NCRE Scholars Program
The Native Children’s Research Exchange (NCRE) brings together researchers studying child development from birth through emerging adulthood in Native communities. NCRE provides opportunities for the open exchange of information and ideas and for building collaborative relationships and disseminating knowledge about Native children’s development. Mentoring the next generation of scholars is central to NCRE’s mission.
Since 2012, NCRE Scholars has provided career development support to late stage doctoral students, individuals in postdoctoral training programs, and early career investigators interested in pursuing research on substance use and disorder and Native child and adolescent development. NCRE Scholars has supported 37 Scholars to date, including 21 doctoral students, 6 postdoctoral trainees, and 10 early career investigators. Through its conference-based NCRE stars (Students Thinking about Research CareerS) program, NCRE Scholars has supported nearly 40 additional early stage researchers.
The NCRE Scholars program is currently supported by grants from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (R25DA050645 – Whitesell and Sarche, MPI and R25DA061492 – Ivanich and Sarche, MPI).
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Featured Scholars | July 2026
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Helen Russette, PhD (Cohort 8)
In December, Scholar Helen Russette (Cohort 8) participated in the Partners for Advancing Health Equity (P4HE) Summit in Montgomery, Alabama. Along with fellow HES4A Scholar Damian Chase-Begay, Helen facilitated small group discussions where participants shared testimonies, strategies, and success stories from their work. Helen will serve as a co-author on one of three forthcoming “Letters to the Field” to summarize what is and is not working in public health and to catalyze change. Three themes will be highlighted: 1) critique and confrontation of practices that harm communities, 2) strategies and wins offered by contributors, and 3) hope and love for the field. Once published, we look forward to sharing the letters. Meanwhile, please join us in celebrating Helen’s contributions to this important work!