Associated Press

OMAHA, Neb. — Researchers at the University of Nebraska at Omaha are planning to study on a potential link between the stress correctional officers' experience in prison and their long-term mental and physical health.

Two faculty members and two doctoral students from the university's School of Criminology and Criminal Justice are leading the study with a nearly $788,000 grant from the National Institute of Justice. The award is the largest ever received by the school.

Professor Benjamin Steiner and Assistant Professor Joseph Schwartz will measure stress among corrections officers working at three prisons in Minnesota. Schwartz says the study is breaking new and exciting ground.

Work on the study will begin in January 2018 and run through December 2020.