July 10, 2014

IHART and ISMART Meet in Washington, D.C.

IWRI’s Indigenous HIV/AIDS Research Training (IHART) and Indigenous Substance Abuse, Medicines, and Addictions Research Training (ISMART) programs gathered in Washington, D.C. May 28, 2014, for the 4th Annual Research Institute.

This year, the Research Institute was held in conjunction with the Society for Prevention Research’s 22nd annual meeting, entitled “Comprehensive and Coordinated Prevention Systems: Building Partnerships and Transcending Boundaries.” The focus of the Research Institute was “Perspectives on Research Education in Indian Country.”

Dr. Melissa Walls, ISMART mentor and IHART alumnae, and Dr. Tessa Evans-Campbell, IWRI Co-Director, discussed the challenges and rewards of their academic journeys. Dr. Walls was recently promoted to Associate Professor in the Department of Biobehavioral Health & Population Sciences at the University of Minnesota Medical School at Duluth. Dr. Evans-Campbell is the Director of the School of Social Work’s MSW program, in addition to her work with the IHART and ISMART programs.

The group was also led in a discussion of the responsible conduct of research with American Indian/Alaska Native communities by Dr. Kathy Etz, the Chair of the American Indian and Alaska Native Coordinating Committee for the National Institute on Drug Abuse.  They were joined by IHART faculty and alumni as well as IWRI research staff who were presenting at the SPR conference.

In addition, fellows of the IHART and ISMART program attended sessions of the Society for Prevention Research conference which took place the week of May 27, 2014, in Washington, D.C.