Community outreach to prevent harmful shellfish toxin exposure
Official title: Knowledge Warding Against Toxin Levels, Community Engagement Core
Funded at Sitka Tribe of Alaska · NIH-11387538 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This program works with Alaska Native and coastal Gulf of Alaska communities to share culturally relevant information that helps people avoid shellfish toxin harms.
Quick facts
| Grant type | P01 program project |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Sitka Tribe of Alaska NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Sitka, United States) |
| Project start | March 20, 2024 |
| Project end | February 28, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $96,731 |
| NIH project number | 5P01ES035551-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11387538 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal participants are residents of Sitka and other Gulf of Alaska tribal and coastal communities, including K-12 students, subsistence shellfish harvesters, and college students seeking marine science experience.
✕Less likely to help
People who live well outside the Gulf of Alaska or who do not harvest or consume local shellfish are unlikely to get direct benefit from this program.
What this research studies
We partner with the Kodiak Area Native Association and the Sitka Tribe to form a Community Voices Panel and create culturally appropriate materials such as fact sheets and infographics. The core will produce uniform K-12 classroom lessons for schools across the Gulf of Alaska and deliver outreach in smaller and remote communities about harmful algal blooms and paralytic shellfish toxins. We will offer hands-on training and online modules to build college-level experiential learning and local marine science career pathways. Local feedback will shape the materials so communities can harvest more safely and reduce toxin exposures.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the program could lower the risk of shellfish toxin poisonings by improving local knowledge and safer harvesting practices.
How similar studies have gone: Community-based education and outreach have reduced toxin exposures in some regions, but tailoring programs specifically for Alaska Native communities and remote villages is a newer approach.
Where this research is happening
-
Sitka Tribe of Alaska
Sitka, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Ellwanger, Grace — Sitka Tribe of Alaska
- Study coordinator: Ellwanger, Grace
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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Shellfish harvesting and eating in Gulf of Alaska communities
This project looks at how people in small Gulf of Alaska communities harvest and eat shellfish and how that relates to risks from paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP).
-
How changing oceans are affecting toxins in shellfish
This project predicts when and where Alaska shellfish will carry dangerous paralytic toxins so coastal and tribal communities can harvest more safely.
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Paralytic shellfish toxin monitoring and testing for Southeast Alaska
This project runs a Sitka lab that tests local shellfish for paralytic toxins and shares results to help Alaska tribal and coastal communities stay safe.
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Protecting Gulf of Alaska communities from shellfish toxins
This project combines shellfish toxin testing and community surveys to help reduce paralytic shellfish poisoning risk for coastal Alaska and Alaska Native residents.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.