Chemistry professor Marya Lieberman decided to let the local community’s needs drive her scientific process. That's how she found herself out of the lab and on the front lines of the opioid epidemic.At the University of Notre Dame, Lieberman and her team are working to develop a quick, low-cost test for fentanyl and other deadly drugs. While it won't end the opioid epidemic, it could have an immediate impact, preventing overdoses and giving people second chances they otherwise would not have.Support is always available if you or someone in your life is struggling with substance use. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) website for help and resources.

In this deeply personal and eye-opening video, the University of Notre Dame explores the devastating impact of the opioid crisis in Huntington, West Virginia. Known as "ground zero" for the epidemic, the community has been hit hard by a tidal wave of pharmaceutical-grade opium, with 10 million pills flooding a population of just 100,000 every year.In this video, we uncover the socioeconomic factors that make places like Huntington particularly vulnerable and reveal how Paul Farrell '94, LLP, and Bill Evans, co-founder of the Wilson Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunities (LEO), are playing a pivotal role in the fight against the opioid epidemic.This video contains sensitive content about the opioid crisis that may be distressing to some viewers. Support is always available if you or someone in your life is struggling with substance use. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) website for help and resources.

Students from the Sacred Music Program and the Notre Dame Basilica Schola, under the direction of Jonathan Hehn, came together to record the chants from the book "Music in Medieval Rituals for the End of Life." The book, written by musicologist Elaine Stratton Hild—who specializes in medieval chants for the sick and dying—is based on chants pieced together through her research as a residential fellow at the Notre Dame Institute for Advanced Study (NDIAS).The recordings were captured by Frederick Hohmann of Pro Organo Records. Learn more at nd.edu/stories/coda. Listen to the tracks at sacredmusic.nd.edu.

Childhood memory is key to emotional development and self-esteem. Psychologist Kristin Valentino studies memory among children abused or neglected and develops interventions to help them better cope with their emotions. The tactics are inexpensive and easy for communities to implement. With a high rate of success, her work is helping heal children so they can grow into healthy adults.

In 2022, Notre Dame student Andrew Daigneau '24 woke up in a bed at Beacon Memorial Hospital. He couldn't remember anything beyond giving his father a fist bump before heading off on his motorcycle ten days prior.Andrew had 15 broken teeth, and a traumatic brain injury. He broke his neck in three places, along with his top two ribs and his sternum. There was an open fracture on his arm. He broke his pelvis and his hip, fractured his tibia, and lost his right leg.The doctors said he may not be able to stand up and crutch around for a year. Some thought he might have to go away to a full-time rehabilitation facility.His actual progress shocked everyone but those close to him. He told his family that he wanted to return to Notre Dame in the fall, and that he planned to graduate with his classmates ... and on May 19, 2024, he did just that.Read more about Andrew's story: https://go.nd.edu/a487ea

A dancer whose too-short life was a prayer to share the beauty of her art performs something of a healing miracle in death: inspiring a rare new, original ballet in her memory.Read more from Notre Dame Magazine: https://go.nd.edu/87be2a