Fighting for our Military Community
During Jayme Hentig’s career as an Army medic, he was comfortable caring for others every day. But in 2010, he went from caregiver to patient after an accident sent his armored vehicle into a rollover. As he grappled with a traumatic brain injury and struggled to regain his cognitive abilities, doctors eventually told him there were no more therapeutic options. But Jayme was undeterred and decided if there were no existing options, he would create them.After earning his undergraduate degree, Jayme came to Notre Dame to pursue a doctorate in biology. Working with zebrafish, he was able to better understand how and why brain cells regenerate. After graduation he will continue to study traumatic brain injuries in active-duty service members and veterans as a postdoctoral fellow at the National Institutes of Health.Learn more: https://go.nd.edu/MilitaryCommunityFF
More from What Would You Fight For?
- 2:00Fighting to Bring Literacy to the Worldhttp://fightingfor.nd.edu/literacy/ Established by two Notre Dame undergraduates with the help of seed money from the University's Social Venture Plan Competition, Better World Books has sold more than 30 million unwanted, used books and contributed over $8 million for literacy initiatives in the United States and around the world.
- 2:15Fighting for the EnvironmentProfessor Joan Brennecke, Department of Chemical Engineering "We're going to have to find other ways of generating the power and energy that we need, or we need to be able to capture the CO2 that we produce from the burning fossil fuels." Visit Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering: http://cbe.nd.edu/ Learn More About Ionic Liquids Research: http://www.nd.edu/~thrils/
- 2:01Fighting For Human RightsThrough his work as chairman of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Notre Dame Law Professor Paolo Carozza fought the system and won, working with the Paraguayan government to enact legal reforms to outlaw the enlistment of child soldiers, improving the rights of children in that country and throughout the Americas. Learn More: http://fightingfor.nd.edu
- 2:01Fighting to Design a Better HomeWhen Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy ripped through the coastal communities of the United States, they left over 1.5 million homes in ruins. Collapsed roofs lined the streets. Walls crumbled under water and mold. Months later, people were still homeless, and relief agencies quickly discovered they were desperately unprepared.When something catastrophic happens, the damage goes beyond the physical. Communities are destroyed. Families face emotional and financial strain, and some never recover. Adjunct faculty member Marianne Cusato ’97 knew these families needed something safer and more beautiful than the FEMA trailer. In 2006, she designed an emergency housing solution that came to be known as the Katrina Cottage and won accolades from design associations nationwide. She credits the Notre Dame School of Architecture for teaching her the foundations of classical architecture and for instilling in her a responsibility to improve communities and lives.Now, in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, she is working with Clayton Homes to design and manufacture housing that promises to provide shelter, independence and a sense of home. The Union Beach building project was funded by The Robin Hood Foundation and the Hurricane Sandy New Jersey Relief Fund.Today, over 3,000 families enjoy the warmth and comfort of Marianne’s vision.More information: http://fightingfor.nd.edu Notre Dame School of Architecture: http://architecture.nd.edu Faculty member Marianne Cusato: http://www.mariannecusato.com/ Robin Hood Foundation: http://www.robinhood.org/rhsandy#section-1 Hurricane Sandy New Jersey Relief Fund: http://bit.ly/SandyNJRelief
- 2:01Fighting to Protect the BraveWhen firefighters run into a burning building, they know the dangers associated with their job. But new research suggests firefighters are at risk before they ever leave the firehouse.Using a spectroscopic technique and the St. Andre particle accelerator, Notre Dame professor Graham Peaslee has found alarming amounts of polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in firefighter gear. These chemicals have been linked to elevated rates of cancer and have also been found in fast-food wrappers, cosmetics, drinking water, carpet and flame retardants. He is now working to test many years of new and used gear to better assess the risks for firefighters.Professor Peaslee’s work in this area has encouraged several companies to reduce or eliminate PFAS, and the EPA and state legislators have also made policy changes. He hopes this new study will make firefighters safer, so they can continue to keep all of us safe.
- 2:01Fighting For Freedom of ThoughtWhen the Soviet Union collapsed, democracies in post-Soviet territories was fragile, and corruption ruled government, business and education. People were killed for speaking out and demanding justice. But there was a beacon of hope — Catholic universities. Because of their spirit of independence, these institutions could teach radical ideas like human dignity, freedom of speech, transparency and justice.Since 2003, the Nanovic Institute for European Studies at the University of Notre Dame has made a commitment to Catholic education in Eastern Europe bringing together administrators and faculty at seven universities to build bridges that will help them speak truth to power.Learn more: https://ntrda.me/FreedomofThought