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DEADLINE: December 15, 2017 The Indigenous Wellness Research Institute National Center of Excellence, School of Social Work, University of Washington, is pleased to issue a call for eligible applicants for the 2018 cohort of the Indigenous HIV/AIDS Research Training Program 2 (IHART2). The IHART2 program is seeking a diverse pool of qualified academic and community…

The Indigenous Wellness Research Institute National Center of Excellence continues its tradition of community-based participatory research with the recent funding of Healing Seasons: Pathways to Our Heart, Mind, Body, and Spirit. Healing Seasons is a research project funded by the National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities under grant number R01 MD 011574 and…

IWRI was honored to host our whanau (family) from Aotearoa (New Zealand) twice this past year. In May of 2017, ten members of the Te Kotahi Research Institute (at the University of Waikato), Te Māngai Paho (Wellington, NZ) and the University of Auckland, along with a regional director of the Kamehameha Schools in Hawaii, visited…

Several staff members represented IWRI this fall at the Annual General Meeting of the Canadian Aboriginal AIDS Network (CAAN) held in Calgary, Alberta, September 25-28, 2017. As members of the CAAN-directed HIV/AIDS Indigenous Knowledge Translation working group for the past year, Meg Meneghel MacDonald and Leo Egashira participated in pre-conference meetings with 16 other attendees…

We are thrilled to share with you the news that, pending approval of the UW Board of Regents, Dr. Michael Spencer will be joining the School of Social Work as professor, and the Indigenous Wellness Research Institute (IWRI) as Director of Native Hawai’ian, Pacific Islander and Oceanic Affairs. Mike’s passion for social justice, his commitment…

Val Kalei Kanuha is the UW School of Social Work’s new Assistant Dean of Field Education. In a recent conversation, she describes herself as a “returnee” because she is a PhD graduate of the School. Shortly after graduating from the UW SSW in 1997, Kanuha moved to her home state of Hawai’i to take her…

The Vr2L 2Spirit project is a culturally grounded, online HIV prevention intervention for Native American men who have sex with men(MSM). The intervention facilitates positive sexual health behaviors and promotes HIV risk harm reduction strategies. We are actively recruiting participants nationally to test the private Vr2L 2Spirit Island within Second Life® (a free, 3D virtual…

Editor’s Note: The stop-work order of the Dakota Access Pipeline in December 2016 may be a “victory,” albeit perhaps a temporary one given the changing political climate. The argument and support IWRI expressed in September 2016 are just as valid and perhaps even more crucial in 2017 and beyond. — Indigenous teachings teach us that…

In late fall 2016, IWRI veteran and Indigenous Substance Abuse, Medicines, and Addictions Research Training (ISMART) Program Director Anastasia Ramey assumed another position with the UW School of Social Work. She is now Program Coordinator with the Northwest Leaders in Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment Program. The mantle of ISMART Director has been…

Following graduation in June 2016, Emma Elliott-Groves accepted a position as an assistant research professor at Partnerships for Native Health through Washington State University. Emma will continue her work in the area of Indigenous suicide as she will be working on a strengths-based suicide prevention trial in four tribal nations in the United States. Most…