Join a virtual science café on April 18 at 5:30 p.m. as part of the Nebraska Science Festival. Regina Idoate, PhD, and Aislinn Rookwood, of UNMC, will present “Indigenous Cancer Research Education for Environmental Justice.”
This cafe will share how a National Cancer Institute-funded research education program centers Indigenous STEM pedagogy, practices and resources to advance cancer education through an environmental justice framework.
Dr. Idoate is an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma and an associate professor of health promotion in the UNMC College of Public Health. She has a PhD in preventive and societal medicine, master’s degrees in Spanish Language and Culture & Christian Spirituality and a graduate certificate in Maternal and Child Health. Dr. Idoate loves to collaborate across disciplines, colleges and cultures. She specializes in Indigenous research methods and works in partnership with public schools, non-profit organizations, academic institutions, communities and tribes to promote health and wellness.
Rookwood is a mother of two and public health specialist who grew up in between Polson, Montana, and Phoenix, Arizona. She is an assistant professor in the UNMC Department of Health Promotion in the college of public health. She also serves as the director of programs for CityMatCH. In the UNMC College of Public Health, she is the program manager for a research pathways program for underrepresented students. Her interests are focused on understanding how to better address children’s environmental exposures across the lifespan through community-engaged research, research workforce development and primary care.