Della Keats is a four (4) week, residential program for high school students on the
UAA Anchorage campus. This program is fully funded, including travel, food, and accommodations.
Students will experience university residential life, complete health science-related
pre-college coursework, carry out health-related research projects, and complete at
least four different medical or health care professional job shadows.
Named after Della Keats, an Alaska Native Inupiaq traditional healer from the Kotzebue
region. Della Keats provided both educational and medical services to her people throughout
her life, and believed strongly in the importance of expanding, maintaining, and sharing
medical knowledge in ways that would benefit both Alaska Native people and the broader
Alaskan community. The Della Keats Program is administered by the UAA WWAMI School of Medical Education (Alaska WWAMI).
Dr. Jean Snyder’s career in family medicine has spanned decades, continents, and nearly every corner of patient care. Now, after years of serving communities across Alaska and beyond, she has been recognized as the Alaska Family Physician of the Year by the Alaska Academy of Family Physicians.
Division of Population Health Sciences Associate Professor Dr. Britteny Howell recently published two new studies that investigates the relationship between aging and mental health. Her research seeks to explore gaps in existing literature about how the experience of aging is shape by factors like social context, culture, activities, beliefs, environment, and more.
Dr. Corrie Whitmore, an associate professor in the Division of Population Health Sciences, and her team at UAA’s Center for Behavioral Health Research and Services are celebrating the recent publication of a new article. The paper, which was published in the Dec. 2025 issue of Nursing for Women’s Health, offers a framework and actionable strategies for nurses to improve communication and patient experience in discussions around substance use and contraception.
School of Social Work Assistant Professor Amana Mbise and ISER Research Assistant Professor Nathan West are exploring the relationships that Black barbershops play in men's health. Their community-based research prioritizes the lived experiences of the men they talk to, and is revealing how barbershops function not just as grooming spaces, but as social and cultural hubs.
As a neonatal nurse practitioner at Providence Alaska Children’s Hospital and adjunct faculty member for the UAA School of Nursing, Doctor of Nursing Practice alumna and graduate student hooding ceremony speaker for the fall Class of 2025 Stacy Brunquist weaves education into everything she does — training new caregivers, guiding parents learning to care for their newborns, and sharing knowledge with professionals from Utqiaġvik to Sitka.