Undergraduate Readying for Burgeoning Research for American Indian Neuroscientists

美国原住民（NA）进入科学技术工程和数学（STEM）劳动力队伍的比例是所有种族中最小的。与此同时，这一群体面临着巨大的健康差距，其中许多与大脑健康直接相关。NA社区神经科学相关健康问题的教育和意识涉及三个相互关联的挑战：缺乏与NA社区文化相适应的劳动力，系统缺乏现场生物医学研究能力，以及对西方科学研究和研究人员的严重不信任。拟议的项目侧重于培养NA卫生专业人员和学术研究人员，他们拥有文化能力和社区信任，这是消除STEM领域健康差距和少数族裔代表性的关键因素。在应对这些挑战时，我们首先认识到，许多美国原住民学生从根本不同的哲学角度看待世界和研究世界的方法。与高度还原主义的西方认识论模型相比，传统的NA认识论模型更具整体性和叙事性。重要的是，这些有生命和无生命的实体相互联系和相互依存的模型不应被视为教学缺陷，而应被视为一种天生的力量，可以让这些学生在当前科学知识的复杂心理模型上构建和扩展。与我们在din<s:1>学院的合作伙伴一起，我们开发了一个教育项目，将已建立的最佳教学实践与神经科学研究学习经验相结合。通过将纳瓦霍文化的整体视角与基于科学问题的神经科学方法相结合，我们将推进并丰富这两种视角。本文提出的培训计划旨在为纳瓦霍学生创造一条管道，让他们从din<s:1>学院升入顶级研究型大学的神经科学项目，创造一种基于文化的STEM教育模式，同时增强NIH的劳动力和文化多样性。我们将通过一系列相互关联的目标来实现这一目标。我们的第一个具体目标是在din<s:1>学院和亚利桑那大学之间建立一个合作培训项目。具体而言，我们将专注于发展din<s:1>大学生的神经科学素养，为他们提供专业发展机会和在学术界的归属感。我们的第二个具体目标是建立din<s:1>学院的机构能力，教授神经科学方法和进行独立的科学研究。我们的第三个具体目标是通过与社区长老和以神经科学为重点的公众参与活动的一系列接触，重新建立din<s:1>纳瓦霍人与神经科学界之间的信任。

The number of Native Americans (NA) entering the Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) workforce is the smallest proportion of any ethnicity. At the same time, this group faces tremendous health disparities, with many directly linked to brain health. Education in, and awareness of, neuroscience-related health issues in NA communities involves three inter-related challenges: lack of a workforce culturally attuned to NA communities, systemic lack of capacity for on-site biomedical research, and significant mistrust of western scientific research and researchers. The proposed programs focus on developing NA health professionals and academic researchers who possess both cultural competence and trust from their communities, elements critical to eliminating health disparities and minority representation in STEM fields. In addressing these challenges, we first recognize that many Native American students approach the world and the means to investigate it from fundamentally different philosophical perspectives. In contrast to highly reductionist Western models, traditional NA epistemological models are more holistic and narrative-based. Importantly, these models, in which animate and inanimate entities are connected and interdependent, should not be seen as pedagogic deficits, but rather as an innate strength that may allow these students to construct and expand upon sophisticated mental models of current scientific knowledge. Together with our partners at Diné College, we have developed an educational program that integrates established best pedagogical practices with neuroscience research learning experience. By integrating the holistic perspective of the Navajo culture with the scientific problem-based approach of neuroscience, we will advance and enrich both perspectives. The training program proposed herein is designed to create a pipeline of Navajo students to advance from Diné College to neuroscience programs at top tier research universities, creating a model of culturally grounded STEM education while bolstering NIH workforce and cultural diversity. We will accomplish this goal through a series of interrelated aims. Our first specific aim is to develop a cooperative training program between Diné College and the University of Arizona. Specifically, we will focus on developing the neuroscience literacy of Diné College Students, providing them with professional development opportunities and a sense of belonging within the academic community. Our second specific aim is to build Diné College’s institutional capacity to teach neuroscience methods and conduct independent scientific research. Our third specific aim is focused on re- establishing trust between the Diné Navajo and the neuroscience community through a series of engagements with Community Elders and neuroscience-focused public engagement events.