Amanda Boyd, PhD, and Denise Dillard, PhD, have assumed leadership of the Institute for Research and Education to Advance Community Health (IREACH) following the retirement of Founding Director Dedra Buchwald, MD, in March of this year. With this transition, they look forward to continuing the research institute’s work advancing community health through partnerships and collaboration.
“As a newcomer to Washington, I am particularly excited about building relationships with Indigenous communities in Washington state and to see IREACH overall expand and deepen work with local tribes,” Dr. Dillard said.
Part of the Washington State University Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine, IREACH promotes health and health care equity among Indigenous, rural, and other underserved populations using interdisciplinary research and education initiatives focused on community-identified needs. IREACH works with American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, and other Indigenous peoples, in particular studying how living in rural places shapes their health disparities.
Drs. Boyd and Dillard bring extensive experience conducting research with Indigenous communities to their roles.
Dr. Boyd is an associate professor in Department of Medical Education and Clinical Sciences and a member of the Métis Nation in Alberta, Canada. She has conducted health communication research with Indigenous communities since 2006, first in Canada and later the U.S. After joining WSU in 2013, she began working with IREACH in 2015 and became co-director in 2022.
A professor in the same department and member of the Inupiaq people, Dr. Dillard joined IREACH in January of 2023 as co-director after a 21-year career as a psychologist and later director of research for the nonprofit Tribal health organization Southcentral Foundation in Anchorage, Alaska.
Seeing firsthand the health disparities Indigenous populations experience spurred both into research careers. They view their role as serving these communities to reduce health disparities and improve the health and well-being of Indigenous people of all ages. They also to aim expand the number of Indigenous peoples involved in research.
The Indigenous cultural value of focusing on the collective over the individual shapes their approach to research and leadership. IREACH prioritizes building relationships with Indigenous communities and engaging them in the research process early on to earn their trust and ensure that the research is designed to address community needs and not just add to researchers’ CVs.
“Community members don’t care if you have a PhD or an MD. They really want to know, do you have a good heart and are you doing this work for the right reason?” Dr. Dillard said.
Heading into a new chapter, the co-directors plan to spend more time on strategic planning for the organization with input from IREACH’s more than 85 faculty, staff, and postdoctoral students—part of a larger goal to reduce hierarchy within the organization.
“At our core we’ve got such an amazing group of faculty and staff,” Dr. Boyd said. “It’s really exciting thinking about what we can do as a group and how we can also better integrate with WSU to partner more with the College of Medicine as well as the other colleges and centers around WSU.”
IREACH administratively joined the College of Medicine in August of 2023. With this change, the co-directors aim to foster more collaborations with other College of Medicine researchers. Being a part of the college also presents a unique opportunity to work with practicing clinicians and MD students to explore their perspective on the health needs of Indigenous communities in Washington.
“We’re excited to be here,” Dr. Boyd said. “We’re really excited about being in the College of Medicine.”