Community Outreach and Events

Field Trips

Are you a teacher in the Roanoke region? We work together with local educators to provide educational tours to give regional youth the opportunity to meet real scientists, see labs, and learn about the important research we do here. Bring your class to tour our laboratories and learn a little bit about how physiology, biology, chemistry, physics, and mathematics help researchers develop new medications and treatments to help sick patients. To begin planning a tour, please contact Whitney Slightham for more information. Please Note: Due to the pandemic, we are not currently hosting any public tours.

Summer Camp Programming

We work together with local non-profits, including Goodwill Industries of the Valleys and the Science Museum of Western Virginia, to facilitate tours and educational programming for summer day campers. 

Welcoming Week

Welcoming Roanoke is a City-led campaign that involves dozens of partner institutions across the valley to welcome newcomers, with a particular emphasis on international populations and community members with diverse backgrounds. Each September, the City organizes a Welcoming Week event series to bring communities together. This year, the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute is taking part in the events by providing volunteers to do STEM outreach in the community, and to volunteer at other Welcoming Week events.

Roanoke STEAM Day

The Fralin Biomedical Research Institute is proud to participate in Roanoke STEAM Day each year. In 2019, research institute faculty, staff, and students contributed 90 combined hours of service to support this initiative. Visitors learned about brains, made their own neurons, peered into the microscopic world with scopes, and played interactive games to learn about the heart and circulatory system. 

School Visits from Faculty and Students

Many of our faculty and graduate students are passionate about sharing science with our community, and will collaborate with local teachers to bring educational programming to the classroom. Please note: Due to the pandemic, school tours of the facilities are not available, however virtual programming to connect local students with researchers may be arranged.

Laboratory Tours

Are you a teacher in the Roanoke region? We work together with local educators to provide educational tours to give regional high school students the opportunity to meet real scientists, see labs, and learn about the important research we do here. To schedule a tour, please contact Whitney Slightham for more information. Please Note: Due to the pandemic, we are not currently hosting any public tours.

High School Student Lab Mentorship Opportunities

Fralin Biomedical Research Institute faculty provide a very limited number of research mentorship experiences each year for advanced (junior or senior) high school students. Learn more about the application process and training opportunity on our High School Training Programs page.

The Virginia State Science Fair

The Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine and the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC were selected to host the Virginia State Science Fair for three years between 2018 and 2020. Faculty, staff and students contributed hundreds of hours of service to host the fair by promoting and planning the event, providing on-site assistance, and serving as judges. 

Are you a teacher in the Roanoke region? We work together with local educators to provide educational tours to give regional high school students the opportunity to meet real scientists, see labs, and learn about the important research we do here. To schedule a tour, please contact Whitney Slightham for more information.

Please Note: Due to the pandemic, we are not currently hosting any public tours.

The Maury Strauss Distinguished Public Lecture Series

The Maury Strauss Distinguished Public Lecture Series brings nationally renowned experts to the Roanoke community. These lectures are offered monthly throughout the academic year and are designed to help educate members of the general public about important topics related to health, research, and policy. 

Brain School Lectures

The Fralin Biomedical Research Institute's Annual Brain School is held each March as part of Brain Awareness Week: a campaign that unites the efforts of organizations worldwide in a weeklong celebration of the brain. This initiative is spearheaded internationally by the Dana Foundation, a private philanthropic organization that supports brain research, and locally by the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute.

Watch Archived Scientific and Academic Lectures

The research institute hosts roughly 100 visiting scholars each year. Many of these lectures - such as our Pioneers in Biomedical Research Seminar Series, and the Timothy A. Johnson Medical Scholars Lecture Series - are intended for Virginia Tech, Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, and Carilion Clinic audiences. However, members of the public can tune in via Live Webcast and watch archived lectures. 

Roanoke Brain School

Since 2013, the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute's Annual Brain School has been held each March as part of Brain Awareness Week: a campaign that unites the efforts of organizations worldwide in a weeklong celebration of the brain. This initiative is spearheaded internationally by the Dana Foundation, a private philanthropic organization that supports brain research, and locally by the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute. Each year the research institute hosts a week of educational programming and public lectures to teach community members about neuroscience.

Summer Camp Programming

We work together with local non-profits, including Goodwill Industries of the Valleys and the Science Museum of Western Virginia, to facilitate tours and educational programming for summer day campers. 

STEM Job Fair & Panel Discussion

In 2019, graduate students at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute organized an outreach event at the Melrose Library Branch to help educate local youth and job-seekers about employment opportunities in health sciences. 

Roanoke STEAM Day

The Fralin Biomedical Research Institute is proud to participate in Roanoke STEAM Day each year. In 2019, research institute faculty, staff, and students contributed 90 combined hours of service to support this initiative. Visitors learned about brains, made their own neurons, peered into the microscopic world with scopes, and played interactive games to learn about the heart and circulatory system. Faculty, staff and students who are interested in joining an upcoming STEAM Day should contact Whitney Slightham for more information.

The Virginia State Science Fair

The Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine and the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC were selected to host the Virginia State Science Fair for three years between 2018 and 2020. Faculty, staff and students contributed hundreds of hours of service to host the fair by promoting and planning the event, providing on-site assistance, and serving as judges. 

Summer Undergraduate Research Opportunities

We offer year-round opportunities for undergraduates wishing to receive research training. Undergraduate positions vary, and may be for-credit (Fall/Spring/Summer), volunteer, or paid. Students who have identified investigators whose research appeals to them should submit an application here online. Prospective trainees may learn more about individual faculty, their research, and publications through our Primary Faculty and Laboratory pages.

1. A resume, including any laboratory skills and experiences, and courses taken (and in progress) with grades
2. An unofficial university transcript
3. A statement of the student's research interests, including specific research institute faculty they are interested in working with
4. An estimate of the time the student would be available to participate in research (e.g. Fall semester, 10 hrs/week)

Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Opportunities

Exceptional undergraduate students looking for summer opportunities are encouraged to apply for one of Virginia Tech’s competitive summer undergraduate fellowship programs. Many of these programs provide a stipend, housing, and short-courses to compliment the research experience. For more information and to apply, visit the program websites:

• The NeuroSURF Program emphasizes Translational Neurobiology and is now open for applications for its inaugural class. The program supports accepted students with a stipend, and housing for those who need it.
• The Molecular Visualization SURF Program emphasizes use of imaging technologies across multiple fields of biomedical research, and will soon be open for applications for its inaugural class. The program supports accepted students with a stipend and housing for those who need it.
• Multicultural Academic Opportunities Program’s Summer Research Internships
  The internships include a $3,000 stipend, free room and board, a 10 week GRE prep class, and a variety of other weekly activities and excursions. Awardees may perform research with participating institute faculty.

Launched by graduate students working at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute, the Big Lick of Science Podcast features engaging interviews with our faculty members. Learn more about the podcast.