cardioSURF
Welcome to cardioSURF
American Heart Association and Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship
Hands-on Experience in Cardiovascular Research and Cutting-Edge Imaging Technologies
May 27 to Aug. 1, 2025
Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Imaging Human Brain Vascular Activity in Real Time
Echocardiography
Measuring Cardiac Function in Human Disease Models
Whole Organ Optical Mapping
Visualizing Electical Activity in the Heart
Sub-cellular Confocal Microscopy
Visualizing Protein Transport and Interaction During Cardiac Stress and Infection
Super-resolution Localization
Localizing Molecular Complexes at the Nanoscale Level within Human Cells
Electron Microscopy
Visualizing Biology at the Nanoscale from Ribosomes to Cardiotropic Viruses and SARS-CoV-2
The Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC is one of Virginia Tech’s only research institute devoted solely to biomedical research. It opened on Sept. 1, 2010, welcoming new faculty, postdoctoral fellows, students, and staff from across the United States and throughout the world. The institute has grown rapidly, and as of 2023 holds more than $170 million in research grant funding, primarily from the National Institutes of Health, with nearly 40 research laboratories.
The American Heart Association FBRI cardioSURF program is a 10-week long hands-on summer program that gives students the opportunity to participate in hypothesis-driven independent research using cutting-edge imaging technologies at Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC in Roanoke, Virginia.
Are you a rising junior or senior at a university in the United States looking to devote your summer to full-time research and explore a potential career in science? See if cardioSURF is the right opportunity for you.
Each summer, we are thrilled to welcome our new cohort of students to Fralin Biomedical Research Institute. View a list of our students by cohort year, from 2017 thorugh 2023.
Our Team
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John C. Chappell, Ph.D. , homeAssociate Professor, Director, Translational Biology, Medicine, and Health graduate program
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Robert Gourdie, Ph.D., FAHA, AIMBE , homeProfessor and Director, Center for Vascular and Heart Research
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Scott Johnstone, Ph.D. , homeAssistant Professor
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Samy Y. Lamouille, Ph.D. , homeAssistant Professor
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Jessica Pfleger, Ph.D. , homeAssistant Professor
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Steven Poelzing, Ph.D. , homeProfessor, Associate Director, Fralin Biomedical Research Institute Faculty Affairs
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Yassine Sassi, Ph.D. , homeAssistant Professor
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James Smyth, Ph.D. , homeAssociate Professor
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Junco Warren, Ph.D. , homeAssistant Professor
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Alexandria Pilot Chambers, DHSc , redirectAssistant Director of Operations, Center for Neurobiology Research
News about cardioSURF
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‘The real deal’: Students thrive and grow in summer hands-on research experiences , articleThis was the seventh summer of programs aimed at engaging and training the next generation of scientists. This year, 34 students from colleges in Virginia, North Carolina, and as far away as California, and from five area high schools, participated in summer undergraduate research fellowship programs at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC.
Date: Sep 21, 2023 -
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Fralin Biomedical Research Institute expands Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship program , articleMore than 30 undergraduate and high school students worked behind the curtain of biomedical research this summer at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC.
Date: Aug 19, 2022 -
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Fralin Biomedical Research Institute Summer Undergraduate Research Fellows present neurobiology and advanced imaging findings , articleThe Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC hosted 20 undergraduate students this summer for a 10-week experience in two research programs that explore neurobiology and cutting-edge imaging technology to visualize living systems.
Date: Aug 24, 2021
James Smyth, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
cardioSURF Director
smythj@vtc.vt.edu
540-526-2238
Alexandria Pilot Chambers, DHSc
Assistant Director of Operations
Center for Neurobiology Research
apilot@vtc.vt.edu
540-526-2154