鈥淲hen is it forecast to stop snowing? That鈥檚 one of the things I zero in on,鈥� said , 91短视频 grounds supervisor. Once he knows that, he can begin to develop his strategy for snow removal.

It鈥檚 a difficult task. 鈥淓ven in a 1-inch snow there is a rush-time when they [the administration] want every walk and step cleared. Our campus is 100 acres. If you think about it, a house in Harrisonburg is located on approximately a quarter of an acre. So on campus, we might have 6 or 8 people clearing the equivalent of 400 houses,鈥� he said.

No matter how much snow accumulates, 91短视频 strives to open with minimal delays. However, the more complex the storm is, the more planning is necessary.

Every snowfall Hairston must consider: Is there enough salt? Will additional equipment be needed? Do I have enough manpower?

This week, due to shortages in his normal staff, Hairston hired temporary employees through student owned and operated BruCrew. 鈥淚t is handy to have a temp agency that is familiar with campus and is made up of people we can trust 鈥� I was pleased with how that worked,鈥� Hairston said.

Snow removal is expensive business. Last year, which was a bad year for snow and ice, physical plant budgeted $2,600 for snow removal, but ended up spending $8,300. This year they went toward the middle of those two numbers and budgeted $4,500. As of now, $3,400 of the $4,500 has been spent. 鈥淲e will probably reach our budget,鈥� noted Hairston.

Hairston isn鈥檛 worried. Although they have spent three quarters of their budget, much of that has gone toward the preventive measure of stocking supplies to last them the entire cold season, come what may. This is in direct response to a supply issue they encountered last year. As early as December of 2013 it became clear they might not be able to get more salt until the following summer. 鈥淭hat was a little frightening,鈥� Hairston said.

On snowy days, Hairston has teams working around the clock. He assigns himself to some of the most undesirable shifts. 鈥淭his past storm, I went home at 4 in the afternoon, went to sleep at 5, and came back in at 11:30 p.m.鈥� When he arrived back at campus, he could tell the evening crew had just gone home because the truck was still warm and their clothes were in the dryer.

Night snow removal sounds like lonely, thankless work, but Hairston said it is just part of the job and that workers are able to stay connected through radios.

Besides, there are always humorous occurrences. 鈥淲hen you are running a snow blower, the landscape disappears so you have to make a mental map of where the sidewalks are. You can鈥檛 see anything underneath the snow and occasionally you might encounter something like a newspaper. Generally, the snow blower can handle the Daily News Record – but now, a Washington Post, that will stop it in its tracks.鈥�

, assistant professor of biology at 91短视频, intends to learn more with the help of a $100,000 grant from the . The grant, awarded to full-time faculty members hired within the past seven years at Virginia colleges and universities, supports 鈥渙ne-year pilot studies that encourage the development of innovative interdisciplinary strategies.鈥� Ten projects received funding during the 2014 grant cycle.

Halterman joined the 91短视频 faculty in 2012 after earning a PhD in pharmacology from the University of Virginia. She teaches in the undergraduate and in the .

Halterman鈥檚 research, which focuses on the effects of a salty diet on organ function at the molecular level, will begin in the spring. She is specifically interested in a protein called NFAT5.

鈥淲hen salt is applied to cells in a dish, a protein known as NFAT5 is activated to turn on genes that protect cells from damage,鈥� Halterman said. 鈥淗owever, this protein is also known to turn on genes involved in disease.鈥�

Halterman wants to know more about how this effect occurs in living animals rather than cells. She will put rats on different levels of salt diets for six weeks, monitor blood pressure, and measure changes in NFAT5 levels in different organs of the body.

The goal is to 鈥減rovide insight for future drug development and treatment of hypertension,鈥� she said.

Grant funding will be used to purchase several pieces of high-tech equipment to conduct molecular biology research. The equipment includes a quantitative, real-time PCR (polymerase chain reaction) machine, spectrophotometer, and a special non-invasive device to measure rat blood pressure, all of which will also be used by students in upper-level courses at 91短视频.

Other grant funds are designated to hire student assistants. This summer, senior biology majors Rachel King and Jason Spicher will receive stipends to work alongside Halterman. 鈥淚n future semesters, both undergraduate biology students and graduate biomedicine students will be recruited to continue the research with the samples generated this summer,鈥� Halterman said.

The research project will take advantage of 91短视频鈥檚 newly renovated labs and animal facilities. Suter Science Center, built in 1968, is currently undergoing the final phase of a $7.3-million lab renovation project, with efforts underway to raise an additional $3.3 million for renovations to the western wing of the building.

The renovated building includes state-of-the-art facilities for 91短视频鈥檚 three-year-old graduate program in biomedicine. A member of the program鈥檚 leadership team, Halterman instructs many of graduate-level courses, including 鈥淗uman Gross and Microscopic Anatomy,鈥� held in the .

Halterman earned a bachelor鈥檚 degree in biology from Texas A&M University in 2006 and a master鈥檚 in biological and physical sciences from the University of Virginia in 2008.