Doctoral Student Promotes Use of Arts in Health through Entrepreneurism and Philanthropy
Published July 5, 2023 By Darlene Muguiro UTEP College of Health Sciences
Nicolas “Nico” Silva is the definition of an interdisciplinary practitioner and researcher. With interests ranging from mental health and neuroscience – as a Society for Neuroscience “NSP” Associate – to entrepreneurship and the arts, Nico fit perfectly into the College of Health Sciences’ Interdisciplinary Health Sciences PhD Program. Now entering his second semester as a doctoral student, Nico has worked with his faculty mentor, Dr. Jason Mallonee, assistant professor of Social Work, to define a dissertation topic, which will focus on healthcare workers’ perceptions of the use of expressive arts in individual, group, and community health.
Silva says it was his positive experience with expressive arts as a licensed master social worker at a hospice organization and his own practice as a therapist that led him to become passionate about expanding the use of expressive arts in the Paso Del Norte region. He also successfully used expressive arts practices during his time as a clinical social work intern while in the Master of Social Work program.
“The field of arts in health is relatively new and burgeoning, but the knowledge that arts can heal and build community is centuries old, dating back to the Egyptians,” he said. “I know that my use of music, song, dance, drawing and poetry during my time as a medical social worker allowed me to reduce depression and anxiety, and ameliorate post-traumatic stress disorder in my clients.”
Prior to graduating with his Master of Social Work degree, Silva began exploring options that would allow him to merge his passion for serving the community with an equally strong entrepreneurial drive. He collaborated on a project under the direction of Dr. Eva Moya, Professor and interim chair of Social Work, in which he worked with undergraduate students across various disciplines to investigate the capacity of community health workers to provide information on reproductive and sexual health. The group used a social enterprise model to do market research and present their findings to STEM and business stakeholders via the ecosVC program, which helps researchers (typically in STEM fields) translate their research into commercial innovations.
“Entrepreneurship is interesting to me because as long as you have a great team and great ideas, you can accomplish a lot,” he said. “This training allowed me to see that entrepreneurship was something I could use to create generational impact in health and society.”
With his newfound knowledge, Silva was inspired to continue on his entrepreneurial path. He began pursuing fellowships to support himself during his training. In spring 2023, he was accepted as a Fourth Industrial Revolution Economy (FIRE) Venture Capital (VC) Fellow with the Arrowhead Center at New Mexico State University. It was here that he began to research funding and ecosystem models to make the arts in the border community more diverse and vibrant. He also applied to become part of the SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) Accelerator program at Arrowhead and was accepted. As part of the SBIR, Silva has an opportunity to compete for grants made available from federal agencies such as the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health to support innovative ideas on the path toward commercialization.
Silva says he’s often questioned about why he left his “comfortable” job as a mental health professional to pursue a doctoral degree and the fellowship programs.
“These experiences are setting me up to do really strategic, collaborative, systemic-level change, and to become a community-engaged professor and entrepreneur who provides services to the community, government and private sector, so that health, wellness and economic development are all at the forefront of the conversation and my practice-informed research.”
Before planning his dissertation project to investigate expressive arts therapy, he established a business, Antidisciplinary Agency and Consultancy, LLC, to explore opportunities to meld the arts and health, and to collaborate with community partners and governmental agencies. He has also established the Nico Silva Fund for the Arts in Health, Medicine and Society at the El Paso Community Foundation to further support the development of the use of arts in health and medicine in the Paso del Norte region. To deepen his expertise, he attended and was honored with a full scholarship for a two-week Arts in Health Intensive at the University of Florida Center for Arts in Medicine.
Silva says that students who are interested in incorporating entrepreneurial activities in their studies should not hesitate to investigate all opportunities available to them, such as Blackstone Launchpad UTEP, which supported his group’s 2nd place University of Texas Medical Branch Life Sciences Innovation Hackathon, and the National Science Foundation’s bio-entrepreneurship workshops. He also suggests looking into opportunities to present at conferences. Most recently, Silva was invited to give an oral presentation, funded by the Kauffman Foundation, New York University Stern School of Business and Imperial College London, at the Racial Equity in Technology Entrepreneurship Workshop at NYU’s Berkley Center for Entrepreneurship.
Silva says that the support of his dissertation mentor, Dr. Jason Mallonee, has been particularly critical in his own journey. He also thanks his friends and colleagues who have supported him along the way.
“The process can be exhausting, especially if you’re a graduate or doctoral student who is committed to your studies and work. But sometimes, you just have to apply for opportunities and push your limits while taking care of yourself and your responsibilities,” he said. “So, my advice is to apply for everything you can, even for things you might not necessarily think you qualify for, because I did…and it was life-changing. Thank you to my family, friends who I consider family, and colleagues and mentors, especially those inside and outside of the College of Health Sciences, who have helped me on this difficult but rewarding journey.”
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Go Miners!
Photo courtesy of the El Paso Community Foundation
