Dear Friends and Colleagues,
Last week, the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC was pulsing with energy from scientists, clinicians, students, and distinguished guests in a highly successful example of bringing together the essential pieces of a true academic health center.
On Oct. 9 and 10, our Vascular and Heart Research Center sponsored a symposium that provided a venue for vigorous presentations and discussion around topics of common interest that contribute to the advancement and application of leading edge science, its translation, and application for clinical care. It’s another area where innovation and collaboration are driving new discoveries to improve health.
The symposium involved graduate and medical student poster presentations and 24 speakers, including outside keynotes from leading cardiovascular scientists. Those included experts from Vanderbilt University Medical Center, the Center for Microvascular Research at the University of Pittsburgh, the University of Minnesota Medical School, the UNC School of Medicine, the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, and the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation.
Together with speakers from Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, the Virginia Tech Blacksburg campus, the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine and Carilion Clinic, researchers shared their clinical innovations with basic lab bench and translational scientists who are making fundamental discoveries underlying a wide range of diseases of the heart and blood vessels and developing approaches to translate their discoveries into patient care.
Diseases of the heart and blood vessels are the leading cause of death worldwide. This two-day gathering -- with its robust exchange of ideas, development of new collaborations, sharing of innovations and vision for the future of cardiovascular health -- represents a particularly timely event.
Less than a week earlier, we gathered in that same space to unveil a statue of Roanoke native Henrietta Lacks, who was treated for cervical cancer at Johns Hopkins Hospital and whose cells -- known as HeLa cells, with a unique ability to continuously grow and divide in the laboratory -- were taken without her knowledge or permission and sold by a company to research laboratories worldwide. Although an injustice occurred that subsequently led to strict ethical standards for patient consent for providing their biological tissue for research, her cells continue to this day to enable some of the most important advances in biomedical research, including in cancer, neurodegenerative disease, and heart disease.
Her continued presence stands as a reminder of our responsibility as scientists to act with the highest ethical and moral standards and to work tirelessly, not only to advance biomedical discovery, but also to commit to the principles embodied in the memory of Henrietta Lacks and her substantial contributions to the health of the entire world.
Yours truly 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
Senior Dean for Research, Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine
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Henrietta Lacks statues unveiled where her legacy thrives
The Fralin Biomedical Research Institute, the Virginia Tech Carillon School of Medicine, and Carillon Clinic each unveiled small-scale statues of Roanoke native Henrietta Lacks, honoring the woman whose "immortal" cells have supported decades of medical breakthroughs. Read Story
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How do tax proposals affect cancer health of tobacco users based on income, education?
Roberta Freitas-Lemon of the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute received a career-development grant to examine socioeconomic disparities of tobacco policies. Read Story
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Researchers link food insecurity, financial hardship during Covid-19 to trait associated with poor health choices
The study has implications for better understanding food choices and addictive disorders. Read Story
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'There is no Planet B': Climate expert explores gap between science, policy, and opinion
Internationally renowned meteorologist J. Marshall Shepherd will explore the complex interplay between climate change data, public communication, and policy decision-making in a public lecture. Read Story
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Researchers take on public health challenge of hepatitis C
The Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory will lead efforts to provide genomic sequencing to help decrease spread of the virus that can cause liver damage. Read Story
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Focused ultrasound veteran ready to make waves at Fralin Biomedical Research Institute
Jayson Raymond has worked with focused ultrasound since its early development. Now he will help boost Virginia Tech's already recognized work in the field. Read Story
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International team says identifying some foods as addictive could stimulate research, shift attitudes
Fralin Biomedical Research Institute scientist joins colleagues from three continents in calling for a global rethinking of food choices. Read Story
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Maury Strauss Distinguished Public Lecture
Nov. 2: Learning and Relearning Movement
Speaker: Amy Bastian, PhD, professor, Center for Human Neuroscience Research, Fralin Biomedical Research Institute
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Neuroscientist Read Montague's take on the history and future of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and human thought caught the attention of media, while investigator Alexandra DiFeliceantonio's research continues to be cited in national outlets. News organizations also featured the unveiling of a statue of Henrietta Lacks on the research institute campus, a smaller version of a life-size sculpture in downtown Roanoke. Lacks' cells, taken without her permission at Johns Hopkins Hospital in 1951, have been central to thousands of scientific discoveries.
- Read Montague is the first research institute faculty member to speak as part of the Maury Strauss Distinguished Public Lecture series. The groundbreaking neuroscientist's talk on artificial intelligence and brain research was covered by both Cardinal News and The Roanoke Times.
- Media interest in Alexandra DiFeliceantonio and her research on the addictive nature of ultra-processed foods remains high, with the investigator quoted last month in Knowable Magazine and MSN Health and Fitness.
- The unveiling of a sculpture of Henrietta Lacks in Roanoke, where she was born, has drawn international media attention. The Fralin Biomedical Research Institute was a major supporter of that effort and unveiled its own miniature of the statue in the atrium of 4 Riverside Circle. That event and remarks by Michael Friedlander were covered by WDBJ TV in Roanoke and WTVR TV in Richmond.
View the full list of media mentions.
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Here's how you can support the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute in advancing human health through science:
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