Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC | Virginia Tech Health & Biomedical Research
Featured Story
Aug. 28, 2026
Beyond trial and error: A more precise approach to psychiatry
Imagine watching a son or daughter begin college during a formative time in life, only to have schizophrenia suddenly alter their reality. They may begin hearing voices no one else can hear or believe that strangers are watching them. To people with schizophrenia, these types of experiences are real.
“The problem is for both the patient and the family — they’re living in alternate realities,” said Michael Halassa, a physician-scientist and professor who leads both laboratory and clinical research programs at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC. “Changes in the person’s brain have affected their perception of reality. It’s a tragic situation.”
Finding a treatment that works is a challenge.
That challenge will be at the center of the research institute’s Precision Therapeutics symposium Sept. 23-24, which will bring pharmaceutical leaders, scientists and clinicians to Virginia Tech to explore precision therapeutics and computational approaches to schizophrenia. The goal is to identify biological differences among patients that can help guide treatment.
Campus news
Upcoming
-
Home Item
Precision Therapeutics for Schizophrenia Symposium , homeSept. 23-24, 2026 | Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC | 4 Riverside Circle, Roanoke, Virginia
Creating a healthier future. For everyone.
The Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC is one of the nation’s fastest-growing academic biomedical research enterprises and a destination for world-class biomedical, behavioral, and computational researchers focused on advancing scientific understanding of human health through groundbreaking research in preventing, diagnosing, and treating the world’s leading causes of death and suffering.
NEWS
In the News
-
Redirect ItemUSA Today: Why we’re hooked on processed food -- and how to quit , redirect Date: Sep 17, 2026 -
-
Redirect Item
-
Redirect ItemBrightsurf: Oral therapy protects healthy tissue from radiation in mice , redirect Date: Aug 21, 2026 -
-
Redirect Item
VIDEOS
-
Redirect Item
Precision Therapeutics for Schizophrenia Symposium , redirectSept. 23-24, 2026 | Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC | 4 Riverside Circle, Roanoke, Virginia
-
Home Item
mTor Signaling in Pulmonary Vascular Disease: Bench to Bedside and Back , homeSept. 25, 2026, 11:00 a.m. | Elena Goncharova, Ph.D., ATSF, FAHA, Professor, Department of Internal Medicine; Director, Pulmonary Vascular Disease Program, UC Davis School of Medicine | Co-Sponsored by the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute and the Center for Vascular and Heart Research
-
Home Item
How Can Research Inform Better Public Policy Towards Addiction? , homeOct. 2, 2026, 11:00 a.m. | Keith Humphreys, OBE, Ph.D., Esther Ting Memorial Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Stanford University School of Medicine | Co-Sponsored by the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute and the Center for Health Behaviors Research
-
Home Item
Exercise, the Fountain of Youth? , homeOct. 15, 2026, 5:30 p.m. (Reception at 5 p.m.) | Zhen Yan, Ph.D., Professor and Director, Center for Exercise Medicine Research, Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC | Maury Strauss Distinguished Public Lecture
-
Home Item
Data-Driven Discovery of Secreted Proteins as Cancer Immunotherapies , homeOct. 16, 2026, 11:00 a.m. | Peng Jiang, Ph.D., Senior Investigator, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health | Co-Sponsored by the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute and the Cancer Research Center — D.C.
-
Home Item
Mapping Different Excitatory and Inhibitory Input Types onto Single Cortical Pyramidal Neurons , homeOct. 30, 2026, 11:00 a.m. | Elly Nedivi, Ph.D., William R. (1964) & Linda R. Young Professor of Neuroscience, The Picower Institute for Learning & Memory, Departments of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, and Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Co-Sponsored by the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute and the Center for Neurobiology Research
Giving to the Research Institute
Your generous support of the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute's rigorous biomedical research enterprise makes a difference for our faculty, students, and patients. Every donation helps accelerate the pace of new discoveries to help patients with cancer, neurological disorders, heart disease, and even rare genetic disorders. Private donations fast-track our progress.