Dr. Nicolette Teufel-Shone

Dr. Teufel-Shone has an academic background in anthropology and nutrition. She has collaborated with Native American communities primarily in the Southwest for more than 30 years. Her work with community partners has focused on enhancing Native Nations’ capacity to develop effective health promotion programs to reduce chronic disease and to leverage collective resilience to build healthy Nations.

Indian Health Service and the National Congress of American Indians have recognized her commitment and long-term partnerships with Native Nations. Currently, she serves on the editorial board of the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health and is a guest editor for Frontiers in Public Health.

In 2015, Dr. Teufel-Shone was awarded the Fulbright Canada-Norlien Foundation Distinguished Research Chair and Fellowship. In this capacity, she collaborated with the University of Alberta and the Yellowknives Dene of the Northwest Territory on youth’s role in community health and resilience.

Dr. Teufel-Shone has published in the areas of qualitative data collection and analysis, community-based participatory research (CBPR), community-based intervention efficacy and cultural adaptation. She has mentored early stage scholars in partnership development, school and community based intervention design, dissemination and application of research results to inform community health.

Currently, she is an investigator on several federally funded projects.

Southwest Center for Health Equity Research (SHERC):

The goal of the SHERC is to increase basic biomedical, clinical and behavioral research at Northern Arizona University to address health disparities among diverse populations of the Southwestern United States.

Dr. Teufel-Shone serves as the co-director of the Community Engagement Core (CEC) of SHERC. She has led the development of the Community Campus Partnership Support funding mechanism, a small award, providing financial resources for emerging partnerships to travel to each other’s respective sites, attend conferences, discuss complementary interests and skills and develop a grant proposal for external funding.

In addition, she has worked with the CEC team to develop a webinar series featuring community and university partners discussing the challenges, successes and outcomes of their collaborative research. (National Institute of Health (NIH) – National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD).

Navajo Native American Research Center for Health (NARCH) Partnership:

The long-term goal of the Navajo NARCH is build the public health workforce to support Navajo led services and culturally relevant, evidenced based research to support the Navajo Nation’s right to exercise its sovereignty, role and responsibilities to achieve health equity. A primary focus of the Navajo NARCH Partnership is to establish a multi-institutional educational pathway from high school to a bachelor’s in public health (BSPH) to a master’s in public health (MPH).

Dr. Teufel-Shone is co-PI of the Navajo NARCH in collaboration with Diné College. The Navajo NARCH has led the development of Diné College’s BSPH and NAU’s MPH Indigenous Health track. (NIH-National Institute of General Medical Sciences)

Native American Cancer Prevention (NACP):

The mission of NACP is to alleviate the unequal burden of cancer among Native Americans of the Southwest, through research, training and community outreach programs in collaboration with tribal communities.

Dr. Teufel-Shone serves as the Co-director of the Outreach Core. Under her leadership, NACP has supported cancer education and education with Native Nations and most recently is working on a podcast with the Navajo Breast and Cervical Center Program (NIH-National Cancer Institute).

Special Diabetes Program for American Indians (SDPI), Competitive Grant Program:

Dr. Teufel-Shone collaborates with the Hualapai Tribe on the design and implementation of their innovative initiative, Employees Working 4 Health funded though SDPI. The program provides worksite education and interactive opportunities addressing healthy food choices and physical activities, aligned with diabetes prevention and control. Employees are encouraged to share their knowledge with families and peers. (Indian Health Service)

Hualapai Tribal Practice Wellness in Indian Country (TPWIC):

The goal of TPWIC is to promote and revitalize traditional tribal practices that build resilience and connections to community, family, and culture. As community members reconnect with cultural knowledge, they learn ways to increase their consumption of healthy traditional foods and activities, contributing to a healthy lifestyle potentially reducing risk factors associated with chronic disease.

Dr. Teufel-Shone serves as a collaborator and evaluator for Hualapai TPWIC.

Understanding Resilience and Mental Wellbeing in Southwest Indigenous Nations and the Impact of COVID-19:

The long-term goal of this study is to document elements of Indigenous resilience and mental wellbeing that are leveraged effectively in times of adversity, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dr. Teufel-Shone serves as a co-investigator with several other NAU faculty in Health Sciences, Applied Indigenous Studies, Criminal Justice and Education, in partnership with three Native Nations in Arizona.

Building Trust and Awareness to Increase AZ Native Nation Participation in the COVID-19 Vaccine Trials:

The goal of this study is to establish effective, culturally appropriate strategies to enhance participation of Native communities in prevention and treatment of COVID-19, including vaccine trials and future vaccine uptake.

Dr. Teufel-Shone serves as a co-investigator with NAU colleagues in the Departments of Health Sciences, and Chemistry and Biochemistry, in partnership with several Native Nations in Arizona.