EVAN CARAVELLI/Arizona Daily Wildcat Dr. Yvette Roubideaux was recently named Indian Physician of the Year for her work researching the causes of diabetes in American Indians.

The Association of American Indian Physicians unanimously named Dr. Yvette Roubideaux Indian Physician of the Year, saying she was long overdue for the award for her tireless research with American Indians suffering from diabetes.

"Giving the award to Dr. Roubideaux was a way for our members to recognize her for her contributions to the improvement of Indian health," said Margaret Knight, executive director of the AAIP.

The award, which has been given out since the inception of the AAIP 33 years ago, is the first received by a UA physician in recent memory, Knight said.

The AAIP is dedicated to pursuing excellence in American Indian health care by promoting education in medical disciplines, honoring traditional healing practices and restoring the balance of mind, body and spirit, according to the AAIP Web site.

"We are very proud of the advances we've made in the lives of Native American communities," Knight said.

Roubideaux, a researcher at the College of Public Health and College of Medicine, said winning the award an also being recognized by her peers in AAIP meant a lot to her as a researcher.

"It's really important to me," she said. "I remember being a medical student and seeing other Indian physicians win this award, thinking, 'Wow that's really great. That would be nice to win someday,'" Roubideaux said.

Roubideaux, who's been part of AAIP for about 15 years, said winning the award was a bit of a shock, but said it was even more special because there are 300 members in the organization across the country.

"I was surprised I won the award so early in my career," she said.

Roubideaux is also a physician, but is focused on research and education related to diabetes affecting American Indians.

Roubideaux said the work she does is very fulfilling because it's focused on trying to improve quality of care for people so that they can become healthier and live a good life.

"Diabetes is a serious problem for American Indians," she said. "They have the highest rate of diabetes in the world, and my research focuses at looking at the quality of diabetes within the American and Alaskan Indian population."

"I noticed the quality of health care wasn't as good as what other people were getting for health care," Roubideaux said. "So, it's always been a goal of mine to try to improve the quality of care for American Indians."

Roubideaux said that American Indians believe that getting diabetes is inevitable and they'll acquire the disease no matter what, because their parents or grandparents had it.

However, Roubideaux said, it's possible to prevent getting diabetes and suggests that people eat healthy foods with low fat and calories and exercise regularly.

"Just because your parents had it doesn't mean you'll get it," she said. "If you exercise and eat well, you have the opportunity to prevent diabetes."

Roubideaux helped establish the American Indian youth "Move it!" campaign at UA, which helps fund American Indian schools to educate students about diabetes and the importance of physical activity to help alleviate the chances of getting the disease.

"Last year we funded 10 schools; this year we're funding nine schools," Roubideaux said.

Roubideaux's peers around campus view her as a great asset to the UA for her tireless work and dedication.

"The work she has done has been outstanding," said Linda Don, director of minority affairs for the Arizona Health Science Center. "She's a marvelous role model for any student in public health."

Don said she has learned a lot from Roubideaux about "grantsmanship" by bringing in outside resources into UA by way of grants and money to help maintain programs around campus.

Naomi Young, a non-degree seeking graduate student, said that Roubideaux is a great role model by instilling a lot of confidence into her students.

"She's very personable and treats every individual separately with individual needs," Young said. "Everyone has that individual attention which makes the learning environment very warm and friendly."

Young added that Roubideaux has been a sort of mentor to her for the past couple of years because of her effective teaching style and personality.

"She's a great role model for anyone to look up to by remaining humble from coming from a humble background," Young said.

Raysenia James, a molecular and cellular biology senior, also views Roubideaux as a mentor, because she said it's inspiring to see a female American Indian doctor going above and beyond the call of duty with her research and work.

James said she learned much from Roubideaux and hopes to pursue a career in public health working with American Indians.

"If she can do it, then so can I," James said. "Her work will not only affect me, but future generations as well. She helped pave the path for me."