2024–25 Graduate Justice Fellows
In 2024–25, we welcomed our second cohort of fellows that represented four colleges, two schools, and six departments around the University. The fellowship is designed to create an interdisciplinary community of graduate students committed to scholarship that engages questions of justice. The aim is to introduce young scholars from various disciplines to questions of justice in the hope that they make those a regular part of their scholarship and teaching going forward.
Andrei Badilla Aguilar
Andrei (he/him) is an engineer and a microbiologist by training from Costa Rica. He worked at the Costa Rican Water and Sewage Authority, overseeing water quality on beaches, investigating waterborne outbreaks, and tracking COVID-19 through wastewater. He is now pursuing a PhD in Environmental Engineering at Notre Dame, focusing on microbiology, the environment, and public health. In his free time, Andrei enjoys birdwatching, wildlife photography, brewing specialty coffee, and exercising.
Research
I conduct research at the Bibby Lab, investigating the spread of Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) in flowing waters. In 2019, over 1.2 million people succumbed to infections caused by drug-resistant bacteria. However, AMR not only impacts human health but also affects veterinary settings and the environment. Farm animal manure, which is commonly used as fertilizer, is widely recognized as a source of resistance to the nearby environments. This practice particularly contributes to the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria to flowing waters through runoff or direct pollution. I use molecular analyses and modeling techniques to study how manure-borne genes associated with resistance in bacteria are transported in flowing waters. Understanding the fate and transport will alleviate the burden of antibiotic resistance and ensure a cleaner environment for everyone.
Clare Bath
Clare Bath is second-year doctoral student in the Sociology Department. She holds a BA in Political Science and History from Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota (2021) and a MA in Peace and Justice from the University of San Diego (2023).
Clare compares tactics used by civil society organizations to affect change in unrecognized countries, also called defacto states. She is especially interested in how institutions challenge, maintain, or overcome national, geopolitical, and/or international hegemonies.
Research
Numerous countries in the world today, such as Somaliland, Kurdistan, and Taiwan, lack international recognition. Their governments operate with a high degree of autonomy; their territories have been stabilized for many years; and each possesses a strong national identity. However, the refusal of most international organizations (such as the UN) and powerful states (such as the US) to recognize these states constrains the capacity of their governments to participate fully in international governance. Yet, this phenomenon not only impacts the way that such governments operate, but also their civil societies. I traveled to Hargeisa, Somaliland, to conduct interviews and participatory ethnography to answer the question: how do NGOs adapt to, and resist, the constraints placed on development resulting from their host country’s unrecognized status?
Noemi Fernandez Labarga
Noemi is a PhD candidate in Notre Dame’s English Department whose work examines the intersection between infrastructural justice and the literature of the Americas. When not dissertating, she is a managing editor for the peer-reviewed journal Religion and Literature, and she volunteers for the Moreau College Initiative at Westville Men’s Correctional Facility.
Research
My dissertation, currently titled “Nuclear Transmutations and Quantum Observations in American Speculative Literature,” shows how speculative literatures of the twentieth- and twenty-first centuries expose seemingly invisible regimes of infrastructural violence that escalated during and after the nuclear arms race around the time of the Second World War. From uranium mining and plutonium processing to nuclear testing and waste storage/dumping, nuclear infrastructures are variegated and multitudinous, impacting every aspect of human and nonhuman life. Those who are disproportionally affected by what I call “nuclear coloniality,” however, are racialized populations with ever-present legacies of colonial history. While those of us who operate from a site of privilege may not be able to see clearly through the murky surface of the nuclear complex, writers from affected communities are all too familiar with the consequences of an ever-present militarized society.
Katie Heatherly
Katie Heatherly is a second-year Ph.D. student at the University of Notre Dame where she studies the intersection of religion and gender and sexuality in 20th-century US. Heatherly received her M.A. in History from Baylor University and her B.A. in History from Union University. She is originally from Asheville, NC and outside of academia, Heatherly enjoys hiking, coffee, and exploring new places.
Research
I study twentieth-century evangelical women, gender, and sexuality. My research centers evangelical sex advice and purity culture and explores questions of positionality, authority, agency, and navigation of patriarchy. My historical inquiries shed light on the various paths evangelical women chose amid constraints and illuminate the ways evangelicals’ positionality, primarily their gender and race, shaped the sexual ethic they advanced.
Grace Kemgang
Grace Kemgang is a second-year in the Law School.
Research
As a first-generation immigrant, I am most fascinated by pursuits that intersect culture, justice, and humanity. In my undergraduate institution, I studied what ignites global social conflicts. I found that sociopolitical imbalances often lead to unrest. Now, as a law student, I will advocate for clients experiencing human rights atrocities in the Global Human Rights Clinic.
I hope that my career will be marked by eradicating these injustices.
O. Amandhi Matthews
Amandhi is a fourth year Ph. D student in the Cody Smith Laboratory studying sensory neuron development using zebrafish as a model organism. Amandhi is originally from Sri-Lanka and came to the United States to pursue her bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Dallas. At Notre Dame, Amandhi has held positions as the Chair of Professional Development and Outreach of the Association for Women in STEM. She is also an ambassador for EducationUSA, a Fulbright Outreach Program that assists the education outreach efforts of Fulbright Sri-Lanka.
Research
Proper formation of neural circuitry depends on the precise organization of the hallmark cells of our nervous system, neurons and glia. The genetic mechanisms controlling neuron-glia dynamics in early development remain largely unknown. To understand these dynamics, I study the establishment of sensory circuits in zebrafish which requires accurate, developmentally timed positioning of neurons and glia. My work has identified two genes, previously unelucidated in nervous system development, as critical for the neurons’ ability to enter the spinal cord and form a circuit. This work ultimately informs strategies and treatments for neurodevelopmental disorders where early aberrant neuronal wiring leads to disease states in neuronal tissue.
Neeraj Maurya
Neeraj Maurya was born in the small village of State Uttar Pradesh, India. Neeraj went to school at a government-run school called “Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya Palghar” and his higher education in chemistry is from Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay and Delhi University. He loves to play cricket and read research articles.
Research
I am an organic chemist in Brian Blagg lab, my work is to synthesize small molecules which can inhibit heat shock protein-90( hsp90) which is highly expressed in cancers.
Kyung Mo Kang
As a JSD candidate and human rights lawyer, Kyung focuses on using international law to address long-lasting human rights violations under authoritarian regimes, with a particular emphasis on transitional justice. Kyung’s research primarily concentrates on North Korea and China. He has published two books on international crimes committed by the North Korean government and has presented on the food crisis in North Korea.
Research
Since the UN determined that human rights violations in North Korea could constitute crimes against humanity and recommended individual accountability, scholars have explored mechanisms for addressing the North Korean human rights crisis. However, these studies often overlook victims’ voices and the democratic legacy. This research seeks the most appropriate criminal tribunal model to promote democracy and peace in North Korea from a transitional justice perspective. Using qualitative methods, including interviews with North Korean refugees, it examines international, domestic, and hybrid tribunal models within the North Korean context. The research ultimately aims to identify the most suitable criminal tribunal model for North Korea.
Angel Muñoz-Carpintero
Angel is a Human Rights Lawyer from Honduras. Angel received his LLM from Notre Dame last year. In his free time, he enjoys playing soccer, tennis, hanging out with friends and reading. Angel is currently in his first year of his JSD.
Research
Beginning Fall 2024 I will start developing my dissertation, preliminarily
titled: Remilitarization of post-conflict Central America: Structural and Strategic Impunity of
serious human rights violations. Focused on the current Central American context, the
proposed study has three core pillars, namely: i) the constitutional role of the militaries, ii)
the use of force by military forces in non-conflict contexts, and iii) the effects of militarization
in judicial independence when adjudicating cases of serious human rights situations,
enabling impunity.
Raege Omar
Raege is a second-year PhD student in the joint Peace Studies and Political Science program at the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies in the University of Notre Dame’s Keough School of Global Affairs. Raege is a Dean’s Fellowship recipient at the University of Notre Dame. His research areas of interest include forced migration, conflict memory and transnational social movements in legal mobilization building upon the renewed global shift directed towards transnational justice and more accountability against impunity in gross human rights violations. Raege hopes to draw on his lived experience in conflict and comparative politics to study multilayered causal relationships in patterns of transnational diaspora activism influenced by conflict memory with temporal and contingent history. He previously completed a Master of Science in Sociology at the University of Texas San Antonio.
Research
Western liberal democracies absorb large numbers of forced migrants with past collective memory narratives which document atrocities to acknowledge victims and identify alleged perpetrators. This study will draw on three case studies to investigate how forced migrants engage in transnational legal mobilization in the absence of transitional justice in their country of origin; or when the country is unable or unwilling to pursue accountability for human rights violations. How and why does forced migrant legal mobilization extend transitional justice into the transnational space to address impunity in lesser-known conflicts in the global south? The project aims to develop a midlevel theory on understanding legal mobilization as a distinct from of transitional justice which is situated at the transnational space
Pavithra Rajendran
Pavithra Rajendran is a JSD candidate, multi-faceted feminist, socio-legal researcher, and first-generation lawyer. She holds dual LL.M degrees: one from Sri Lanka and another from University of Notre Dame, where she was a Fulbright awardee. Currently, at Notre Dame, she’s a Kellogg PhD Fellow, Klau Affiliate, and Law and Economics Fellow. Also, she’s an Ostrom Fellow at the Mercatus Center. Before commencing her JSD, she was a Lecturer in Law at the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Research
Firstly, can outdated, Victorian-era laws and procedures adequately address women’s needs and sensitivities, thereby granting them justice? My research argues ‘no’. Secondly, when women are already marginalized due to socio-economic and cultural factors, can this marginalization be free from the criminal justice system when women seek justice? My research argues ‘no’. Finally, do international and domestic laws sufficiently address women’s rights in criminal law and justice systems, and have they taken commendable steps to eradicate discrimination effectively? My research argues ‘no’. In summary, my research explores how women, already marginalized and vulnerable to violence, are further victimized by existing male-oriented laws and procedures. It also examines how effective domestic and international frameworks can address these issues, analyzing cases from both the Global North and South.
Anna Sokol
Anna Sokol is a PhD student in Computer Science at the University of Notre Dame, with a strong academic background in sociological comparative social research. Her research focuses on the intersection of large language models, ethics, and cultural context. She explores the ethical implications and cultural nuances of LLMs, aiming to ensure that AI technologies are developed and used responsibly, with respect for ethical standards and cultural diversity.
Research
This project aims to develop a multilingual question-answering system for the Colombian Truth Commission Data Archive. By using advanced language models, we ensure the system preserves socio-cultural context and mitigates biases. The goal is to make the archive more accessible and useful for both researchers and the public, helping to uncover historical injustices and promote reconciliation in post-conflict Colombia.
Kyla Walker
Kyla D. Walker is a second-year MFA student in the Creative Writing program. Her research interests lie at the intersection of Middle Eastern Studies, Sociology, Anthropology, and Literatures of Annihilation, Exile, and Resistance with a specific aim to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in the contemporary U.S. publishing landscape. Guided by the principles of truth and political freedom, her research goals are dedicated to immigrants, refugees, and those from Middle Eastern-American social/racial backgrounds.
Research
I’m currently working on a novel entitled “(Middle) Eastern Standard Time.” Inspired by my mother’s experience immigrating to the U.S. from Turkey in 1993, this manuscript aims to capture and reveal truths about the long history of Islamophobia and xenophobia in the U.S. and the impact it has had on individuals. The novel also aims to eradicate the commonly negative stereotypes of Middle Eastern immigrants portrayed in mass media and American pop culture. Brimful with escapes from arranged marriages to nineties-era cinema to the Lower East Side counter-culture, this novel grapples with what it means to become an independent woman and also an “American” in today’s world.
Subhas Yadav
Subhas Yadav is a PhD student from India at the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures of the University of Notre Dame with research interest in Afro-Latin American, Afro-Caribbean Literatures and Cultures.
Research
My research aims at finding/creating a shared ground between literary studies and the notions of social justice and the questions of equality, liberty and fraternity. I believe there is scope for creating a “relevant literary studies,” which could provide an archive of first-hand materials, or authentic voices/expressions of the real victims, e.g., autobiographies of Dalit, Tribal and Afro-Latino writers.
Yunyan Zhao
Yunyan received her B.Sc. in psychology from Central China Normal University, and M.Ed in developmental psychology from Beijing Normal University. She is interested in child and adolescent development, family dynamics and family system theory, and person-centered methods. She likes to go to movies and plays, go to fairs and other outdoor activities. She also does yoga and watch volleyball games. Besides that, she is a huge fan of glutinous rice products.
Research
My research explores child and adolescent development, focusing on the complex interplay of family and social media influences. Disparities in cultural heritage, socioeconomic status, and family backgrounds can significantly disadvantage youth, making it crucial to understand how these diverse realities shape development. I investigate the impact of family relationships on youth mental health in multicultural contexts and examine how social media use influences body image and eating concerns, particularly in college-aged women.