Christina Andrews

Assistant Professor, Family and Community Medicine - (Research Scholar Track)

Wassaja Ctr for Nat Ame Health, 1

Christina C. Bell Andrews, JD, MPH, MBA, MA

Assistant Professor, Department of Family and Community Medicine
Executive Director, Wassaja Carlos Montezuma Center for Native American Health
University of Arizona College of Medicine - Tucson

Christina C. Bell Andrews, JD, MPH, MBA, MA, is Hia-Ced O'odham ("Sand People") and Yoeme. She is a member of the Tohono O'odham Nation ("Desert People"). She serves as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine and as Executive Director of the Wassaja Carlos Montezuma Center for Native American Health, at the University of Arizona College of Medicine - Tucson. Andrews is a leading voice in Indigenous law, health policy, and Tribal governance, with over 26 years of professional and leadership experience across government, education, and health systems at the Tribal, state, federal, and international levels.

Andrews earned her Juris Doctor degree and Certificate in Federal Indian Law from the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law, at Arizona State University. She also holds a Bachelor's degree in Spanish and Portuguese, a Master's in English, and a Master of Public Health in Policy and Management from the University of Arizona, as well as a Master of Business Administration in International Business from the University of Phoenix. She previously served as a Udall intern in the office of Congressman Raúl Grijalva where she received Congressional Recognition and created a bi-partisan Bill entitled, Native American Suicide Prevention.

Before joining the Wassaja Center in 2023, Andrews served on the University's Community Action Council Committee for the American Indian Research Center for Health, ensuring that Tribal and urban American Indian/Alaska Native communities had meaningful input in program and policy development. She also worked as a site manager for the Child Welfare and Juvenile Law Tribal-State Justice Partnerships program at the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, collaborating with Tribal and State courts on issues including child welfare, juvenile justice, and ICWA implementation. Her earlier roles include service as a Judicial Law Clerk assisting in the creation of Arizona's first Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) Court. She continues to work on cases and policy advocacy on Tribal and federal initiatives.

In August 2025, the U of A's College of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture's Drachman Institute honored Andrews for her significant contributions to the academic year and overall positive impact on students. She was one of 28 community leaders, professionals and partners to receive awards at the inaugural Community Outreach and Impact Celebration earlier this summer.

At the Wassaja Center, Andrews leads an Indigenous-led framework advancing holistic health, community wellness, and self-determination through culturally grounded research and practice. She is the Principal Investigator for multiple national grants, including the Kellogg Foundation initiative to expand and sustain a Native American health workforce and the MacArthur Foundation project aimed at reducing the disproportionate incarceration of Native Americans and strengthening families. She is also a Co-Principal Investigator on a project increasing Native American representation in nursing.

Andrews serves on the National Institutes of Health "All of Us" Research Program advisory panel, the University of Arizona Cancer Center's Community Outreach & Engagement Board, the Pima County Board of Supervisors' Opioid Settlement Committee, the Arizona State & Tribal ICWA Advisory Committee, and the Uniform Law Commission (ULA). She continues to mentor emerging scholars as adjunct faculty at the Mitchell Hamline School of Law and Tohono O'odham Community College.

A respected Tribal leader for nearly two decades, Andrews remains committed to advancing Tribal sovereignty and strengthening Indigenous representation in research and health professions. Her approach—rooted in cultural humility, reciprocity, and advocacy—embodies her belief that "if change is going to happen with our Indigenous families, the Tribes have to be the ones driving the bus."

Research Interest

a. Tribes know research is powerful, and it can harm or help. Unfortunately, history has taught Tribes that research hurts and not to be trusted. Therefore, Tribes have slammed on their breaks when it comes to research and western healing philosophy. This history of unethical research has contributed to a profound mistrust of research among the AI/AN population. This lack of cultural safety and cultural-humility in research limits the integration of understanding between the cultural and contextual Indigenous knowledge frameworks. This understanding is paramount and valuable when working with an AI/AN Community. Without this understanding, progress toward sustainable change is null. The Wassaja Tribal Research Team’s goal is to support diverse researchers whose work seeks to address structural and systemic determinants of health. b. The research priority is to uncovering root causes of health disparities and potential solutions to improve AI/AN health equity and wellbeing. The focus would be placing a Native American lens on research by 1) bridging Indigenous and Western mindsets through cultural humility and 2) identifying strategies that resonate with the AI/AN community to promote cultural safety, protection of Indigenous knowledge, accountability, transparency, and sustainability in research. To make this work, Tribal Nations must be at the table to lead and govern their own research agendas. This framework respects Tribal sovereignty, Self-Determination, cultural grounding, and community-defined measures of well-being. By supporting Tribes in designing, conducting, owning, and applying research that reflects their priorities, we work to ensure that scientific inquiry contributes to self-determined solutions rather than externally imposed interventions.

Offering Research Opportunities

Yes

Prerequisite Courses

None.

Majors Considered

All since most majors deal with Native American Communities.

Types of Opportunities

Paid

Volunteer

For credit

Description of Opportunity

No description given