Dear Friends and Colleagues,
There is some exciting news to share on the front for translating fundamental discoveries into solutions that improve health. With help from government, economic development, and business leaders, Tiny Cargo Co., a spinout from Rob Gourdie’s lab at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute, will soon open a manufacturing facility in Roanoke. In what will be the region’s first clean room for commercial biotech, they will produce exosomes from cow’s milk for therapeutics that can help prevent the untoward side effects of radiation therapy for cancer treatment and provide a better way to deliver drugs to the body’s cells.
As another example of the growing emphasis on translational research poised to advance discoveries from the lab to patients, Virginia Tech alumni Carol and Bill Seale have been pivotal in helping jumpstart innovative pilot research at the institute. Their Seale Innovation Fund awards have powered scientists in gathering the preliminary data needed to make significant discoveries and be competitive for larger awards. I am pleased to announce that six of our teams working on five research projects are the 2025 grant recipients:
- Nearly 6.5 million people in the U.S. suffer from heart failure, with approximately half diagnosed with systolic dysfunction, a condition in which the heart struggles to pump blood effectively due to impaired contractility and energy metabolism. Junco Warren’s lab is developing translational approaches to advance effective treatments for heart failure with systolic dysfunction in a preclinical model.
- Up to 80 percent of U.S. adults consume sugar-sweetened drinks daily, leading to profound public health consequences such as weight gain and increased risk of Type 2 diabetes. Alexandra DiFeliceantonio is analyzing the metabolic health effects of sugar and artificial sweetener consumption and the brain signals behind preference and choice.
- Mimicry in humans and other animals plays a pivotal role in social interactions. Alexei Morozov is identifying therapeutic targets to address disrupted behavioral mimicry, findings that could have significant implications for mental health.
- Working together, Ryan Purcell and Meike van der Heijden are following cerebellar development in 3q29 deletion syndrome, a rare genetic disorder associated with a high risk for neurodevelopmental delays and neuropsychiatric disorders. They are working to uncover the mechanisms by which the syndrome alters function in this important brain area.
- Wynn Legon is deploying a novel protocol using non-invasive low-intensity focused ultrasound neuromodulation as a tool for memory enhancement in humans. Memory dysfunction is a major public health issue impacting millions worldwide due to neurodegenerative diseases, strokes, head trauma, and aging.
Investing in biomedical research is an investment in the health and well-being of future generations, and that extends to removing barriers at the patient level. In February, we will host our first Maury Strauss Distinguished Public Lecture of 2025. Vivian Ho, chair of Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, will address the role of provider consolidation in raising hospital prices and what can be done to ensure access to high quality, affordable health care.
I hope you’ll join us.
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
|
|
Words activate hidden brain processes shaping emotions, decisions, and behavior
An international team including Read Montague reveals the relationship between neurotransmitters and how humans process the emotional content of language. Read Story
|
|
|
How your brain learns from rewards might hold the key to treating depression
In a new study, Pearl Chiu and Brooks Casas investigate how brain signals involved in reward learning might help personalize depression treatment. Read Story
|
|
|
If at first you don't succeed: Researchers ask how many attempts it takes to quit substance abuse
An analysis found that people trying to quit opioids and pain medication experience more relapses. Read Story
|
|
|
Fellowship helps doctoral student get to the heart of cardiac disease
Abigail Doku will use a Ray A. Gaskins graduate fellowship to continue her research into heart failure, the world’s leading cause of death. Read Story
|
|
|
Graduate student’s research goal: Improve outcomes for brain cancer patients
A Jeanine L. Matte Fellowship will help advance Samantha Howerton’s research into personalized therapies for glioblastoma. Read Story
|
|
|
Virginia Tech Giving Day 2025
Do you want to help us chart new frontiers in science? Next month, you’ll have a special chance to engage your friends, family, and colleagues in our mission. Learn More
|
|
|
Maury Strauss Distinguished Public Lecture
Feb. 20: How Big Med Drives Rising Health Costs
Speaker: Vivian Ho, Ph.D., James A. Baker III Institute Chair in Health Economics, Baker Institute for Public Policy, Rice University; Member, National Academy of Medicine
|
|
|
- Science Daily and News Medical shared findings by Brooks Casas and Pearl Chiu that point toward new avenues for personalized depression treatment.
- Read Montague is using novel techniques to uncover the brain chemistry behind emotional language processing. His research was featured in Science Daily, Earth.com, Futurity, and other outlets.
- For National Geographic, Alexandra DiFeliceantonio discussed how sugar and fat affect the brain.
- Rafaela Fontes spoke to WDBJ7's Natalie Faunce about new research on how many attempts it takes to quit substances.
View the full list of media mentions.
|
|
Here's how you can support the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute in advancing human health through science:
|
|
|
|
|
|
