Knowing What We Eat: Reducing Contaminant Exposure Through Local Lakeside Foods for Anishinaabe Communities
Official title: Gegoo myaajyang gkendmang (Knowing what we eat): Reducing Exposure to Dietary Contaminant Mixtures by Supporting Great Lakes Subsistence Food Programs
Funded at Medical College of Wisconsin · NIH-11443358 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A Native-focused project will help Anishinaabe communities reduce exposure to harmful contaminants by guiding choices about local and subsistence foods.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Medical College of Wisconsin NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Milwaukee, United States) |
| Project start | August 1, 2026 |
| Project end | July 31, 2031 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $706,420 |
| NIH project number | 1R01ES039042-01 |
| Project ID | NIH-11443358 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal participants are Anishinaabe individuals and households within the Great Lakes region who regularly consume local and subsistence foods.
✕Less likely to help
Participants not engaged in local dietary practices or outside the 11 ITCMI tribes may see limited benefit.
What this research studies
This project partners with Great Lakes Anishinaabe tribes to map what people eat and measure chemical exposures in traditional foods like wild rice, venison, fish, and berries. It will adapt a mobile app that gives culturally appropriate recipes, seasonal guides, and personalized tips to reduce contaminants. A stepped-wedge trial with 300 participants across 11 tribes will test whether these changes improve environmental health literacy and dietary choices over a year.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, families could eat safer, culturally meaningful foods with lower contaminant exposure and improved health outcomes.
How similar studies have gone: Prior work has shown that tailored dietary guidance can reduce exposure to environmental contaminants in specific communities.
Where this research is happening
-
Medical College of Wisconsin
Milwaukee, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Dellinger, Matthew J — Medical College of Wisconsin
- Study coordinator: Dellinger, Matthew J
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.