Research Facilities

Focused ultrasound, which concentrates ultrasound energy on a target in the body without harming healthy surrounding tissue, is being researched for over 170 diseases worldwide. Researchers have expertise in therapeutic and diagnostic ultrasound and image-guided therapy hardware and software to support clinical and preclinical trials, including: high-intensity focused ultrasound transducer design, fabrication, and testing; ultrasound simulation and modeling; preclinical investigation; treatment planning for image-guided therapy; and cavitation detection and monitoring.

The Biosafety Level 3 lab is designed for work with agents that present a potential for aerosol transmission, agents that could cause serious or potentially lethal disease, or laboratory animals infected with indigenous or exotic agents. A unique attribute of the Roanoke lab is the placement of specialized equipment inside the facility, allowing for flouorescence microscopy, confocal microscopy, live-cell analysis, cell sorting, 3D and 4D ultrasound imaging, and other uses all within the biosafety level 3 facility. 

The research institute's human brain imaging facilities allow research in a wide variety of fields, including neuroscience, psychology, political science, law, and economics. The Roanoke campus hosts three research-dedicated Siemens functional magnetic resonance imaging devices, as well as a rare optically pumped magnetometry lab for next-generation human social neuroscience research.  

Animal models have revolutionized our ability to study mechanisms underlying human diseases. Multimodal imaging in preclinical research has proven highly reliable for assessing animal disease models, monitoring disease progress, and evaluating the effectiveness of therapy in vivo. The Small-bore Imaging Core houses a 9.4T Bruker MRI and PET/CT scanners in the same location. Investigators can image the same animal with multiple modalities since the techniques are noninvasive. Dedicated faculty provide services ranging from imaging study design to results interpretation, whether using single or multiple modalities.

Virginia Tech scientists conduct advanced research in the science of nutrition utilizing a unique respiration calorimeter facility in Roanoke, one of only a few in the country that includes both a spacious 9-by-12-foot room and a smaller flex chamber measuring 4-by-7 feet in a push-pull configuration to measure metabolic rate and relative substrate utilization of a human study subject. Adjacent to the space is a metabolic kitchen featuring commercial grade cooking facilities, Nutrition Data System for Research access, and a dining and observational area. 

Microscopy facilities at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute include a vast array of cutting-edge instruments, from laser scanning and spinning disk confocal micrcopes to scanning serial block face electron and transmission electron microscopes, all supported by expert staffing.