Nevada U.S. Sens. Cortez Masto (pictured) and Jacky Rosen announced the grant on April 10.
RENO, Nev. — Nevada U.S. Sens. Jacky Rosen and Catherine Cortez Masto have announced a $730,000 grant to study amphibian diseases and encourage women to seek STEM training.
The grant to the University of Nevada, Reno will finance a study of chytridiomycosis, a disease blamed for dramatic losses of amphibian biodiversity worldwide, according to an April 10 statement.
"This project will also take an important step in helping young women pursue a STEM education through the implementation of its '20 in 2020' program by mentoring 20 young women in their pursuit of a science degree," the senators said in a statement. "This funding helps to better care for Nevada's delicate ecosystem and fulfilling our responsibility of working to encourage young women to pursue careers in STEM."
The UNR study will reportedly combine cutting-edge experiments with field studies on host defense mechanisms in three species of amphibians. Education and outreach activities will be an integral part of the proposed project, helping to increase awareness of young women in science and the importance of advancing our understanding of infectious disease.