GRAND FORKS, N.D. –Melanie Nadeau and Amanda Young were recently honored with 2015 Alan Allery Awards. The awards honor outstanding American Indian graduate and undergraduate student health researchers. Selection criteria for the awards include quality, impact and significance of the research conducted by the nominee.
Melanie Nadeau is the 2015 Alan Allery Graduate Award winner. She is in her sixth year in the doctoral program in epidemiology at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health. Nadeau has 13 years of research experience on various projects within the American Indian community. She is a previous recipient of the prestigious Bush Fellowship, the Diversity of Vision and Experiences Fellowship and the University of Minnesota Cancer Disparities Fellowship. Nadeau is an enrolled member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa.
Amanda Young is the 2015 Alan Allery Undergraduate Award winner. She is a senior psychology major at the University of North Dakota. Young’s research interests include mental health, particularly as it pertains to cultural
biases in mental health testing. She intends to pursue a degree in adolescent and family health. Young is from Dunseith, N.D., and is an enrolled member of the Mandan Hidatsa Arikara Nation.
The awards are named in honor of the late Alan J. Allery, Ph.D., a fallen member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa. Actively involved on the UND campus, he was an adjunct clinical assistant professor at the Center for Rural Health, director of the National Resource Center on Native American Aging, and director of Student Health Services. His experience included 30 years of work with American Indian people.
The awards are presented annually as part of the American Indian Health Research Conference in Grand Forks. The conference is sponsored by the UND Center for Rural Health, North Dakota IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence, the Seven Generations Center of Excellence in Native Behavioral Health, and the University of North Dakota Chapter of the Society of Indian Psychologists.
