Dear colleagues and friends of the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute,
Earlier this month we announced the recruitment of our first cancer research faculty member to open our new Virginia Tech facility at the Children's National Research & Innovation Campus in Washington, D.C., Dr. Jia-Ray Yu. Dr. Yu investigates how chromatin alters gene expression during the induction of cancer, including in a particularly aggressive form of inoperable brain cancer in children known as diffuse pontine intrinsic glioma. We are fortunate to attract Dr. Yu to the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute and Virginia Tech as we grow our Cancer Research Alliance and partnership with Children's National Hospital.
Our researchers have been actively publishing new, exciting discoveries, including several new papers out this month. In one study, led by senior author Dr. Carla Finkielstein, the team outlined the development of a novel SARS-CoV-2 assay and ramping up of our Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory program to process thousands of COVID-19 samples every week and serve the health of rural communities in particular.
In another study published those in the FASEB Journal, a team led by Dr. Rob Gourdie, professor and director of our Center for Vascular and Heart Research, published their findings from clinical trials that showed the peptide compound discovered by Dr. Gourdie could considerably reduce surgical scarring.
Dr. Pearl Chiu and Dr. Brooks King-Casas also published new findings in JAMA Psychiatry. They found that symptom improvements in patients with depression who received cognitive behavioral therapy were related to improvements in reinforcement learning.
In the spirit of Ut Prosim,
Michael J. Friedlander, Ph.D.
Executive Director, Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC
Vice President for Health Sciences and Technology, Virginia Tech
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Neuroscientists tie improved learning processes to reduced symptoms of depression
Pearl Chiu and Brooks King-Casas, associate professors at the research institute, have identified neural learning processes associated with symptoms of depression. Their findings, published this week in JAMA Psychiatry, revealed that symptom improvements following cognitive behavioral therapy were related to improvements in reinforcement learning components. Read More
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Scientists uncover how molecule improves appearance of surgery scars
In a new study led by Rob Gourdie, professor at the research institute, scientists discovered that the alphaCT1 molecule may help repair the skin’s collagen matrix by altering how scar-forming cells behave. The findings reveal a previously unreported feature of scar formation and could help advance wound healing treatments for patients undergoing surgical procedures. Read More
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Cancer biologist to join Fralin Biomedical Research Institute faculty, launch research lab in Washington, D.C.
Jia-Ray Yu will be an assistant professor at Virginia Tech’s Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC and in the Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology in the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, as well as an adjunct assistant professor at Children’s National Hospital starting Sept. 1. Yu is a biochemist studying how faulty protein structures surrounding DNA alter gene expression, spurring the formation of an aggressive, terminal brain cancer that primarily affects children. Read More
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Virginia Tech’s COVID-19 testing operation demonstrates the power and versatility of academic labs
In the early days of the pandemic, scientists at Virginia Tech created a COVID-19 testing laboratory and novel test for the virus from scratch. This novel protocol for transforming a research laboratory into a testing operation capable of processing more than 130,000 tests for the Commonwealth of Virginia and Virginia Tech communities since April 2020, has been described in a new article published July 20 in Nature Communications. Read More
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TBMH student receives competitive NIH award to study molecule’s role in healthy brain development
Raymundo Hernandez, a graduate student in Virginia Tech’s Translational Biology, Medicine, and Health Program, is carrying out research on how a specific molecule – brain-derived neurotrophic factor – influences important aspects of healthy neurodevelopment. Read More
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Summer interns gain hands-on learning in Virginia Tech’s COVID-19 testing lab
During two five-week sessions, 20 college students learned about COVID-19 testing in the Virginia Tech Molecular Diagnostics Lab at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute. Read More
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Virginia Tech graduate student receives three awards for research and community outreach
Rachana Deven Somaiya, a doctoral candidate in the Translational Biology, Medicine, and Health Graduate Program, earned recognitions from the National Institutes of Health, Virginia Tech Student Affairs, and philanthropist and alumnus Ray Gaskins '64. Read More
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Making transformative discoveries to build a healthier future for all
Virginia Tech and the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute are providing rapid COVID-19 sample analysis to help control the pandemic in support of our local community, the Commonwealth, and frontline responders. Private support is critical to continue these efforts. Here are some ways that you can support the research institute right now, in light of COVID-19:
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