Globes at Notre Dame

02/21/2024

Interested in learning more about GLOBES? Stop by The Reilly Center (219 O’Shaughnessy Hall) on Thursday February 29th for our open house!! Hope to see you there!!!

09/14/2023

Last week, GLOBES hosted Mallery Quetawki of the Zuni Pueblo to talk about her experience using art to tailor research communications to be more culturally inclusive and relatable.

Since 2016, Mallery has been working with the Community Environmental Health Program at the University of New Mexico College of Pharmacy as an Artist in Residence and Communications and Outreach Specialist. She has worked with partner communities to use more culturally appropriate visuals to communicate scientific concepts. The key goals of the artist-in-residence program are “to translate the science, bridge bi-directional communication and create an inclusive environment effectively and appropriately so that our collaborating Indigenous communities are well informed and represented throughout the processes of research from consent to collection and evaluation to remediation.” Mallery highlighted the stark differences in the approach to medicine and science in the Zuni Peublo culture compared to Western culture. Scientists and doctors often talk about very technical aspects of what is happening within the human body when we are sick; however, these can be difficult to conceptualize and visualize so she highlights the spiritual contexts to describe the pathways and interactions within the body.

Attendees heard about how Mallery first began her career by creating images of human body parts integrated with traditional art and patterns of the Zuni Pueblo for her art class. However, this doubled as studying for her pre-med courses. Through the artist-in-residence program, Mallery has expanded to use these same themes and patterns, such as beading, spiritual beings, and totems from different Indigenous communities to conceptualize and explain complex medical ideas.

Through her artwork, Mallery has taken highly complex and technical concepts and made them approachable and easy to comprehend. These include DNA repair, placental transfer, gut microbiomes, and radiation remediation. This was particularly helpful throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of the early visuals and communications about pandemic precautions were not related to the Native American experience, so they were unnoticed or ignored. A movement by local Indigenous artists, including Mallery, created new public communications and notices that were distributed online and in print to communities across the Southwest. Mallery also created artwork explaining mRNA vaccines in an accessible way.

Following her talk, GLOBES students had the pleasure of attending dinner with Mallery to further discuss her process and pathway to where she is now. Mallery provided incredible insights into the challenges that she faces in her day-to-day work as well as challenges of being an Indigenous women working alongside Western scientists. She expanded and described her lived experiences as an Indigenous women in the Southwest.

We greatly appreciated hosting her and getting to learn so much about science communication and Zuni Pueblo culture!

08/30/2023

Join us on Thursday September 7th at 5:30 pm in 120 DeBartolo Hall to hear from Mallery Quetawki, an artist and a member of Zuni Pueblo who uses her art to communicate environmental and health science to Native communities

05/10/2023

Another GLOBES mini grant recipient is Taylor Hartson who is in the Department of Sociology University of Notre Dame! They received mini grants in both 2022 and 2023. Here, we describe both of their research projects!

In 2022, their project "Playing in the Dirt: Q***r Agricultural Embodiment, Identity, and Futurity" was funded. Through semi-structured interviews, this project explores the unique experiences of q***r sustainable farmers in the Midwest, with a particular focus on how embodied work and embodied identities inform one another. This project also investigates q***r alternatives to relational networks, ecoq***r spiritualities, and q***r temporalities. GLOBES's generous support funded interviews with q***r farmers in Indiana, conducted as a collaboration with the Hoosier Young Farmers Coalition. Taylor gave a fantastic overview of this project at the GLOBES symposium last week.

In 2023, Taylor received another mini grant for their project "Tending to the Self: Embodiment and Identity in Addiction Recovery and Farming." In this collaborative project, Taylor and their colleague are investigating the embodied, everyday lived experiences of people in addiction recovery through a comparative ethnographic study at recovery programs that are structured around sustainable agriculture. We are particularly interested in turning our attention to the rhythms and routines that structure the embodied practices of individuals in recovery.

05/02/2023

Another GLOBES mini-grant recipient is Anna Vincent, a PhD candidate in Notre Dame Biology. She received funds for her project “Seasonal patterns in nitrification rates among three agricultural streams”. Here we describe her research and goals!

Nitrification rates are influenced by multiple environmental drivers including ammonium availability, dissolved oxygen concentrations, water temperature, and carbon-to-nitrogen ratios. Previous work examining controls on nitrification rates in forested streams has documented variation in rates across seasons. In comparison, open-canopy agricultural streams receive excess inorganic nitrogen inputs from the surrounding landscape, along with mineralization of organic rich stream sediments, and the form and timing of these sources vary throughout the year.

Temporal variation in nitrification rates among seasons, and the role of environmental drivers, are not well understood for agricultural streams. She conducted laboratory nitrification assays on stream sediments to estimate nitrification rates in an agricultural setting during all four seasons to elucidate the role of various drivers in influencing rates and how they change throughout the year.

04/25/2023

Each year, we award mini-grants to our students to aid them with their interdisciplinary endeavors. Mitchell Liddick, a PhD student Notre Dame Biology, received funds for his project: "Organic matter additions differentially impact antimicrobial resistance gene (ARG) removal from flowing waters."

Antimicrobial resistance genes, also known as antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), are genetic elements present in microorganisms that allow them to resist the effects of antimicrobial agents. These genes can enter aquatic systems through diverse pathways, including the use of antibiotics in agriculture. In developed countries, a significant proportion of antibiotics are utilized in livestock farming to prevent and treat diseases and enhance animal growth. This practice results in frequent exposure of an animal's gut microbiome to antibiotics, leading to the emergence and proliferation of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and their associated ARGs. These resistant bacteria and ARGs are excreted in the animal's f***s and can contaminate nearby aquatic habitats.

Mitchell's research seeks to investigate the potential of natural materials, such as leaf litter and stream biofilms, to remove ARGs from streams and rivers. Leaf litter has a high capacity to retain pollutants through sorptive processes, while stream biofilms, which are complex assemblages of microorganisms, can interact with and retain contaminants from the water column. By increasing the amount of leaf litter and microbial biomass in streams, we can improve the physical and biotic removal capacity of ARGs, respectively, as a result of increased retentive surface area. Understanding the roles that leaf litter and stream biofilms play in the removal of ARGs from surface waters is crucial if we want to mitigate the transmission of antimicrobial resistance to downstream communities in the face of a post-antibiotic era.

04/20/2023

Next up is Dara-Marie Raggay, who is graduating with a Master of Global Affairs, Keough School of Global Affairs, University of Notre Dame. She became more involved with GLOBES to be part of a community of scholars that was passionate about scholarship and practice careers at the intersection of environment and society.

Dara-Marie described how GLOBES impacted her graduate experience: “I wanted my academic and professional career to be intentionally comprehensive, multi-disciplinary, and courageous - GLOBES gets this!” Her favorite part of GLOBES was being about to participate in exciting events and interdisciplinary training activities.

Dara-Marie participated in two research projects for GLOBES! First, she participated in a year-long consultancy with the National League of Cities’ Center for City Solutions on Climate Justice and Equity in US cities. https://sites.google.com/nd.edu/ilab/i-lab-projects/2021-cohort/nlc

For her second GLOBES project, Dara-Marie directed a documentary through the Carsey Wolf Center at the University of Santa Barbara. “Beyond Access (2022)” centers the next generation of diverse leaders who are diversifying outdoor spaces. The film highlights the importance of allyship in ensuring that underserved and historically marginalized youth and families are able to rebuild a sense of belonging in nature. Check it out here: https://www.carseywolf.ucsb.edu/pollock-events/cmp2022premiere/

04/05/2023

With graduating approaching we are beginning our graduating student profiles!

First up, we have Mohammad Ferrae, who is graduating from Keough School of Global Affairs, University of Notre Dame!! He became involved with GLOBES to become more engaged with interdisciplinary work and broaden his horizons through our events.

For his GLOBES project, Mohammad researched forest proximate people in Pakistan. Being a member of GLOBES has allowed Mohammad to form connections with those outside of his program through social events. Further, GLOBES provided funding for Mohammad’s travel and research.

08/26/2020

A story of on the ground science policy some of you are familiar with.

Blowout: A Community’s Engagement with Fracking explores the history of Dentonites who were spurred to political action by concerns about hydraulic fracturing within the city of Denton, Texas. The project presents a variety of perspectives within the local community and highlights narrators’ rel...

07/23/2020

Guys, look!

How should the public engage with science? Join us for an online in-depth discussion, Sep. 4, 5, 11, & 12 through Michigan State University.