Tribal Affiliation: Blackfeet
Graduate Level/Program: Doctoral—Individualized Interdisciplinary Program
Research Focus: Meredith’s interests are mainly in math and science education. Her research is directed towards developing mathematical models of thermophile host-virus systems. While pursuing a research project in microbiology and mathematics, she is also developing age-appropriate lesson plans for generating K-12 student interest in the sciences and math using Astrobiology as a means to integrate concepts in biology, math, physics, and chemistry.
Tribal Affiliation: Assiniboine
Graduate Level/Program: Master’s—Biochemistry and Biophysics
Research Focus: Jackson is very passionate about computational physics, and wants to use computational techniques to gain information on receptor proteins, such as G-protein-coupled receptors, so that a better understanding of their dynamics can be gained for the purpose of aiding the development of more advanced therapeutics. He wants to see the world, but eventually wants to work at the tribal college on his reservation in order to get more native students enthusiastic about science and engineering.
Tribal Affiliation: Cow Creek Band of the Umpqua
Graduate Level/Program: Master’s—Organismal Biology and Ecology
Research Focus: Kelly worked on restoring a portion of the North Fork of the Blackfoot River by replanting native surveys and fish identification. She has worked as a salmonid ecology field researcher in northwestern British Columbia on the Salmonid Rivers Observatory Network Project on the Skeena and Kiplope rivers. Kelly worked with her advisor, Professor Jack Stanford, at the Flathead Biological Research Station on Flathead Lake until the summer of 2010. She is currently in Oregon working with The Pacific Rivers Council.
Tribal Affiliation: Blackfeet
Graduate Level/Program: Doctoral—Individual Interdisciplinary Program
Research Focus: The focus of Vernon’s research will be to implement an intervention on the Blackfeet reservation in an attempt to increase physical activity amongst Native American youth. Vernonhopes to focus his efforts in a career that will allow him the autonomy to work with populations on increasing physical activity and decreasing sedentary lifestyles.
Tribal Affiliation: Blackfeet
Graduate Level/Program: Doctoral—Neuroscience
Research Focus: Katie’s focus is the pathology associated with cellular pathways focusing on the cellular models of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and stroke. Upon completion of her doctoral work at The University of Montana, she would like to continue as a post-doc to work on G-protein-coupled receptors. Eventually, she would like to fund her own lab at a secondary educational institution where she would be able to return to teaching while continuing her research on neurodegenerative diseases.
Tribal Affiliation: Salish/Kootenai
Graduate Level/Program: Master’s—Geography
Research Focus: Geography Information Systems and Cartography.
Tribal Affiliation: Salish
Graduate Level/Program: Doctoral—Biomedical Sciences
Research Focus: Josh’s interests are in the characterization of viruses. Josh is particularly interested in lentivirus and oncovirus systems. He is also interested in the modeling of host-virus interactions, in an effort to better understand emergent infectious viral diseases. Josh will be working on the characterization of Vesicular Stomatitis Virus expressing Filovirus Glycoproteins in Hamsters after Cell Depletion. He would like to continue to live and learn in Montana and plans on maintaining close ties with the Native American Research Labs at the University of Montana.
Tribal Affiliation: Gros-Ventre
Graduate Level/Program: Master’s—Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences
Research Focus: Chelsea’s research project is aimed at creating a multi-disciplinary program that is structured to conduct pharmacogenetic research in American Indian and Alaska Native and rural Pacific Northwest populations to determine and implement appropriate responses to national recommendations involved in improving therapeutic efficacy and safety of these populations. Through this multi-disciplinary program, we hope to identify drug disposition and response gene variation in American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) populations. The goal is to discover and characterize genetic variation that contributes to the disposition and pharmacological response of three drugs (warfarin, tamoxifen, and tacrolimus) in AI/AN populations. She would like to pursue a career in Public Health that is involved in the policy-making aspect of Tribal Healthcare. Chelsea’s interests lie in the progressive movement towards developing culturally relevant tribal health systems that address existing health disparities among American Indian and Alaska Native populations.
Tribal Affiliation: Dińe Nation
Graduate Level/Program: Master’s—Forestry
Research Focus: Being developed.
Tribal Affiliation: Mandan/Hidatsa
Graduate Level/Program: Master’s—Interdisciplinary Studies
Research Focus:
Tribal Affiliation: Hidatsa
Graduate Level/Program: Doctoral—Forestry
Research Focus: Ruth’s research focuses on Indigenous knowledge systems and the process of their integration into mainstream education and political systems.
Tribal Affiliation: Rosebud Sioux
Graduate Level/Program: Master’s—Forestry
Research Focus: Being developed.
