Expanding Horizons: EHS-RISE and NACP Students Share Research at Northern Arizona University

Undergraduate students participating in this summer’s Environmental Health Sciences Research for Indigenous Student Engagement (EHS-RISE) program and the Partnership for Native American Cancer Prevention (NACP) program traveled to Flagstaff, Arizona in July to participate in the 2025 Southwest Transformative Educational Advancement Mentoring (TEAM) Summit. The Southwest Summit meeting was held at Northern Arizona University in collaboration with the University of New Mexico and Burrell College. During the two-day conference, high school undergraduate, and graduate students from each institution including UArizona, engaged in workshops discussing graduate/medical school preparation, professional and personal development. On the final day of the Southwest Summit, undergraduate and graduate students presented their summer research projects in a poster session to faculty, family, and friends, followed by a celebratory award ceremony to mark completion of their summer research programs. 

The EHS-RISE summer program offers resources for Native American and Alaska Native undergraduates majoring in STEM at the University of Arizona to conduct summer research in projects connected to environmental health sciences. Environmental health is an expansive interdisciplinary field that focuses on environmental factors impacting human health using expertise from fields such as biostatistics, toxicology, engineering, and more. At the start of the program, the students are placed in laboratories led by EHS-RISE faculty who are focused on addressing topics involving air quality, environmental restoration, environmental toxicology, or respiratory health. In collaboration with NACP, EHS-RISE students engage in weekly workshops throughout the summer aimed at professional development that builds a strong foundation for scientific research and supports their academic journeys and as future researchers or medical professionals.