Home
Featured Story
Aug. 2, 2022
Virginia Tech tissue researcher’s 3D model of brain tumor environment could aid personalized treatment
Glioblastoma, a rare but deadly brain cancer, is wickedly sturdy. Surgeons remove tumors only to see the cancer come back ferociously. Chemotherapy and radiation therapy have limited effects. About half of patients die within 18 months. But now Virginia Tech scientists have developed a novel 3D tissue-engineered model of the glioblastoma tumor microenvironment that can be used to learn why the tumors return and what treatments will be most effective at eradicating them – right down to a patient-specific level.
Campus Notices
We are committed to making our workplace inclusive for everyone. Read our Fralin Biomedical Research Institute Principles of Human Dignity and Non-Discrimination, and Visit our Diversity & Inclusion page for more information.
It is recommended that a well-fitted mask should be worn on the Health Sciences and Technology campus. Read the latest COVID-19 guidelines.
Creating a healthier future. For everyone.
Founded in 2010, 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 researchers. The institute’s Virginia Tech scientists focus on diseases that are the leading causes of death and suffering in the United States, including brain disorders, heart disease, and cancer. In just 11 years, the research institute has experienced unprecedented growth: doubling its enterprise and lab facilities in Roanoke, while also investing in brand-new laboratories on the Children’s National Research & Innovation Campus in Washington, D.C.
NEWS
-
Article Item
-
Article ItemNew study may inform chemotherapy approaches for breast cancer , article Date: Aug 08, 2022
-
Article Item
VIDEOS
UPCOMING SEMINARS & EVENTS
-
Home ItemInter-Organelle Communication Pathways and Dynamics Revealed by Imaging , home
Sept. 9, 2022, 11 a.m. | Jennifer Lippincott-Schwartz, Ph.D., Senior Group Leader, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Janelia Research Campus | Pioneers in Biomedical Research Seminar Series | Co-Sponsored by the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute Center for Neurobiology Research
-
Home ItemRegulation of Endothelial Cell Specialization , home
Sept. 16, 2022, 11 a.m. | Karen K. Hirschi, Ph.D., Professor and Director, Developmental Genomics Center, University of Virginia | Pioneers in Biomedical Research Seminar Series | Co-Sponsored by the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute Center for Vascular and Heart Research
-
Home ItemAlbinism: Can It Become a Treatable Disease? , home
Sept. 16, 2022, 1 p.m. | Brian Brooks, M.D., Ph.D., Senior Investigator, National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health | Timothy A. Johnson Medical Scholar Lecture Series
-
Redirect Item2022 Vascular and Heart Research Symposium , redirect
Sept. 19, 2022 | Hosted by the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC
-
Home ItemSocially-Directed Science and Technology: Design at the Intersection of History, Sustainability, and Equity with Applications to Biotechnology and Biomaterials , home
Sept. 22, 2022, 5:30 p.m. (Reception at 5 p.m.) | Christine Ortiz, Ph.D., Morris Cohen Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Maury Strauss Distinguished Public Lecture
-
Home ItemConnectomics of Addiction Recovery , home
Sept. 23, 2022, 11:00 am. | Sarah Yip, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Child Study, Yale School of Medicine | Pioneers in Biomedical Research Seminar Series | Co-Sponsored by the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute Addiction Recovery Research Center and Center for Health Behaviors 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.
RESEARCH FOCUS AREAS

Addiction Recovery
Our researchers work at the intersection of behavioral study and neuroscience to target the impaired decision-making processes underlying addictive behaviors.
-
Home Item
-
Article Item
-
Article Item
-
Article Item
-
Article Item

Cancer
We are rigorously searching for the next generation of targeted cancer therapies in aggressive forms of brain and breast cancer.
-
Home Item
-
Home Item
-
Home Item
-
Home Item
-
Home Item
-
Home Item
-
Home Item
-
Home Item
-
Article ItemNew study may inform chemotherapy approaches for breast cancer , article Date: Aug 08, 2022
-
Article Item
-
Article Item
-
Article Item
-
Article Item

Cardiovascular Science
With heart disease as the nation’s leading killer, we are elucidating cardiomyopathy, heart attack, sudden cardiac death, and stroke on a molecular scale.
-
Home Item
-
Home Item
-
Home Item
-
Home Item
-
Home Item
-
Home Item
-
Home Item
-
Home Item
-
Article Item
-
Article Item
-
Article ItemVirginia Tech celebrates its inventors , article Date: Apr 19, 2022

Children's Health
We want every child to reach their full potential, which is why our researchers study pediatric cancers, brain development and disorders, and neuro rehabilitation.
-
Home Item
-
Home Item
-
Home Item
-
Home Item
-
Home Item
-
Home Item
-
Home Item
-
Home Item
-
Home Item
-
Home Item
-
Home Item
-
Home Item
-
Home Item
-
Home Item
-
Article Item
-
Article Item
-
Article Item
-
Article ItemVirginia Tech scientists link rare medical condition to its cause , article Date: Apr 30, 2020
-
Article Item

Health Behaviors
We are studying ways to prevent and treat lifestyle-related disorders, such as obesity, substance use, and Type 2 diabetes.
-
Home Item
-
Home Item
-
Home Item
-
Home Item
-
Article Item
-
Article Item
-
Article Item
-
Article Item

Human Neuroscience
Our scientists are developing new ways to study human behavior, brain function, decision-making, and brain disorders.
-
Home Item
-
Home Item
-
Home Item
-
Home Item
-
Home Item
-
Article Item
-
Article Item
-
Article Item
-
Article Item
-
Article Item

Infectious Disease
At Fralin Biomedical we seek to understand how pathogens such as viruses, bacteria, and parasites infect host cells.
-
Home Item
-
Home Item
-
Home Item
-
Article Item
-
Article Item
-
Article Item
-
Article Item

Molecular and Cellular Neurobiology
We examine the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying brain development to understand how brain cells are altered by genetic variations, neurodegenerative disorders, trauma, and aging.
-
Home Item
-
Home Item
-
Home Item
-
Home Item
-
Home Item
-
Home Item
-
Home Item
-
Home Item
-
Home Item
-
Home Item
-
Home Item
-
Article Item
-
Article Item
-
Article Item
-
Article Item
-
Article Item