Hesburgh Lecture
Rev. Streit to discuss global health in Pittsburgh
Rev. Thomas Streit, C.S.C., a professor of biological sciences at the University of Notre Dame, will present a lecture titled “No One is an Island” at 2 PM Sunday, September 13, 2009 at St. Bernard Church in Mt. Lebanon. The lecture is free and open to the public, and a reception will follow.
Rev. Streit holds a doctorate in biological sciences from Notre Dame. He performed his post-doctorate research in Haiti in conjunction with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Since 1993, Rev. Streit has been working in Haiti studying the transmission dynamics of the parasite that causes the disease lymphatic filariasis (LF, commonly known as elephantiasis), which is the second leading cause of disability worldwide. Following the Worldwide Health Assembly’s placement of LF on a short list of diseases slated for elimination, in 1999 the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation awarded its first LF grant (now $5.2 million) to Notre Dame to help a collaborative group to fully eliminate LF by 2013.
In 1997, Rev. Streit became an assistant research professor of biological sciences at Notre Dame, and established their Haiti Program, an initiative on the forefront of a global alliance working for the elimination of LF. So far, it has provided over 2.5 million treatments for LF patients.
Recently, Rev. Streit has been awarded the highest honor of the University of Portland, the Christus Magister Medal, for his cross-disciplinary work in eradicating LF. This past May, he was also awarded the Rev. William A. Toohey, C.S.C., Award for Social Justice by the President of the University of Notre Dame.
Sponsored by the Notre Dame Club of Pittsburgh and St. Bernard Church, Rev. Streit’s lecture is a part of the Notre Dame Alumni Association’s Hesburgh Alumni Lecture Series. Offered each year through Notre Dame’s network of more than 200 alumni clubs, the Hesburgh Lectures are delivered by Notre Dame faculty nominated by their colleagues and the dean’s of the University’s colleges and law school. The series is named for Rev. Theodore Hesburgh, C.S.C., President Emeritus of Notre Dame.
Excellence in Teaching
Each year the club is proud to sponsor deserving teachers who wish to attend the Excellence in Teaching Conference held at Notre Dame. Teachers may apply or members may nominate a teacher by writing to the club.
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