As she works on her master’s degree in environmental and occupational health, Elena Cabb is helping address the alarming poisoning hazard found in the imported candy that Nevada’s children eat. But she wouldn’t be able to accomplish either without the funding she receives as a graduate assistant.
Cabb is one of more than 6,000 graduate and professional students whose education and service to the community are enhanced by the availability of graduate assistantships and fellowships, which are among the funding priorities for the university’s Invent the Future campaign.
Supporting Research
Such funding accomplishes several university goals at once, says Paul Ferguson, vice president for research and graduate studies. “To continue building UNLV’s reputation as a nationally recognized research university, support of graduate education is vital,” he says.
In exchange for a stipend and tuition reduction, graduate assistants spend 20 hours per week helping faculty with instruction and research. Graduate fellowships are similar to merit-based scholarships; they provide financial support for tuition, research costs, and related expenses.
“Graduate assistants play an indispensable role with faculty, serving as research team members and augmenting classroom learning,” Ferguson says. “Additionally, the GAs themselves benefit from the experience. Serving in this capacity provides them with valuable professional development and enhances their graduate education.”
Environmental science professor Shawn Gerstenberger says that graduate students who receive support typically finish their degrees in half the time that their nonfunded peers do. As the graduate coordinator for the Division of Health Sciences’ School of Public Health and the chair of the Graduate Faculty and Student Issues Committee, Gerstenberger knows that several students chose UNLV because they were offered financial support and the opportunity to be directly involved in research projects.
“Good students are in demand,” he says. “The greatest advantage of private support for graduate scholarships and fellowships is it allows us to recruit and retain the brightest students and provide them a richer learning environment.”
The funding certainly played into Cabb’s decision to come to UNLV after finishing her undergraduate degree at Georgia Southern University. “I chose UNLV because of the graduate assistantship I was offered,” she says. “I have had experience working together with faculty and advisers on projects, and they truly treat me as a professional.”
Filling a Community Need
The assistantship also helps Cabb commit greater time to the research she and fellow graduate research assistants Heather Fels and Tracy Donnelly are doing through the Childhood Lead Poisoning and Prevention Center.
They work with Gerstenberger to provide lead screening and intervention for Nevada children. The goal is to reduce exposure to environmental lead and prevent its long-term devastating effects.
Lead poisoning is a leading cause of learning disabilities and behavioral issues and can cause delays in a child’s neurological development, according to Fels, who is also pursuing a master’s degree in environmental and occupational health.
“Lead is the most preventable form of poisoning in children, so there is no excuse for it,” Fels says. “That’s why it is a public health concern.”
Still, a report from the Center for Disease Control revealed that between 1999 and 2000, 434,000 U.S. children tested positive for lead poisoning. Former research has revealed dangerous levels of lead in paint, gasoline, and jewelry. But UNLV’s exploration focuses on a less likely source: candy.
The graduate research assistants use a digital mobile lead analyzer called an XRF to get an instant analysis of lead content in imported candy found at flea markets, street vendor stands, and ethnic specialty stores around the Las Vegas Valley. “We are testing candies from Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela, and other countries throughout Latin America and plan to compare them to candy made in the U.S.,” Fels says.
Since the project began last spring, more than 4,000 pieces of candy have been examined. Of the more than 100 different types of candy examined so far, 25 tested positive for lead.
The findings will be used by the Clark County Health District to develop a public awareness campaign aimed at parents and children. UNLV will assist the district by providing researchers and equipment like the XRF to investigate additional sources of lead contamination in the community. Further testing with other high-tech gear evaluates other chemical levels, such as mercury.
Private funding not only helps students pursue projects that could serve as their thesis or dissertation, Gerstenberger says, it allows them to serve their communities. The studentresearchers involved in the lead candy project, for example, are vital to helping address the lead poisoning issue in Nevada.
“The lead candy project requires a lot of energy, time, and money. Still, state funding is very limited. The resources just aren’t there to fund every priority.”
More Info: To support graduate assistantships or fellowships, contact the UNLV Foundation at 702-895-3641. For lead prevention project information, contact UNLV’s department of environmental and occupational health at 702-895-5420.
