As a doctoral candidate in biology at the University of Notre Dame, James “Jayme” Hentig researches Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI) and regenerative therapies. In 2017, he received a Graduate Research Fellowship from the National Science Foundation to develop and implement an innovative TBI model design for pre-clinical trials. His project requires managing budgets, collaborating with interdisciplinary teams at other universities, and overseeing junior scientists, all skills he honed while in the U.S. military.

Hentig joined the U.S. Army in 2008 as an airborne combat medic. His role required supervision of junior medics and ensuring the well-being of 120 personnel. He served in Europe before being deployed to Afghanistan. His experience there has greatly informed his research interests. Suffering a severe blow to the head, which caused a TBI, Hentig spent a year rehabbing before retiring from the Army in 2012. The trauma of the injury and the long road to recovery offered Hentig a new path. After leaving the Army, he earned a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience at Western Michigan University in 2016. His Honors Undergraduate Thesis, "Chemical Ablation with Zinc Sulfate Results in Differential Effects on Olfactory Sensory Neuron Subtypes in the Adult Zebrafish" received the 2016 Best Honors Thesis Award and serves as the basis for his doctoral research.

Using zebrafish, which have remarkable regenerative capabilities, Hentig hopes to develop a traumatic brain injury model and see how and if the brain of a zebrafish regenerates following blunt force trauma. “I love neuroscience because the brain is the center of individual existence,” Hentig said. “Furthering our knowledge and working towards regenerative therapies for individuals suffering from neurodegenerative diseases provides hope for not only the individual, but also for the families watching their loved ones slip in and out day by day.”

In addition to his doctoral work, Hentig serves as a STEM Mentor for the Warrior-Scholar Project, where he helps veterans transitioning from military service to civilian/student life. To learn more about James’s work, visit the University of Notre Dame website. To see the UND military spotlight on Hentig, visit their YouTube page.

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Image Credit: University of Notre Dame

Nick Harnish is an applied master’s student in the School of Human Ecology at the University of Wisconsin—Madison with an emphasis in community organizing, human development, nonprofit management, and public humanities. He’s also a veteran of the U.S. Army, a former first responder, a volunteer with Wisconsin Hero Outdoors, and a Public Humanities Scholar with the UW—Madison Center for Humanities.

Harnish is using his broad and impressive range of experiences and expertise to turn a lighthouse on the grounds of Lakewood WWV Camp in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, into a cultural retreat for veterans and first responders. “It’s going to be the beacon of hope for our veterans and first responders. A lighthouse is very fitting for that,” Harnish said.

Aptly named Havenwood, the outdoor wellness center is scheduled to open in spring 2020. Harnish’s certification in mindfulness-based stress reduction and experience with wilderness therapy will help ensure programs that work. “That’s where Havenwood is really unique,” he said. “I’m going to give you this space to be alone with your thoughts and your feelings and allow you to process them. And I want to give you the tools and resources to process it, versus forcing that process to happen.”

Harnish currently works at the Department of Military Affairs as a state program coordinator, organizing programs for military-connected youth. To learn more about Nick’s work, visit the University of Wisconsin—Madison website. 

Visit the GradImpact Feature Gallery to learn more about the amazing, innovative research being done by graduate students and alumni across the world.

Image Credit: University of Wisconsin—Madison

On November 5, public comments were submitted by the higher education community in response to the Department of Education’s proposed expansion of foreign gift and contract reporting requirements (Sec. 117, Higher Education Act).

The graduate recruiting and admissions environment is becoming increasingly competitive, and having the right tools to identify, select, evaluate and enroll best-fit students is key to admissions offices’ continued success. Liaison’s Centralized Application Services (CASs) serve as graduate education communities that help schools overcome the barriers they face as they work to build better classes. During this webinar, graduate program leaders will share the benefits they’ve seen from becoming members of a modern, comprehensive application service that benefits applicants and graduate programs. Featuring presentations by Julie Masterson (Missouri State University) and Robbie Melton (Tennessee State University). Webinar sponsored by Liaison. 

On October 25, CGS joined a community letter addressed to National Science Foundation Director France Cordova encouraging the agency to allocate at least as many fellowships through the Graduate Research Fellowship Program as it did last year.

On October 25, the Coalition for National Science Funding sent a letter to House and Senate appropriations committee leadership urging them to complete the FY 2020 Commerce-Justice-Science bill and to provide the National Science Foundation with at least $8.6 billion.

On October 24, CGS joined an Ad Hoc Group for Medical Research coalition letter addressed to leaders of the House and Senate appropriations committees urging them to swiftly agree to increasing the LHHS-ED allocation for FY 2020, which would boost funding for the National Institutes of Health.

On October 31, concluding a three-day markup to debate and offer amendments to the College Affordability Act (H.R. 4674), the House Education and Labor Committee passed the measure by a vote of 28-22. H.R. 4674 would make comprehensive changes in a reauthorization of the Higher Education Act (HEA). A summary of certain provisions in the bill was included in the October 25 issue of Washington Insights & Highlights when it was first made available to the public. While CGS has not taken a position on the legislation in its entirety, the association sent a letter to the committee expressing support for some of these provisions that would expand access to graduate education. The association also joined a community letter led by the American Council on Education that further outlines support and concern in response to other aspects of the bill, such as proposed changes to Title IX and institutional accountability.

Additional provisions that were ultimately added to the bill include a reinstatement of subsidized loans for graduate students as well as reauthorization of the Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need (GAANN) program.

While the committee’s approval of the bill marks a significant step on the path towards HEA reauthorization, it is not yet clear whether its counterpart in the Senate will achieve similar progress in constructing a comprehensive legislative package. CGS will continue to work with both chambers as the process unfolds.