Dear Friends and Colleagues,
Sometimes it’s good to step away from normal routines. Earlier this month, researchers, administrators, and students decamped for our annual retreat where we heard presentations from new faculty and many students and fellows on their latest research accomplishments. We also had highly interactive working group discussions, sharing ideas on new opportunities, challenges, and strategies for advancing the research institute mission.
In the State of the Institute address I shared our significant contributions toward global distinction for Virginia Tech. In this past fiscal year our active extramural awards totaled $235 million, just over $6 million per faculty member. We published 127 peer-reviewed journal articles, of which 18 appeared in the top 2 percent of the highest impact biomedical journals. You can read about some of those discoveries in this newsletter.
It was especially gratifying to hear from our new and incoming faculty who were just onboarded over the last several months, validating our decision to invite these high-achieving innovators to join the research institute family. We were joined by new faculty members Chris Hourigan, DaeYong Lee, Roberta Freitas-Lemos, Sarah Lessard, Sumita Mishra, Ryan Purcell, and Cheng-Chia “Fred” Wu.
The retreat was a success – with participants saying they appreciated the opportunity to connect with colleagues they don’t see often, address big-picture opportunities, and make personal connections. We look forward to what the next year brings.
Days before the retreat, Virginia Tech was designated as a Focused Ultrasound Center of Excellence, one of only 12 worldwide, an achievement due in part to pioneering research being done at the FBRI and the strength of our collaborations across other campus units, including biomedical engineering and veterinary medicine.
We’ve added a new Cancer Research Center with separate but highly interconnected sites in Roanoke, led by Jenny Munson, and in Washington, D.C., led by Chris Hourigan. On June 21, Dr. Hourigan hosted a program to introduce national leadership to the innovative cancer research programs and community at our Washington, D.C, site on the Children’s National Research & Innovation Campus. The program, “Engineering Cancer Solutions,” featured leaders from the White House, National Cancer Institute, and Food and Drug Administration.
And significantly, Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s $90 million proposed investment in biomedical research in the commonwealth, first introduced in December, won approval from the General Assembly. The plan includes $31 million for the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute, with a particular investment to launch our new patient research center in Roanoke. Among the new faculty positions we will be recruiting for in the coming year is a director for the patient research center.
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
Professor, Biological Sciences, Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine and Affiliated Faculty, School of Biomedical Engineering and Science
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As we go to press with this newsletter, we have received the sad news that Maury Strauss, a giant figure in the Roanoke community and a Fralin Biomedical Research Institute supporter since its 2010 opening, has died. He was 99.
Maury Strauss; his sons, Steven Strauss and Marc Strauss; his daughter, Lesleigh Strauss; and other family members were mainstays of the institute, regularly attending the Distinguished Public Lecture Series that bears his name.
We will always remember him smiling when our new building at 4 Riverside opened. His support made possible one of the more important components of our mission — connecting with the community and communicating advances in health and medicine beyond the halls and labs of academia. The program named in his honor will be an everlasting legacy of his gift to the Roanoke community.
He will not be forgotten. Read More
– MJF
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Focused Ultrasound Foundation names Virginia Tech as a Center of Excellence
The designation recognizes the university's leading role in advancing noninvasive medical treatment. Read Story
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Researchers find flavor restrictions affect tobacco buyers differently depending on socioeconomic status
Public policies intended to reduce harm might perpetuate health disparities in cigarette smoking, the leading cause of preventable death in the U.S., a study finds. Read Story
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Virginia Tech researcher helps discover underlying mechanisms behind regular exercise benefits
The new findings have important health implications, including impacts on diseases, organs, and tissues. Read Story
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Virginia Tech scientist awarded grant to study a debilitating neurological disorder
Meike van der Heijden will use the award from the Dystonia Medical Research Foundation to study electrical signals in the brain connected to a movement disorder. Read Story
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Controlling the precise timing of electrical pulses may offer promise for treating mild traumatic brain injury
Fralin Biomedical Research Institute scientists reveal that irregular neurostimulation patterns could enhance strengthening of functional connections between cells in the injured brain. Read Story
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Fralin Biomedical Research Institute marks faculty promotions and tenure achievements
Board of Visitors recognizes achievers for their research, scholarship, and contributions. Read Story
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June saw a media spotlight on the innovative discoveries and developments borne out of Fralin Biomedical Research Institute labs. Along with statewide coverage of state budget support for the institute and its power to drive startups, industry media honed in on addiction research and ultra-processed foods. And the institute and the community lost an area leader and philanthropist.
- The Fralin Biomedical Research Institute anchors the region as a key point in Virginia's growing biomedical research network. The institute is a core part of recent efforts to strengthen biomedical research in the commonwealth—and our $31 million allocation in the new budget reflects that. Virginia Business and Tech Transfer Central reported on our projected impact.
- The late Maury Strauss, who passed away in late June, left his mark on the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute with a landmark gift. Local outlets Cardinal News and the Roanoke Times covered what he meant to the institute and the Roanoke Valley.
- Roberta Freitas-Lemos spearheaded a study that found socioeconomic disparities in how tobacco flavor restrictions affect individuals. The findings were featured in Scienmag, Medical Xpress, and more.
- Alex DiFeliceantonio spoke to CNN about the biopsychology of food addiction. Her lab also developed a custom visual tool to assess ultra-processed foods. Outlets including ScienceDaily and Bioengineer reported on the innovation.
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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