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As someone who once worked as a sous chef, Candace Burton can speak with authority on one particularly old saying. More specifically, its validity.

“There’s a difference between ‘too many cooks in the kitchen’ when you’re trying to run a restaurant kitchen and when you’re trying to make dinner for your family,” she says. “When you’re running a restaurant kitchen, you need a whole lot of people doing a bunch of different things at the same time, while all moving toward a common goal.”

What exactly does this have to do with Burton’s position as director of doctoral education in UNLV’s School of Nursing? Not much.

What does it have to do with a big reason she was lured to UNLV from the University of California, Irvine? Everything.

Burton came here to be part of a team doing interdisciplinary research related to addictions. She serves as liaison for that team, which is one of eight research development areas recently created by the university’s Division of Research.

“When you’re trying to develop a new area of research, you need the exact same thing a restaurant kitchen needs: a whole lot of people doing many different things — things that each person has expertise in — and doing them in close proximity to one another,” Burton says. “By doing that, you not only learn from each other, but you find ways to expedite the process so that you produce a product that actually works — just like in a restaurant kitchen.”

Therein lies the rationale behind a growing trend in higher education that’s colloquially known as “cluster hiring.”

The basic idea: Forgo the traditional practice of hiring faculty one by one, and instead recruit small groups of professors who possess expertise in different-but-connected fields. Then put those professors to work, encouraging each to leverage their skills in a collaborative setting to research solutions to complex societal problems — particularly those affecting local, state, and regional communities.

Having vetted the merits of this increasingly popular approach to conducting difference-making university-level research, UNLV’s administration dove into the cluster hiring waters about five years ago. That’s when funds were allocated for what has been branded as the UNLV Interdisciplinary Research Development Areas (or iRDAs).

With support from the Division of Research, each of the eight iRDAs brings together faculty from seemingly disparate departments to tackle many of the physical, mental, sociological, and environmental challenges prevalent throughout Las Vegas, the state of Nevada, and the greater Southwest.

For example, the Sustainability in Arid Lands iRDA comprises the colleges of Engineering, Sciences, and Urban Affairs, while researchers from Engineering, Business, and Public Health joined forces to form the AI and Big Data cluster.

Together, each team member is committed to advancing the same goal: clear out obstacles to pave the way for a better, brighter, more successful future for mankind.

“If I have a broad-context problem, I need broad contextual understanding from multiple disciplines to solve that problem,” says David Hatchett, who helped develop the iRDA initiative and is now vice president of the Division of Research. “So all we’re really doing is providing a scaffold for these iRDAs to do that — to come together as a group and, through different perspectives, provide individual expertise to holistically solve more complex problems.”

The scaffold that Hatchett referenced? It required reinforcements to ensure its long-term stability. Hence the reason that the big-ticket item in the iRDA initiative was funding for 18 “cluster hires” to be spread across the interdisciplinary areas.

So far, 16 of the faculty positions have been filled, with most arriving on campus by fall 2022 (including Burton). These additions to the UNLV family have already begun establishing protocols for their teams, collaborating on research, and writing grant proposals.

This early work has been essential to getting the program off the ground. Though now is a good time for an important clarification: UNLV is not a new player in the interdisciplinary research game. In fact, cross-department collaborative research — the kind that lands significant grant awards — has been happening on campus since long before the iRDA concept was conceived.

To that point: Past collaborations to secure grants as a Minority Serving Institution (MSI) and Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) have given rise to the MSI iRDA.

“That interdisciplinary MSI group had been working on its own with little support beyond the deans of their schools,” Hatchett says. “So we pulled them in.”

Since interdisciplinary research was previously happening at UNLV, one might ask: “So what’s different now?” Answer: A formal structure that gets as many like-minded faculty members as possible to settle into a larger boat, then all row in one direction.

“You can’t build an entire interdisciplinary research initiative off of two or three faculty,” notes Gwen Marchand, associate vice president in the Division of Research. “To foster and incubate ideas that are then going to grow, you need larger, more collaborative teams.”

Which is why there’s more to the iRDA initiative than the cluster-hiring approach. A framework also was created to bring into the fold existing faculty.  

“In some cases, the new hires immediately gelled with one another, and in other instances, they actually aligned better with existing faculty,” Marchand says. “That enabled us to create larger groups that might then form the basis for each iRDA.”

As for how the main components of the initiative came together — from establishing the focus areas to assembling the teams — that, too, required some collaboration. Only it happened at the deanship level.

Once the concept was devised and funded, the ball was passed to UNLV’s deans, who were asked to identify their specific research strengths and how to leverage those strengths from an interdisciplinary perspective. Then after the first seven research areas were established, discussions commenced regarding which colleges would best work together to maximize each iRDA’s potential.

“It’s all from the context of building research expertise,” Hatchett says. “For example, health education encompasses social science, medical science, biological science, molecular science, epidemiology — all of these different areas can intersect in many different ways. So what you’re trying to do is say, ‘How do we bring together a group of researchers who complement one another so they can go after much broader research problems?’”

Introducing the Teams

The Division of Research at UNLV exists to help the brightest minds in academia expand their scholarship through deep-dive studies that investigate solutions to society’s many complex problems. To elevate this important work, UNLV — an R1 research institution — created the Interdisciplinary Research Development Areas (iRDA) initiative.

The initiative brings together new and existing faculty to collaborate in eight areas that are of particular interest to UNLV, Las Vegas, the state of Nevada, and/or the Southwest region.

Sustainability in Arid Lands

Collaborating team: Greenspun College of Urban Affairs; Howard R. Hughes College of Engineering; College of Sciences

Overview: Whether it’s preserving precious resources like rapidly declining Lake Mead or combating ramifications of the increasingly intense heat-island effect, tackling the multi-pronged plight of desert sustainability requires a multi-pronged approach.

In this iRDA, scholars from the STEM field join forces with social scientists to develop innovative approaches to shaping sustainability-related public policy.

Aging and Health Disparities

Collaborators: School of Integrated Health Sciences

Overview: Southern Nevada’s population has exploded in recent decades. An eventual byproduct of that boom: Large numbers of senior citizens needing access to quality physical and cognitive health care. Enter teams of scholars from the Department of Brain Health, who are exploring such topics as neuroscience, aging, and health inequalities within both urban and rural communities.

The goal of this iRDA: Unearth a wide range of outcomes to optimize the health of all seniors — regardless of their socioeconomic situations.

AI and Big Data

Collaborating team: Howard R. Hughes College of Engineering; Lee Business School; School of Public Health

Overview: In the age of advanced technology, the fields of artificial intelligence and big data go together like cheeseburgers and fries. And the AI/big data combo is evident throughout Southern Nevada, from a bustling technology corridor southwest of the Las Vegas Strip to the dozens of resorts situated in the heart of the Entertainment Capital of the World.

So it makes sense for faculty members with STEM-centric engineering and business backgrounds to merge with public health colleagues. They are investigating advances in computing that intersect with the burgeoning world of AI — and how that intersection impacts the human condition (both now and in the future).

Creative Media, Entertainment, and Cultural Industries

Collaborating team: College of Fine Arts; Lee Business School

Overview: Las Vegas has long been recognized as an entertainment and media empire unto itself. In recent years, that empire has expanded with the additions of major professional sports franchises, state-of-the-art performance venues, and film production companies (among other examples).

So how can the city best leverage its heightened entertainment and media profile? A team of fine arts and business researchers has been tasked with finding the answer.

The ultimate objective: Solidify the state of Nevada (and specifically Las Vegas) as the place where professionals in such broad-based fields as business, film, and education can thrive within this emerging industry.

Neuroscience

Department: College of Sciences

Overview: The human body is comparable to a vehicle in that it’s composed of a whole lot of parts, all of which must work in sync or the entire thing is at risk of shutting down.

As such, the nervous system is equivalent to a car’s ignition: If it’s not firing, the body’s not moving. So it’s no wonder that the diverse and complex field of neuroscience has been a hotbed of extensive, multidimensional scientific research in recent years — including at UNLV. Now the university is taking that research a step further, bringing together various disciplines from within the College of Sciences to further explore everything from basic neuronal function to behavioral, cognitive, and neurological/psychiatric disorders.

Addictions 

Collaborating team: College of Liberal Arts; School of Nursing; School of Public Health

Overview: Las Vegas has been synonymous with vice since long before the first neon light was illuminated. Unfortunately, some who engage in the various vices that are plentiful in Sin City (and beyond) struggle to do so in moderation, with many such folks eventually spiraling into addiction.

In this iRDA, faculty with strong research backgrounds in psychology, occupational and environmental health, and trauma-informed care are collaborating on new approaches to prevention and treatment practices for those dealing with a variety of addiction-related disorders, including alcohol, drugs, gambling, and sex.

MSI

Collaborating team: College of Education; Division of Student Affairs

Overview: This interdisciplinary team collaborated extensively even before the iRDAs were formally established. The past and current mission: Search for Minority Serving Institution (MSI) and Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) grant opportunities that correspond with a university objective to boost student retention and graduation rates — and heighten community outreach — in the STEM fields.

The grand, cyclical plan? Obtain grant funding; use it to develop strategies to enhance opportunities for UNLV’s diverse student population; then repurpose those strategies to increase STEM-specific enrollment, retention, and graduation numbers.

Racial Equity and Social Justice

Collaborating team: College of Liberal Arts; College of Education; Greenspun College of Urban Affairs

Overview: Race, ethnicity, and justice inequities remain pervasive in society, both locally and beyond. This iRDA combines faculty from three different colleges to study the history of those inequities and develop policy suggestions and potential solutions for uplifting those in socially underprivileged and economically disadvantaged population.

Not only has interdisciplinary research long been a staple of universities (including UNLV), but the concept of cluster hiring also wasn’t contrived overnight. What is new, however, is how widespread the practice has become. The reason? What else: money.

Simply put, grant-awarding agencies increasingly favor research aimed at solving highly complex community problems.

“It’s called the hub-and-spoke model,” Hatchett says. “The idea being, ‘If I can get a large enough group of researchers attacking a large problem, I have the opportunity to go after much larger grants. If I don’t, then I’m going to have to collaborate with other institutions to be considered for these grants.’

Another benefit to cluster hiring calls back to the cooks-in-the-kitchen theory. That is, the more that people with differing strengths work toward the same end goal, the more swiftly — and efficiently — said goal gets achieved.

“Cluster hiring mechanisms allow for the ability to quickly and intentionally build capacity so that the expertise you need is readily available, as opposed to allowing that expertise to evolve over time depending on specific departmental needs,” Marchand says. “Through cluster hiring, you can theoretically accomplish over a couple of years what otherwise could take a decade.”

Speaking of accomplishments: The iRDA initiative — which really didn’t get off the ground until early 2023 — is still very much in its infancy. So the proof points to support Marchand’s theory are just emerging. 

“Frankly, some of the early successes are just the fact that the groups are moving forward and building momentum,” Marchand says. “I know that sounds trite, but it’s true.”

She points to the fact that certain iRDAs are a bit further along in their processes than others. That’s partly because some settled into a collaboration rhythm a bit more quickly, and partly because the faculty makeup — new vs. existing, experienced vs. novice — is different for each group.

“Any type of new collaboration is a negotiation,” Marchand says. “We definitely are seeing groups that have an idea that’s really important to their research, and then we have groups of five people with similarly related ideas, but each person has a different opinion on how to attack it.

“That’s been a challenge for some — they want to collaborate, they have the will to do so, but they’re not entirely sure how. … Our role is to provide the guidance, support, and education so that they can move that will into an active workspace.”

One group that did find its sea legs somewhat quickly: the Addictions iRDA.

As the faculty liaison, Burton leads the core three-person Addictions team that also includes assistant professors Nicole Short (Department of Psychology) and Ying Guo (School of Public Health).

Burton brings a wealth of experience studying various forms of interpersonal trauma; Short has expertise in trauma and anxiety-related disorders; and Guo studies environmental and occupational health.

Despite not having any previous history with one another prior to landing at UNLV, the trio quickly coalesced around a central mission: leverage each other’s skill sets to study new approaches to preventing and treating addiction.

“We’ve been feeling our way as certain things come up,” says Burton, who in addition to serving as liaison is also the senior faculty member among the group. “I think we’re finally getting to the point where we’ll be able to do things less as they come up and more because we decided to make them come up.”

One notable early achievement for the Addictions iRDA: It already has begun submitting grant proposals.

“The new faculty just happened to gel together and are a great fit,” Marchand says of the Addictions iRDA. “Also, our existing faculty were very active in trying to put together partnerships with the community.”

Those community partnerships, of course, will play a significant role in the outcomes of each individual iRDA, as well the overall initiative. Because as each of the seven primary areas matures, those in the professional sector whose work intersects with such interdisciplinary research topics as neuroscience, racial equity and social justice, and urban sustainability will be asked to join UNLV faculty on a critical problem-solving journey.

At stake is not just a chance to raise the university’s profile, but an opportunity to collectively make a dramatic, far-reaching quality-of-life impact — both in our community and around the world.

Just ask Burton, who sees enormous possibilities for her group to unearth new solutions that will give new hope to those dealing with addiction. 

“We have so much expertise within our iRDA — everybody from people who study the impact that an engagement in addictive behavior has on the brain to people who study the psychology of choosing to engage in such behavior,” she says. “The thing that could come out of this is a more holistic perspective on how we provide care. … And if we can develop an effectively holistic approach to [treating] addiction, that could translate to all kinds of conditions.”

That, of course, is well down the road. For now, the one-time sous chef is just excited to be working alongside her fellow cooks, each committed to doing their part to ensure that the entire operation is a success — just like in the back of the house at a restaurant.

“It’s such a great initiative,” Burton says of the iRDAs. “I was involved with interdisciplinary groups at my previous institutions. But this is the first one that really focused on academic research with the backing of and commitment from the university.

“I only hope there will be something more in this vein going forward. Because when you put a bunch of smart people in the same room and get them all thinking about solving one thing, something good is going to happen.”

Make a connection: Contact the liaison of an iRDA research areas to learn how you can collaborate.