Advancing Resource & Research Opportunities in Environmental HealthSciences (ARRO-EHS)”

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PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Salish Kootenai College (SKC) is a top tribal college that provides quality postsecondary education for Native Americans in Montana and across the US. Previous funding has allowed the SKC Life Sciences department to build a nascent Bachelor of Science program with a Cell/Molecular Biology track and most recently an Environmental Health Sciences track. Currently, it is the only program at a tribal college simultaneously offering both of these tracks while emphasizing place-based research experiences for a vastly underrepresented minority population across all scientific disciplines. Support of the current proposal “Advancing Resource & Research Opportunities in Environmental Health Sciences (ARRO-EHS)” will further strengthen an intensive academic and research ecosystem at SKC resulting in more competitive Native American students for advanced degree programs in environmental health sciences. To accomplish this, ARRO-EHS seeks to train up to 15 students over five years with the following aims: 1) ASSOCIATE underrepresented students to an enhanced educational environment using innovative student resource tools, continuous one-on-one mentoring with faculty and peers, and wellness initiatives to promote student engagement, retention, and outreach opportunities to the larger reservation community; 2) ACHIEVE environmental health science-focused and faculty mentored internal undergraduate experiences that utilize High Impact Practices such as competitive student-inspired research projects, CUREs (Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences) infused with novel cultural/traditional tribal knowledge, and a curriculum supplemented with renowned guest speakers in environmental health sciences; and 3) ADVANCE students to graduate programs through external research internships with existing and new Tier-1 partnerships, better preparation for graduate program entry, and an “Indigenous Leaders in Science” workshop to facilitate a diverse work force with confident and capable leaders in the field of environmental health sciences with a unique tribal, environmental, and community perspective.