Puneet Sahota, MD, PhD, is an anthropologist and psychiatrist, and has worked with American Indian/Alaska Native communities for over a decade. She is director of research at the National Indian Child Welfare Association (NICWA). At NICWA, she has worked on prevention and cessation of youth tobacco use, practice-based evidence projects, and health curriculum development for Native youth. Prior to coming to NICWA, she worked at the National Congress of American Indians as a research fellow on projects including: tribal research regulation, suicide prevention approaches being used across Native communities, ethical and cultural issues on genetics research in Native communities, and health care policy.
Professional Positions
2002-2003 | Postbaccalaureate Intramural Research Fellow, National Institutes of Health
2009-2010 | Postdoctoral Fellow, National Congress of American Indians
2010-2012 | Senior Research Fellow, National Congress of American Indians
2012 | Visiting Scholar (Anthropology), University of Pennsylvania
2013 | Research Analyst, National Institutes of Health
2013 | Resident Physician (Psychiatry), Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
2013 | Research Associate, National Indian Child Welfare Association
2016-present | Director of Research, National Indian Child Welfare Association
Selected Honors/Relevant State or Federal Committees and Advisory Boards
2015 | American Psychiatric Association (APA)/Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services (SAMHSA) Minority Fellowship
2015 | American Psychiatric Association (APA) Resident Research Scholars Fellowship
Selected Publications
James R, Tsosie R, Sahota PKC, Parker M, Dillard D, Sylvester I, Lewis J, Klejka J, Muzquiz L, Olsen P, Whitener R, Burke W for the Kiana Group. (2014). Exploring Pathways to Trust: A Tribal Perspective on Data Sharing. Genetics in Medicine. May 15, advanced online publication. DOI: 10.1038/gim.2014.47
Sahota PKC, Kastelic S. (2014).Tribally-Based Suicide Prevention Programs: A Review of Current Approaches. Wicazo Sa Review: A Journal of Native American Studies. 29(1):77-99.
Sahota PKC. (2014). Body Fragmentation: Native American Community Members’ Views on Specimen Disposition in Biomedical/Genetics Research. AJOB Empirical Bioethics. DOI: 10.1080/23294515.2014.896833.
Sahota PKC. (2012). Genetic Histories: Native Americans’ Accounts of Being at Risk for Diabetes. Social Studies of Science. 42(6):821-842.
Sahota PKC, Kastelic S. (2012). Culturally Appropriate Evaluation of Tribally-Based Suicide Prevention Programs: A Review of Current Approaches. Wicazo Sa Review: A Journal of Native American Studies 27(2):99-127.
Sahota PKC. (2012). Critical Contexts for Informed Consent: Biomedical Research in a Native American Community. American Indian Culture Research Journal 36(3):1-16.
Sahota, PKC (ed.) (2012). American Indian and Alaska Native Genetics Resource Center. Web-Based Resource Guide, National Congress of American Indians, genetics.ncai.org.
Sahota PKC, Knowler WC, Looker HC. (2008). Depression, Diabetes, and Glycemic Control in an American Indian Community. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry 69:800-809.
Sahota PKC, Alberty K. (2011). What to Do in the Aftermath of a Suicide: Recommendations for American Indian/Alaska Native Communities. Technical Paper, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
Selected Research Support
2015 | Co-Investigator, “Understanding Causal Pathways Between Severe Mental Illness Symptoms and HIV Risk Behaviors,” Penn Mental Health/AIDS Research Center, NIH funded ($2,000)
2015 | American Psychiatric Association (APA) Resident Research Scholars Award ($3,000)
2010 | Contract to Develop “Web-Based Genomics Research Resource for American Indian Communities,” National Human Genome Research Institute ($144,876)
2007 | Dissertation Grant, Wenner-Gren Foundation ($10,288)
2007 | Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant, National Science Foundation ($11,998)