UAF RECEIVES $11 MILLION FOR NATIVE HEALTH RESEARCH

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 3, 2001

Fairbanks, Alaska – The University of Alaska Fairbanks has been awarded a grant totaling $11 million over five years to establish an Alaska Native Health Research Center and Center of Biomedical Research Excellence in Alaska. The grant award, funded through the National Center for Research Resources Program of the National Institutes of Health, is intended to develop knowledge about the behavioral, genetic and nutritional factors related to obesity and its relationship to diabetes and heart disease.

Alaska Natives have survived extreme environmental conditions with limited food resources for thousands of years and in spite of a traditional diet high in fat have experienced little obesity, heart disease and diabetes, until recently.
For example, between 1985 and 1999 the rate of increase of diabetes for Alaskan Natives in the Yukon Kuskokwim Delta was 177 percent, according to Yukon Kuskokwim Health Corporation’s Dana Hall. This compares to a rate of increase of 76 percent for all Alaskan Natives/American Indians in the state of Alaska.

"What we’re seeing is that our prevalence for diabetes is still low, but is increasing at an alarming rate," said Hall. "If we were just looking at national data, without comparing it to ourselves, we might not recognize the rate of disease in our people."

Native health officials on the front lines in their communities say Alaska Native research is critical, not only because it’s based on the Alaska Native population, but also because its sets the groundwork for badly needed comparative studies. In a recent screening of Yukon Kuskokwim Delta college freshmen, one-fourth of students had impaired glucose tolerance and could go on to develop type II diabetes.

"Recent acculturation has led to a more sedentary lifestyle, increased alcohol consumption, more smoking and a shift towards a western diet high in carbohydrates," said Bert Boyer, co-principal investigator and researcher with UAF’s Institute of Arctic Biology. "‘Thrifty genes’ could be at work here," Boyer said. "The thrifty gene hypothesis suggests that people in a harsh environment with an unstable food supply enhance their probability of survival by maximizing storage of surplus energy.

"But our genes don’t act alone," added Boyer. "Nutrition and behavior have a role in body weight maintenance which is why the health components of this research are so important."

The Alaska Native Health Research Center also has a nutritional and behavioral focus that will partner with tribal health organization efforts. Kari Hamrick, with the Institute for Circumpolar Health in Anchorage, will conduct research aimed at identifying dietary patterns, nutrient intakes and food sources to improve understanding of the nutritional value of subsistence foods. Kelly Hazel with UAF’s Psychology Department will work with Alaska Natives to identify a cultural understanding of health and wellness. This research will be used to work with communities in reducing the risks associated with increased body weight by improving nutrition and cultural behavioral health. Additionally, Brian Saylor and Carl Hild of UAA’s Institute of Circumpolar Health are collaborators and partners within the center.

"What we have is an opportunity to build an Alaska-based research program with a focus on Alaska Native Health," said Gerald Mohatt, principal investigator with UAF’s Psychology Department. "We will work closely with Native health organizations to identify immediate health needs and concerns in communities and partner in the development of research knowledge and potential prevention strategies."

The proposed research will expand the People Awakening Project’s efforts already underway through a $1.2 million collaborative project with groups of Alaska Natives statewide, helping to chart effective alcohol abuse prevention strategies among at-risk populations focusing on healthy behaviors.

UAF will also be working with a number of scientists and consultants in biomedical research programs at Duke University, Columbia, the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the University of Colorado.

"UAF’s bio-science program is embryonic compared to programs across the country, but we’ve been presented with an incredible opportunity for our program to grow exponentially within a few years," said Mohatt.

Biomedical and health research at the University of Alaska is supported by three other major federal initiatives funded within the past year. The University of Alaska recently received $6 million from NIH to form an Alaska Biomedical Research Infrastructure Network and is participating in the National Science Foundation’s Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research which includes research in integrative approaches to environmental physiology and the Alaska Genomics Initiative, both with biomedical aspects. The NIH/National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Stroke has also funded a Specialized Neuroscience Research Program at UAF.

Participants in the latest NIH research project includes the UAF Psychology Department and the Institute of Arctic Biology as well as UAA's Institute for Circumpolar Health Studies and Yukon Kuskokwim and Norton Sound Native corporations.

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CONTACT: UAF Psychology Professor and Principal Investigator Gerald Mohatt at (907) 474-6415 or e-mail: ffgvm@uaf.edu UAF Biology Professor and UAF Biology Professor and Co-Principal Investigator Bert Boyer at (907) 474-7733 or e-mail bert.boyer@uaf.edu.

CJB/12-3-01/026-02