Partnering with communities to improve Native health
After completing his MPH, Jeffrey, who is Lakota and an enrolled member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, moved to western South Dakota to address the underlying determinants of health in American Indian communities. He founded and now leads the Black Hills Center for American Indian Health, through which he has championed scientific research in tribal communities and provided research mentorship for American Indian and Alaska Native investigators. The center has led community participatory efforts that have successfully promoted smoking cessation, better characterized cancer risk, addressed environmental disparities and examined traditional Lakota healing. Also a physician, Jeffrey led a collaborative clinical trial to test strategies for preventing cardiovascular disease among high-risk American Indians, which ultimately led to an important revision in the guidelines for type 2 diabetes management. He has mentored more than 50 American Indian and Alaska Native postdoc trainees through the Native Investigator Development Program, which he himself participated in, and countless other students and junior faculty.
Affiliations: Founder, President and CEO, Black Hills Center for American Indian Health; Assistant Professor, Colorado School of Public Health