This new staff member’s path toward health research came at an early age from her love of biology.
As the new laboratory manager for the School of Nursing Applied Biomedical Research Laboratory, Nicole Stephens looks forward to working with students and faculty.
Why UNLV?
I love working in an academic environment! I enjoy seeing and supporting students’ scientific curiosity, and I believe that the best way to achieve novel breakthroughs is through interdisciplinary collaboration. UNLV’s goal to become a Top Tier university is very exciting, and the visionary plans of UNLV leaders promise many impactful and important new developments to come.
Your career before UNLV
I was fortunate to literally work “from bench to bedside” along my career path, from pre-clinical toxicology and cellular/molecular lab research to HPV vaccine clinical trials. I transitioned to cancer center administration with responsibility for regulatory compliance for hundreds of oncology clinical trials, to help gain approval of new therapies while ensuring patient safety. It’s exciting to continue support of health research here in the School of Nursing Applied Biomedical Research Laboratory. I look forward to assisting with new ventures in clinical research education as well.
A time in your life you were daring
After losing close friends and family to cancer, I took a two-year hiatus, leaving my research and grant administration position at a National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center. Building on my love of photography, I attended film crew school, later working as a set dresser, props assistant, and production coordinator for the bustling film and TV production industry in New Mexico. It was daring to become an independent contractor in a new field, but a fun and worthwhile experience.
The biggest misconception about your field
In clinical trial research, the biggest misconception I face is the notion that “big pharma and researchers don’t really want to cure” cancer and other diseases, and that everyone involved is only interested in financial gain. Many believe that there is a “silver bullet” treatment that could cure most or all cancers, but which is being withheld from public access solely to keep profits flowing for a select few, while denying patients effective care.
Inspiration for getting into your field?
Growing up in a beautiful, wooded town in New York state, my love of biology grew through exploring beautiful forests, streams teeming with life forms, and spending time on a nearby family farm. I was also inspired by a “highly animated” high school biology teacher and my college histology professor, where I first conducted research experiments on single-celled organisms.
Tell us about your hometown.
My hometown is Somers in Westchester County. It was home of the American circus, where PT Barnum and H. Bailey lived. A beautiful small town just 60 minutes away from Manhattan — wooded, with streams, forests, lakes, and wildlife.
Something people would be surprised to learn about you
I was a member of a hot air balloon crew for seven years, flying the “Freebird” at the annual Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta — and literally towed the still-inflated balloon and gondola by hand over cactus-filled ravines one year. The winds had carried us onto a Native American reservation where crew trucks were not allowed, and it was the only way out!
The last book you couldn't put down, show you binge-watched, or band you kept on replay.
The last show I binge-watched was an award winning, seven-part Netflix series set in an 1800s New Mexico mining town inhabited solely by women entitled Godless. I watched it a second time because I worked as a set dresser on the series before I left New Mexico and wanted to relive that amazing experience.
Which is worse, the winter ordeal or the Las Vegas summer heat?
Having lived in beautiful New York state and the high desert in New Mexico, snowy winters were wonderful, but I’ve had my fill of them. Las Vegas summer heat is well worth it because the rest of the year’s weather is so incredible here. It’s like permanently being on vacation.
