Greetings,

It was an exciting day for me when I joined Notre Dame last summer as vice president for research. Today, I am more excited than ever about our work, and I think you'll see why when I share an update about the progress the University has made and what is on the horizon for research at Notre Dame.

At Notre Dame, our ambition is not just to break records or become more widely recognized but to live out our mission to be a “powerful means for doing good in the world.” That should not just give us warm feelings about our positive impact. It should fill us with a sense of urgency—to use what we have been given and built and to serve a world deeply in need.

That is why I am excited about our efforts in translational research, especially two new initiatives:

First, the Notre Dame Poverty Initiative, a key part of the University's Strategic Framework, which was launched by announcing a foundational gift of $100 million. It is the largest gift in the University's history for an academic program and is an unprecedented University-wide effort to fight poverty. It will turn evidence into action, helping to create proven pathways out of adversity for the 700 million people experiencing poverty worldwide.

Last week, Notre Dame announced another new initiative—the Bioengineering & Life Sciences (BELS) Initiative—under the leadership of Paul Bohn. The BELS Initiative will take interdisciplinary research and training at Notre Dame to a new level by fostering new breakthroughs and new, more rapid ways to apply them. At a time when roughly half of the world’s population has limited access to essential health services,  it has never been more important to close the gap between research and the challenges health workers encounter in the field.

My next challenge to researchers at Notre Dame is to think as a global organization. We are delighted that in July, we will welcome Fr. Robert Dowd, C.S.C, as Notre Dame's 18th president. In addition to being a seasoned leader, Fr. Bob also has extensive experience conducting research and building relationships around the globe—Africa in particular. We are looking forward to what his leadership will bring to our work and through our work to those we serve.