Sixteen School of Dental Medicine faculty and students recently participated in a service mission trip to Bolivia where they treated 30 children and adults who had severe fluorosis. While not common in the United States, fluorosis stains teeth dark green or brown due to extreme flouride levels in drinking water. The seven-day trip, organized by UNLV's Hispanic Dental Student Association, immersed students in a new culture, introduced them to other access-to-care issues, and enabled them to restore their patients' self-confidence by providing healthy smiles. This summer's trip was the second mission sponsored by the student group. 

Women compose more than half of the gaming work force, but very few make it to the very highest levels, which prompted two UNLV professors to study why. They searched for barriers that women might face in the hospitality industry. The glass ceiling is nothing new, but the study by Toni Repetti and Shekinah Hoffman, which included 972 U.S. and Native American casinos, verified that there is gender disparity and silos within the casino industry. Their work is starting important conversations about how and why this is a problem and what can be done.

UNLV researchers have found through ongoing studies that goal setting and recommending specific foods like blueberries and dark-colored vegetables can help pregnant women lower their risk for developing gestational diabetes. This finding is significant because 70 percent of women who have gestational diabetes go on to develop type 2 diabetes within five to 10 years. Regular contact with nurses and nutritionists, specific goal strategies, and nutrition suggestions have proven to be successful in helping at-risk pregnant women avoid gestational diabetes.

As part of the Experience Marketing class in the Lee Business School students must develop a real-world marketing strategy on a tight deadline for a local business. After researching a variety of small businesses, students have only three weeks to work with a client business, develop a marketing plan, logo, website, and video. By the end of the course, students also develop a 25-page report that includes research and customized marketing strategies. Students and businesses benefit.  

In her recent State of the University address, Acting President Marta Meana stressed that students, faculty, and staff are the reasons why the university remains strong and why UNLV Is well on its way to fulfilling its potential. She emphasized the connectivity between student success, research, and the Las Vegas community as the university continues on the path to Top Tier status. Meana, who’s been a professor at UNLV for 21 years, described the progress she’s seen in her time on campus, when enrollment has grown by more than 30 percent. In that period, UNLV has opened a law school, a dental school, a school of community health, and a medical school. In addition, construction is underway on the Harry Reid Research & Technology Park that will add thousands of jobs to the regional economy.