Unearthing Relationships: The many dimensions of an ecology field trip
A caravan of several vans descended upon Michigan’s Warren Woods State Park on a crisp October morning. As I and about twenty students and teaching assistants in Dominic Chaloner’s Practical Ecology Lab stepped out into the day, we were greeted by a sea of green: a cathedral-like expanse of beech trees, accented by scattered pops of red and yellow from nearby maples as a stiff northwesterly breeze kicked dry leaves across the road.…
Global Health graduate researcher Henry Kamugisha works to reduce malaria in the Ethiopian Highlands
Although two hundred years have passed since the development of the first antimalaria treatment and over 140 years since the parasite was seen for the first time under a microscope, malaria remains one of the most critical health problems in Sub-saharan Africa–and numbers are on the rise in the Ethiopian Highlands.…
Graduate students to present research, compete for prize money in annual Three Minute Thesis competition
Nine University of Notre Dame graduate students will compete for $4,500 in prize money during the annual Shaheen Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition. The competition will take place from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday (Feb. 28) inside Jordan Auditorium at the Mendoza College of Business on campus. It is open to the public.
From the St. Joseph River to the Great Lakes: Ashley Moerke’s freshwater ecology journey
Ashley Moerke, MS ‘00 and Ph.D ‘04 at the University of Notre Dame, has worn many teaching, researching, and administrative hats throughout her professional career. However, it all began under the Golden Dome, where she pursued both a master’s and doctorate degrees while working in Gary Lamberti…
Rev. Robert A. Dowd, C.S.C., elected 18th president of the University of Notre Dame
The Board of Trustees of the University of Notre Dame has elected Rev. Robert A. Dowd, C.S.C., as the University’s 18th president, effective July 1. He will succeed Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., who announced in October that he will step down at the end of the 2023-24 academic year after serving as president for 19 years.…
ND-GAIN to launch Global Urban Climate Assessment, measuring climate resiliency at the city level
Building on its pioneering Country Index, which ranks climate vulnerability and readiness across more than 180 countries, the University of Notre Dame’s Global Adaptation Initiative (ND-GAIN) will soon begin tracking the progress of such efforts in cities around the world. Based on evolving climate vulnerability and adaptation research, the Global Urban Climate Assessment (GUCA) aims to develop a pilot decision-support tool to inform actions and investments in urban areas.
Eck Institute announces 2023-2024 graduate research fellows
Eck Institute 2023-2024 graduate research fellows. Four Ph.D. students at the University of Notre Dame have joined the Eck Institute for Global Health as graduate research fellows…
Success of Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes in fighting dengue may be underestimated
Researchers at the University of Notre Dame have conducted an analysis of the World Mosquito Program’s randomized control trial of Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes in Indonesia, looking at how excluding transmission dynamics impacted the original interpretation of the trial’s results.
Fighting Irish, Fighting Cancer: How professor Jianneng Li’s research expands prostate cancer advancements
What happens when previously treatable cancers become drug-resistant? Jianneng Li, Archibald Assistant Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, is trying to answer that question by conducting critical research on prostate cancer. Li has focused on prostate cancer as the topic of his research for the majority of his career at the Lerner Research Institute at Cleveland Clinic, where he worked before joining the University of Notre Dame faculty in 2023. He studies the effects of steroids on cancer as well as other relationships between enzymes and receptors in cancerous samples.…
New technology could lead to quick, minimally invasive cancer diagnoses
Researchers have developed a new, lightning-fast method to detect “extracellular RNA,” or exRNA, which will aid in early detection of diseases including cancer, heart disease, HIV and other life-threatening conditions.
Researchers uncover a new target in the fight against metastatic breast cancer
In the fight against metastatic cancer, harnessing a patient’s own immune system to target cancer cells has been a promising strategy. In a recent article published in Cell Metabolism, Xin Lu, the John M. and Mary Jo Boler Collegiate Associate Professor…
Notre Dame researchers’ data-driven approach to protecting wildlife receives $1.5 million from the NSF
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded $1.5 million to a multidisciplinary team of faculty researchers at the University of Notre Dame who are working to protect wildlife from impending threats caused by climate change. The project, “Exploiting Federal Data and Beyond: A Multi-modal Knowledge Network for Comprehensive Wildlife Management under Climate Change,”…
Schnell joins inaugural statewide rare disease advisory council
Santiago Schnell, William K. Warren Foundation Dean of the College of Science at the University of Notre Dame, has been appointed to a new statewide advisory council to explore new directions for assisting patients with rare diseases in Indiana.…
Biology postdoc wins annual Lightning Talk Competition title
Tolulope “Kay” Kayode holds the Lightning Talk trophy Postdoctoral researcher Tolulope “Kay” Kayode won the top prize in the second annual Postdoc Lightning Talk Competition on Thursday, September 21, during Postdoc Appreciation Week. Fourteen postdoc finalists from five departments in the College of Science presented their research in "lightning talk" format—three minutes or less using a singular presentation slide. …
A picture of drought: ND ecologist matching NASA images with field data to measure forest health
Nate Swenson strides so quickly through the Wisconsin forest while carrying a large pole clipper that postdoctoral researcher Vanessa Rubio usually follows the 40 feet of rope dragging behind him. When they reach the designated plot, Swenson extends the clipper about 30 feet high and pulls the rope to snip off a leafy twig from the canopy of a tall, tagged tree. The twig floats down through the dappled sunlight and lands in his hand.…
Holly Goodson elected as fellow of The American Society for Cell Biology
Goodson joins 18 other distinguished scientists from across the globe in the 2023 cohort of fellows.
Fighting Irish, Fighting Cancer: University of Galway signs a cancer research agreement with the University of Notre Dame
Cancer researchers at the University of Galway and Notre Dame’s Harper Cancer Research Institute have come together to establish the Biseach Initiative, a strategic cancer research collaboration, which aims to build on the ideas, talent, and infrastructure of both Universities for global cancer impact.…
Professor emerita wins prestigious lifelong achievement award for her work assessing environmental injustice
Kristin Shrader-Frechette, O’Neill Family Professor Emerita in the University of Notre Dame Department of Philosophy, who had a concurrent appointment in the Department of Biological Sciences, has won the 2023 Cosmos International Prize…
Eliminating public health scourge can also benefit agriculture
Schistosomiasis, a parasitic disease that causes organ damage and death, affected more than 250 million people worldwide in 2021, according to the World Health Organization. Senegalese women and children wash clothes in small basins by water covered with weeds. In those weeds live hordes of snails, hosts to parasitic flatworms.…
Champion appointed Associate Dean; Gezelter and Kolberg receive promotions
Patricia A. Champion, Ph.D., has been appointed the next Associate Dean for Research, Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies effective July 1, 2023. She replaces Michael Hildreth, who transitions to his new role…