are focused on answering the question ‘why does one population seem to suffer more from cancer than another?’ In this case, the students are looking at Native American populations. Once the students answer that question, they look for ways to prevent it from happening. The program’s goal is to work with Native American communities, and many of the student projects deal with an issue that is present on the Navajo or Hopi reservations.
“We’re really trying to grow that interaction between what the communities are interested in in terms of the questions they have and how students could address those,” said Jani Ingram, associate professor of chemistry at NAU. “These are all tribal students working on some of these tribal issues.”