Rasmus will direct UAF's Center for Alaska Native Health Research

November 14, 2018

Stacy Rasmus has been named director of the Center for Alaska Native Health Research at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Institute of Arctic Biology.

Rasmus, CANHR's interim director since January 2018, has worked with American Indian and Alaska Native communities for over two decades. She has built an international program of research focusing on the promotion of indigenous strengths, well-being and resilience in Alaska, the Arctic and the Pacific Northwest.

Rasmus is an expert in the translation of indigenous knowledge and practice into measurable and effective health interventions that are community-driven and culturally centered. She leads research funded by grants from the National Institute of Health, National Science Foundation and federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Together, the grants engage indigenous populations in research and service initiatives to reduce youth suicides and substance use disorders.

Rasmus is a research associate professor at IAB and UAF's College of Rural and Community Development. She joined the faculty in 2009 after receiving her doctorate in anthropology from UAF. She was mentored as a graduate student by CANHR’s founding director, the late Gerald Mohatt.

As CANHR’s new director, Rasmus will endeavor to continue the legacy and successes that CANHR has achieved since its beginning in 2001. She will oversee all research and administrative matters and will focus on promoting the center's mission: “Building relationships and research-based knowledge to improve the health of Alaska Native people."