Assistant Professor Marie-Anne Rosemberg receives catalyst grant for project to protect nail salon workers

A new project led by U-M School of Nursing Assistant Professor Marie-Anne Sanon Rosemberg, Ph.D., RN, has been selected to receive funding through a Graham Sustainability Institute catalyst grant, which provides support for small-scale, collaborative, interdisciplinary sustainability research.

Rosemberg’s research focuses on optimizing the health of low-wage service workers at risk for or experiencing one or multiple chronic conditions, and her current project aims to help protect nail salon workers by providing them with a free digital training on how to reduce their toxic exposure.

Michigan has over 3,000 nail salons in an industry that typically falls short in terms of environmental sustainability. Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) are ubiquitous in nail salon products — from polishes to removers, artificial nails, adhesives, glues, hardeners, and sanitizers — and are found airborne in nail salons, as well.

“The nail salon community is in dire need of sustainability efforts given their exposure, the nature of the industry, lack of regulation, unstandardized training and sociodemographic characteristics of the individual workers,” Rosemberg explained. “This grant supports one of the many endeavors that we as leaders of the Michigan Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative (MHNSC) aim to carry out to support this workforce in Michigan.”

The project will create and test a free, interactive online training module tailored to nail salon workers. The virtual training will be mobile-friendly and well-suited to adult-learners, and will include sustainability learning objectives. The team and partners will blend technology, environmental justice, occupational health, training, and nail-salon industry-specific expertise to help this business sector solve the critical sustainability challenge of disparities in chemical exposures.

“This project is anchored within an occupational justice lens and will enhance multidirectional community-academic partnerships with local nail salons and cosmetology schools to ensure a sustainable livelihood for the nail salon community in Michigan,” Rosemberg added. “Within MHNSC's three pillars of advocacy, research and education, our long-term vision is to establish a healthy nail salon certificate program that emphasizes a commitment to safety”

Rosemberg’s project is one of three recently funded by Graham’s catalyst grant program and among more than two dozen that have been funded since the program’s inception.

Learn more about the project and the catalyst grant program from Graham Sustainability Institute.