Kipiyeecipsakiciipe (Coming Home): How traditional cultural practices may help reduce substance misuse
Official title: Kipiyeecipsakiciipe "coming home": Establishing clinical cultural neuroscience as a tool for understanding the role of traditional cultural engagement in mitigating substance misuse and disorder
Funded at Laureate Institute for Brain Research · NIH-11090570 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project will look at how traditional cultural engagement affects brain patterns linked to substance misuse among American Indian adults.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Laureate Institute for Brain Research NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Tulsa, United States) |
| Project start | July 1, 2023 |
| Project end | May 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $1,179,500 |
| NIH project number | 5DP1DA058986-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11090570 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are American Indian adults aged 21 or older who are willing to work with community partners, share their experiences, and attend study visits including MRI scans.
✕Less likely to help
People under 21, non–American Indian individuals, or those unable to undergo MRI (for example due to certain implants or claustrophobia) may not be eligible or benefit from participation.
What this research studies
You would join a community-partnered project led with the Shawnee Tribe to define what traditional cultural engagement means in local terms. Participants who are American Indian adults would be invited to share experiences, complete behavioral measures, and undergo noninvasive brain scans using multiple neuroimaging methods. The team will compare brain structure and function markers with levels of cultural engagement and substance use to understand possible protective processes. Results will be interpreted and shared with community partners to guide culturally grounded supports.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the work could point to culturally based approaches that protect against substance misuse and help shape culturally relevant supports or treatments for American Indian communities.
How similar studies have gone: Prior work shows culturally grounded programs can lower substance use and neuroscience can detect brain changes after behavioral interventions, but combining clinical neuroscience with traditional cultural engagement in American Indian communities is a novel approach.
Where this research is happening
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Laureate Institute for Brain Research
Tulsa, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: White, Evan James — Laureate Institute for Brain Research
- Study coordinator: White, Evan James
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.