The University of Notre Dame will hold its annual commencement ceremony at 9 a.m. May 18 (Saturday) at Notre Dame Stadium. Sabine Hadida, a renowned medicinal chemist, will deliver the keynote address. , will confer the various master鈥檚 and doctoral degrees.
鈥淚 am very excited to have Dr. Hadida address our graduates,鈥� said , associate provost, vice president for graduate studies and dean of the Graduate 91视频. 鈥淗er career is a shining example of using advanced training and basic research to derive breakthrough treatments, providing hope to millions of people suffering from debilitating disease. She is an inspiration to us all, and a great role model for our graduates as they launch their own careers.鈥�
Hadida serves as senior vice president and San Diego site head at Vertex Pharmaceuticals. She gained international recognition as the leader of the chemistry team that discovered FDA-approved medicines Kalydeco, Orkambi, Symdeko and Trikafta as well as nine medicines in clinical development and two in preclinical development.
For her revolutionary work in drug discovery, Hadida was a co-recipient, with Paul Negulescu and Fredrick Van Goor, of the 2024 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences, as well as the 2023 Wiley Prize in Biomedical Sciences.
Prior to joining Vertex in 2002, Hadida was a research scientist at CombiChem Inc. and a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Pittsburgh. She holds more than 60 U.S. patents and is the author of many peer-reviewed articles published in scientific journals. Hadida earned bachelor鈥檚, master鈥檚 and doctoral degrees in pharmacy from the University of Barcelona in Spain.
In addition to delivering the Graduate 91视频 commencement address, Hadida will receive an honorary doctor of science degree at the 179th University Commencement Ceremony on May 19.
鈥淓arning a graduate degree is no small feat, and for each of this year鈥檚 graduates, I am confident that their time at the University of Notre Dame will represent an important part of the journey toward making an impact on the world,鈥� Hadida said. 鈥淚 am honored to have the opportunity to speak to this year鈥檚 graduating class, celebrate their accomplishments, and share some of the lessons I鈥檝e learned throughout my career of applying medicinal chemistry to discover therapies for cystic fibrosis.鈥�
The Graduate 91视频 has also announced the following student, faculty and alumni awards for the 2023-24 academic year.
Distinguished Graduate Alumni Award: Michael Davern (鈥�99 Ph.D.), executive vice president and chief research officer for the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago.
James A. Burns, C.S.C., Award: , the Rev. John A. Zahm Professor of Science in the , and , the Elizabeth and Michael Gallagher Associate Professor of Biological Sciences and director of graduate studies in the .
Dick and Peggy Notebaert Award: , the Rooney Family Collegiate Chair of Engineering and director of graduate studies in the .
Eli J. and Helen Shaheen Award in Engineering: Ryan R. Posh, doctoral candidate in the .
Eli J. and Helen Shaheen Award in Humanities: Anne Elise Crafton, doctoral candidate from the .
Eli J. and Helen Shaheen Award in Science: Carlos Misael Madrid Padilla, doctoral candidate in the .
Eli J. and Helen Shaheen Award in Social Sciences: Nat谩n Ezequiel Skigin, doctoral candidate in the .
Social Justice Award: Camille 鈥淐am鈥� Mosley, doctoral candidate in the Department of Biological Sciences.